"Hold On Tight" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Electric Light Orchestra | ||||
from the album Time | ||||
Language | English Some lyrics in French | |||
B-side | "When Time Stood Still" | |||
Released | 17 July 1981 [1] | |||
Studio | Musicland Studios, Munich | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:06 | |||
Label | Jet | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jeff Lynne | |||
Producer(s) | Jeff Lynne | |||
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Time track listing | ||||
13 tracks
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Hold On Tight" on YouTube |
"Hold On Tight" is a song written and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). The song is track twelve on the band's 1981 album Time and was the first song released as a single. The song went top ten in most countries,hitting the top spot in Spain and Switzerland,number two in Germany,number four in the UK, [4] and number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100,becoming the band's seventh and last top 10 hit,as well as number two on the US Billboard Top Tracks chart the week of 12 September 1981. [5] A verse sung in French,which is a reprise of the first verse,translates as "Hold on to your dream,Hold on to your dream,When you see your ship leaving,When you feel your heart breaking,Hold on to your dream".
It Also considered a half french song with the lyrics "Accroches toi a ton reve " and "quand tu vois ton bateau partir" and "quand tu sens ton couer se briser". Also the lyrics said twice
At the time of its release,the song's music video was the most expensive ever made,with a budget of approximately £40,000. [6] [ better source needed ] The mostly black and white video features footage of ELO playing the song in a lounge,intercut with scenes in the style of 1940s serial films featuring the band members,including violinist Mik Kaminski,who was no longer a band member nor had actually played on this song,"playing" a guitar.
Billboard called it an "affectionate tip-of-the-hat to '50s rock 'n' roll" that was inspired by "Jerry Lee Lewis' pumping piano style." [7] Record World said it has "rockabilly lead vocals,soaring Beach Boys harmonies,patented ELO keyboard waves,and a good time for all." [8]
In its review of the album. Rolling Stone said that with its "synthesized rock &roll cellos" the song is an "all-weather [single] for the here and now," but reviewing the album as a whole,Rolling Stone expressed concern that "If ELO's not careful,they're going to end up becoming the kind of cheese that squirts out of an aerosol can." [2]
The song was the theme song for the National Coffee Association's "Join the Coffee Achievers" television commercials which ran in 1983 and 1984. [9]
The song was used in the Daicon III and IV Opening Animations .
The song is used as the theme to Michael Brown's radio talk programmes The Situation which is heard on KHOW radio in Denver,Colorado,and The Weekend which is nationally syndicated by Premiere Networks.
The song is used in S1:E24 of My Name Is Earl ,“Number One.”
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
A New World Record is the sixth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released on 15 October 1976 on United Artists Records in the U.S., and on 19 November 1976 on Jet Records in the United Kingdom. A New World Record marked ELO's shift towards shorter pop songs, a trend which would continue across their career.
Discovery is the eighth studio album by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released on 1 June 1979 in the United Kingdom by Jet Records, where it topped record charts, and on 8 June in the United States on Jet through Columbia Records distribution. A music video album featuring all the songs being played by the band was then released on VHS in 1979, then re-released as part of the Out of the Blue: Live at Wembley DVD and VHS in 1998.
Time is the ninth studio album by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra, released in July 1981 on Jet Records. It is a concept album about a man from the 1980s who is taken to the year 2095, where he is confronted by the dichotomy between technological advancement and a longing for past romance. The record topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks, though it attracted mixed reviews for its heavy use of synthesizers and stylistic shift away from the orchestral rock of previous ELO albums. It has since gained a cult following, particularly among retrofuturist enthusiasts.
Secret Messages is the tenth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1983 on Jet Records. It was the last ELO album with bass guitarist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and a full orchestra, and the last ELO album to be released on the Jet label. It was also the final ELO studio album to become a worldwide top 40 hit upon release.
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.
"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.
Xanadu is the soundtrack to the 1980 musical film of the same name, featuring the Australian singer Olivia Newton-John and the British group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in June 1980 on MCA Records in the United States and July 1980 by Jet Records in the United Kingdom. The original LP release featured on side one the songs of Newton-John, and on side two the songs of ELO. In 2008 the soundtrack album was digitally remastered as a bonus CD as part of the film's DVD release titled Xanadu: Magical Musical Edition.
All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra is a compilation album by the Electric Light Orchestra, released in 2005.
"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.
"Shine a Little Love" is a song by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released as a single in the US and UK in 1979.
"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 British and 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.
"Rock 'n' Roll Is King" is a song written and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) released as a single from the 1983 album Secret Messages. With this song the band returned to their rock roots. It features a violin solo by Mik Kaminski.
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.
Eldorado is the fourth studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in the United States in September 1974 by United Artists Records and in the United Kingdom in October 1974 by Warner Bros. Records.
Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra, also known as Mr. Blue Sky, is an album of re-recordings by Jeff Lynne of hits by Electric Light Orchestra. It was issued in 2012 by Frontiers Music simultaneously with Lynne's cover album Long Wave.
Alone in the Universe is the thirteenth studio album by British rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), and the first credited to Jeff Lynne's ELO. The moniker came out from Lynne as a response to ELO tribute and imitation bands, who repeatedly used ELO for promoting their own tours. Released on 13 November 2015, the album is the first of new original material credited to the group since Zoom in 2001, and the second since the group's original disbandment in 1986.