On This Date in 1984 Americans Began to Learn What ‘Luftballoon’ Meant and How Many We Could Expect

Whether you heard the song in English or in German, "99 Luftballoons" was all over your radio on this day in 1984.  Of course, we're generally more familiar with the English "99 Red Balloons" version of the song.

It was on this date in 1984 that Nena's "99 Luftballoons" went to #1 in England, where it would spend three weeks.  The song would go to #2 on the US charts a short time later, and Nena would certainly qualify as a one-hit wonder, even though two different versions of the song charted, depending on the geography.

"99 Red/Luft Balloons" seemed like such an upbeat song once it kicks in.  Instead, it was a somewhat-lighthearted look at balloons being mistaken for UFOs during the Cold War.  The inspiration came from a West Berlin Rolling Stones concert attended by the band's drummer in which balloons were released. leading said drummer, Carlo Karges, to imagine the balloons drifting over the Berlin Wall.

The song has spawned too many cover versions to count, but the cover version below is certainly my favorite.