Space Truckin’

The Zoo Crew, those groovy hippie DJs at THE ZOO radio station, are spinning the interstellar anthem "Space Truckin’" by Deep Purple from their iconic album Machine Head, and the Zoo Freaks are surely vibing to this cosmic ride. This track, the seventh and final one on the album, was born from a riff inspired by the 1960s Batman TV show theme, as guitarist Ritchie Blackmore revealed in the documentary Classic Albums: Deep Purple – The Making of Machine Head. Blackmore crafted the song’s half-step riffs as a finger exercise, then challenged singer Ian Gillan to write lyrics over it, resulting in a playful, sci-fi boogie that’s more about wordplay than literal space travel. Gillan himself told Songfacts that “nothing in that song is literal—it’s all a play on words,” with references like “Canaveral moonstop” and “Pony Trekker” adding a whimsical flair. The studio cut clocks in at 4:31, but live performances, like those on the Made in Japan album, could stretch beyond 20 minutes, incorporating instrumental jams from their earlier song “Mandrake Root” and showcasing Jon Lord’s Hammond organ and Blackmore’s guitar solos.

The song’s legacy reaches beyond the stage, even making it to actual space. Astronaut Kalpana Chawla, a Deep Purple fan who corresponded with band members via email during her mission, brought Machine Head aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003. Tragically, the shuttle disintegrated upon re-entry, and Chawla and her crew were lost. In her memory, guitarist Steve Morse wrote “Contact Lost” for Deep Purple’s 2003 album Bananas. “Space Truckin’” also left its mark on pop culture, appearing in films like Lords of Dogtown, the documentary Warren Miller’s Dynasty, and the video game Guitar Hero: Van Halen. Its 1997 remix featured in the first and last episodes of Ash vs Evil Dead. Covers abound, with Iron Maiden recording a version in 2006 for the 2012 tribute album Re-Machined: A Tribute to Deep Purple’s Machine Head, as noted by Bruce Dickinson in a Brave Words interview. Ace Frehley’s 2020 cover on Origins Vol. 2 came with a campy animated video featuring a Martian queen and a “space bear,” as reported by Rolling Stone. Social media buzz, like a 2022 Reddit post with 619 upvotes, hails it as “one of the best bangers of all time,” with fans praising Jon Lord’s distorted organ and the song’s raw energy.

Deep Purple began in 1968 in Hertford, England, initially as a psychedelic and progressive rock outfit called Roundabout, formed by drummer Chris Curtis, organist Jon Lord, and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. The lineup evolved quickly, with Rod Evans on vocals and Nick Simper on bass, and they adopted the name Deep Purple, inspired by a song Lord’s grandmother loved. Their debut album, Shades of Deep Purple, released in 1968, included the hit cover “Hush,” which charted in the U.S. The band’s early years were marked by experimentation, blending classical influences—Lord’s formal keyboard training led to the ambitious Concerto for Group and Orchestra in 1969—with hard rock. The classic Mark II lineup, featuring Ian Gillan (vocals), Roger Glover (bass), Blackmore, Lord, and Ian Paice (drums), solidified in 1969 and propelled them to fame with albums like In Rock (1970) and Machine Head (1972). Their heavy, riff-driven sound, paired with Gillan’s powerful vocals and Lord’s organ, helped define the heavy metal genre, though the band resisted being pigeonholed.

Despite internal tensions and lineup changes—Blackmore left in 1975, and the band briefly disbanded in 1976—Deep Purple’s Mark II lineup reunited in 1984 for Perfect Strangers and continued to tour and record. Over the decades, they’ve released over 20 studio albums, with their latest, =1, dropping in 2024. The band’s resilience and improvisational live performances, as seen in the extended “Space Truckin’” jams, cemented their influence. You can follow their updates on their official website, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Fans gather at sites like The Highway Star, a comprehensive fan site with news and discographies, and the Deep Purple Fans Facebook group, where enthusiasts share memories and discuss tracks like “Space Truckin’.” Whether you’re a Zoo Freak or a lifelong Purple fan, this song’s galactic groove keeps rocking the cosmos.