"Calling America" | ||||
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Single by Electric Light Orchestra | ||||
from the album Balance of Power | ||||
B-side |
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Released |
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Recorded | 1985 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 3:28 | |||
Label |
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Songwriter(s) | Jeff Lynne | |||
Producer(s) | Jeff Lynne | |||
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology | ||||
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"Calling America" is a song by the rock music group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) released as a single from their 1986 album Balance of Power . The single reached number 28 in the United Kingdom, making it their 26th and final Top 40 hit single in their native country and peaked at number 18 on the Billboard singles chart, making it their 20th and final Top 40 hit single in the United States.
Like most of the songs on Balance of Power, "Calling America" is musically upbeat and bright. Lyrically, the song can be considered an update to ELO's 1976 single "Telephone Line". In both songs, the narrator is attempting to contact a lover by telephone, although "Calling America" also discusses satellite communication. Appropriately, the song pays homage to the track "Telstar", which had celebrated the communication satellite of the same name, in the instrumental break. In his column Real Life Rock (published in The Village Voice ), Greil Marcus called the song an "answer record to [the] 24-year old hit". [1] Fellow American music journalist Chuck Eddy said, "Greil Marcus was the only person besides me who realized that 'Calling America' by ELO was one of the most brilliant records of last year. I thought it was really neat that it ended up on both our top 10s." [2]
Epic Records released a three-track 12-inch single in the UK, with "Destination Unknown" as the B-side.
The promotional music video was shot in Paris, and contains shots of the band playing in front of Centre Georges Pompidou.
Cash Box called it a "bright, cleanly done bit of pop sheen from the masters of the genre" with a "very hooky lyric." [3] Billboard said that it has ELO's "familiar wall of sound and sci-fi predilections." [4]
All songs written by Jeff Lynne.
Chart (1986-1987) | Peak position |
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Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart [5] | 47 |
Austrian Ö3 Austria Top 40 [6] | 22 |
Canada RPM Top Singles [7] | 28 |
French SNEP Singles Chart | 10 |
German Media Control Singles Chart [8] | 31 |
Irish Singles Chart [9] | 16 |
South Africa (Springbok) [10] | 23 |
UK Singles Chart [11] | 28 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [12] | 18 |
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks [12] | 22 |
US Billboard Adult Contemporary [12] | 20 |
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles | 26 |
US Radio & Records (R&R) [13] [14] | 20 |
The video, directed by John Beug and Jane Simpson, [15] was shot in Paris and contains shots of Centre Georges Pompidou; the band plays in front of Pompidou.[ citation needed ]
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangements with futuristic iconography. After Wood's departure in 1972, Lynne became the band's sole leader, arranging and producing every album while writing nearly all of their original material. From this point until their first break-up in 1986, Lynne and Bevan were the group's only consistent members.
Out of the Blue is the seventh studio album by the British rock group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released on 24 October 1977 in the United States and four days after in the UK on 28 October. Written and produced by ELO frontman Jeff Lynne, the double album is among the most commercially successful records in the group's history, selling about 10 million copies worldwide by 2007.
Zoom is the twelfth studio album by British symphonic rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released on 12 June 2001 on Epic Records. It was the first official ELO album since 1986's Balance of Power.
Balance of Power is the eleventh studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in 1986. It is the final album by the band to feature co-founder Bev Bevan on drums, as well as the last album to feature a significant contribution from keyboardist Richard Tandy.
"Livin' Thing" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It appears on ELO's 1976 album A New World Record and was also released as a single. Patti Quatro sang uncredited vocals, particularly the "higher and higher" parts.
"Four Little Diamonds" is a song by the British rock music group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) from their 1983 album Secret Messages. It was also featured on their compilation albums Afterglow and Flashback. The single did not do very well in the US, spending only 2 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaking at number 86. It also charted low in the UK, peaking at number 84.
"Strange Magic" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was originally released on their 1975 Face the Music album.
"Mr. Blue Sky" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), featured on the band's seventh studio album Out of the Blue (1977). Written and produced by frontman Jeff Lynne, the song forms the fourth and final track of the "Concerto for a Rainy Day" suite on side three of the original double album. "Mr. Blue Sky" was the second single to be taken from Out of the Blue, peaking at number 6 in the UK Singles Chart and number 35 in the US Billboard Charts.
"Can't Get It Out of My Head" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and originally recorded by Electric Light Orchestra.
"Turn to Stone" is a 1977 song by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).
"Sweet Talkin' Woman" is a 1978 single by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) from the album Out of the Blue (1977). Its original title was "Dead End Street", but it was changed during recording. Some words that survived from that version can be heard in the opening of the third verse, "I've been livin' on a dead end street".
"Evil Woman" is a song recorded by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and written by lead vocalist Jeff Lynne. It was first released on the band's fifth album, 1975's Face the Music.
"Telephone Line" is a song by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in May 1977 through Jet Records and United Artists Records as part of the album A New World Record. It was commercially successful, topping the charts of Canada and New Zealand and entering the top 10 in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
"Don't Bring Me Down" is the ninth and final track on the English rock band the Electric Light Orchestra's 1979 album Discovery. It is their highest-charting hit in the United States.
"Xanadu" is the title song from the soundtrack of the 1980 musical film of the same name. Written by Jeff Lynne of the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), the song is performed by English-born Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John, with Lynne adding parenthetic vocals in the style of his other songs on the Xanadu soundtrack, and ELO providing the instrumentation. It was Lynne's least favourite of his own songs. Released as a single in June 1980, it reached number one in several European countries and was the band's only UK number-one single when it peaked there for two weeks in July 1980. It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry. It also peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"So Serious" is a song by the rock music group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) from their 1986 album Balance of Power, released in the UK as the second single from the album in 1986.
"Getting to the Point" is a song by the rock group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) from their 1986 album Balance of Power. Released in the UK as the last single from the album in August 1986, it was the last original release from the band for 15 years.
The discography of the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) consists of 15 studio albums, 7 live albums, 40 compilation albums, 13 video albums, 33 music videos, 1 extended play, 50 singles, 1 soundtrack album and 8 box sets. ELO have also sold over 50 million records worldwide.
"Kiss Me Red" is a song written by the songwriting duo of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, and first released in 1984 for the soundtrack of the short-lived TV series Dreams, where it was performed on the show by the fictional title band. The song was notably covered by Cheap Trick in 1986 on their ninth album The Doctor, and by ELO Part II in 1990 for their album Electric Light Orchestra Part Two.
Wembley or Bust is a live album and concert film by Jeff Lynne's ELO. It was recorded during the Alone in the Universe Tour at Wembley Stadium. The album peaked at number 8 on the UK Albums Chart and at number 12 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums. The album was also certified silver in the United Kingdom.