A Song for the Cosmos

by Jan Lower, Gary Kelley (Illustrator)

Blues guitarist Blind Willie Johnson led a hardscrabble life, but in 1977, NASA's Voyager spacecrafts were launched, each carrying a golden record to introduce planet Earth to the cosmos, and his song "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" became the defining anthem. Weaving together elements of Johnson's biography with an account of how a team of astrophysicists, writers, and artists created the golden record for the Voyager mission, Jan Lower and Gary Kelley craft a tale that is itself A Song for the Cosmos.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Biography, Space, Music

32 pages, Paperback

Published August 8, 2023

Reviews

[John Mullarkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly fitting title for a terrific picture book melding together the life of singer Blind Willie Johnson and the creation of the "Golden Record" for the Voyager space mission in the late 70's. Johnson's tough life was defined by his recording of his song, "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" in the onset of the Great Depression. The song met with great success and Johnson would go on to record many more songs for Columbia Records before passing away in 1945 in Beaumont, Texas, having lost most of what income he accrued from his recordings. Jan Lower then transitions Willie's story into the creation of the Voyager program- and how a team of astrophysicists (including Carl Sagan) and others created a "golden record"- designed to travel with the spacecraft to the outer reaches of the solar system and beyond. Blind Willie Johnson's classic song - was selected to be included on the record (along with jazz, rock, and classical genres among others) as an example of "human emotion" - that, if some intelligent life form far away in the cosmos should ever intercept the Voyager and learn about life on our planet. How fitting , states Lower, "Dark was the Night, Cold was the ground spoke to the message of the Voyager, longing to connect in the vastness of space..." It is a unique tribute to a man and a song based on weariness and being alone.
This is an excellent read aloud for all ages and grade levels - it would work in a high school science class and with a group of elementary students as well; I can imagine the great discussions about the space travel and the durability of communication that it would bring. Gary Kelly's artwork - in deep hues of blue, gray, and purple add a shadowy and expressive quality to the tale. In addition, there are great endnotes that give further details on both Blind Willie's life and the development of the Voyager program.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating story. Good for music or STEAM. Don't skip the back matter.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moving picture book about the life and unexpected (and other worldly) legacy of Willie Johnson.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

A picture book biography of musician Willie Johnson who was blind and created a song that landed on capsule to outer space. elementary and up

[Syntha Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an interesting story

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars for this biography/informational text about the record sent into space with Voyager and one musician whose work was included.

[Melinda Bender · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biography about a struggling musical artist whose song was used to play on a recording by NASA during a Voyager mission as a message to people on earth.