The New York based pianist Johnny Acey (b. 1925) recorded  I Go
into Orbit in 1962. Here the blues singer again employs the topical event
for a sexual metaphor. Every time he holds his outer space lover s hand, he
goes into orbit.
I ll be in the heaven, Lord, in an hour s time,
 Cause when I m with my baby, you know, I feel so fine.
I ll go into orbit, every time she holds my hand,
She s my outer-space lover, you know, I m her little pilot man.
Oh, you know, she s a looker, she can spend my gold,
 Cause she s not just good-looking, my girl is a jelly roll.
sp: Oh, yeah!
Well, you know that I love her, she s my pride and joy,
Yes, I call her my little girl, she calls me her little boy.
sp: Walk on out.20
Emboldened by the success of the early missions, President Kennedy
decided to throw his weight behind a new program, named Apollo, with
a more ambitious set of objectives. On 25 May 1961 he appeared before
Congress to deliver a special address:
I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal,
before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning
[ 56 ] Twistin Out in Space