The song gave its name to Miloš Forman's comedy-drama film Man on the Moon (1999), starring Jim Carrey, based on Kaufman's life and was featured prominently in the film's soundtrack.

The song's title and chorus refer to the Moon landing conspiracy theories, as an oblique allusion to rumors that Kaufman's death in 1984 was faked. Lyrically, the song is a tribute to the comedian and performer Andy Kaufman, with numerous references to his career, including his Elvis impersonation, wrestling, and the film My Breakfast with Blassie. 1988–2003 and Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011.

It remains one of R.E.M.'s most popular songs and was included on the compilations In Time: The Best of R.E.M. The song was well received by critics and peaked at number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 18 on the UK Singles Chart and number one in Iceland. The lyrics were written by lead singer Michael Stipe, and the music by drummer Bill Berry and guitarist Peter Buck, and credited to the whole band as usual. Their credits include Flo Rida's ' Turn Around (5, 4, 3, 2, 1)' and Pitbull's ' Fun.' Man on the Moon' is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released as the second single from their 1992 album, Automatic for the People. Multi-instrumentalist Marcus 'Marc Lo' Lomax, who is a member of the Miami production and songwriting team The Monsters and The Strangerz. Sterling went on to co-produce Lana Del Rey's breakout single ' Video Games' and co-penned Cash Cash's dance crossover hit ' Take Me Home.' Fox also contributed guitar and background vocals to this song. Soon after, Sterling co-wrote and co-produced Gym Class Heroes' ' Stereo Hearts'. Pennsylvania songwriter and producer Sterling Fox who in 2008 co-founded a music production duo Robopop. As a songwriter, she has written for artists such as Melanie Martinez ('Teddy Bear') and Bea Miller (' Young Blood'). New Jersey singer-songwriter' Phoebe Ryan, who signed with Columbia Records in 2015. Los Angeles singer-songwriter Ilsey Juber, whose other credits include Pitbull's ' Fireball', Beyoncé's ' All Nightt' and Major Lazer featuring Ellie Goulding's ' Powerful.'

American songwriter and producer Jason Evigan, who penned four songs on Demi Lovato's Demi album, including the hit single ' Heart Attack.' He also frequently co-writes with Nick Jonas and their collaborations include ' Chains.'

Tonto man on moon song