This instrumental was a track from Billy Preston's sixth album, I Wrote a Simple Song, his first for A&M Records. Preston thought it had the potential to be a hit single, but A&M was less certain and issued it as the B-side of "I Wrote a Simple Song." However, the track took off after a radio DJ flipped the single over and "Outa-Space" went on to sell more than a million copies, topping the R&B chart and reaching #2 on the Hot 100 in the summer of 1972. Meanwhile, "I Wrote a Simple Song," staggered to #77 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, proving that Preston had been right all along.
The song won the 1972 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.
Preston made "Outa-Space" by using a clavinet, which is a type of electro-mechanical keyboard instrument, and a wah-wah pedal. He then improvised a groove with his backing band before subsequently adding organ and hand claps. The song was called "Outa-Space" because Preston thought it had a spacey sound to it.
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