"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. [2]
The original single had "Fire On High" on the flip side,a tune that became the band's most popular instrumental piece. The UK version was released in a blue vinyl format.
"Livin' Thing" makes prominent use of augmented chords. [3] Lynne said about that:
Chart (1976–1977) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [13] | 2 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [14] | 3 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [15] | 8 |
Canada Adult Contemporary ( RPM ) [16] | 41 |
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [17] | 8 |
Ireland (IRMA) [18] | 6 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [19] | 6 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [20] | 4 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [21] | 4 |
South Africa (Springbok Radio) [22] | 1 |
Spain (AFE) [23] | 11 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [24] | 17 |
UK Singles (OCC) [25] | 4 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [26] | 13 |
US Billboard Adult Contemporary [27] | 36 |
US Cash Box [28] | 10 |
US Record World [29] | 10 |
West Germany (GfK) [30] | 5 |
Chart (1976) | Rank |
---|---|
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [31] | 106 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [32] | 85 |
Chart (1977) | Rank |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [33] | 27 |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [34] | 25 |
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [35] | 106 |
South Africa (Springbok Radio) [36] | 16 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [37] | 77 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [38] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [39] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song in his own home studio. It was released in a compilation album with other re-recorded ELO songs, under the ELO name. [40]
In 2001, PFR covered the track on the album Lynne Me Your Ears – A Tribute to the Music of Jeff Lynne .
In 2004, The Beautiful South covered the track for their covers album Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs . It reached number 24 on the UK charts and number 26 on the Irish charts. [41] [42]
Chart (2004) | Peak position |
---|---|
Ireland (IRMA) [41] | 26 |
UK Singles (OCC) [42] | 24 |
In 2017, "Livin' Thing" was featured in Telltale's Guardians of the Galaxy game. [43]
The 1997 feature film Boogie Nights includes the track for the final scene and end credits of the movie. Initially, Jeff Lynne refused to release the rights to the song, but changed his mind after viewing a screening of the film with director Paul Thomas Anderson and being impressed. [44]
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. During their first run from 1970 to 1986, Lynne and Bevan were the group's only consistent members.
Jeffrey Lynne is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and currently the sole member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970, and as a songwriter has written all of the band's music past 1972, including the hits "Evil Woman", "Livin' Thing", "Telephone Line", "Mr. Blue Sky", "Don't Bring Me Down", and "Hold On Tight". He also has had a solo career, with two albums: Armchair Theatre (1990) and Long Wave (2012).
Face the Music is the fifth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in September 1975 by United Artists Records and on 14 November 1975 in the United Kingdom by Jet Records. The album moves away from the large-scale classical orchestrated sound of the previous album, Eldorado, in favour of more "radio-friendly" pop/rock songs, though the string sections are still very prominent. The new sound proved successful for the group, for Face the Music was the first ELO album to go platinum.
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.
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.
"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.
"Do Ya" is a song written by Jeff Lynne, that was originally recorded by The Move, which became a hit for the Electric Light Orchestra in 1977.
"Turn to Stone" is a 1977 song by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).
"Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" is a song recorded by the 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".
"Showdown" is a 1973 song written by Jeff Lynne and recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was the band's last contemporary recording to be released on the Harvest label. The song was released as a single and reached No 12 in the UK Singles Chart, in the week beginning 28 October, and No 9 on the Norwegian chart VG-lista.
"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 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.
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.
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.