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"Wild West Hero" | ||||
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Single by Electric Light Orchestra | ||||
from the album Out of the Blue | ||||
B-side | "Eldorado" | |||
Released | May 26, 1978 (UK) [1] | |||
Recorded | 1977 | |||
Studio | Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany | |||
Genre | Art rock | |||
Length | 4:41 | |||
Label | Jet | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jeff Lynne | |||
Producer(s) | Jeff Lynne | |||
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology | ||||
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"Wild West Hero" is a song by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), and the closing track and third single from the album Out of the Blue . The song was written reputedly by lead singer Jeff Lynne in 4 minutes while on holiday. Melvyn Gale, normally the band's cellist, provided the Western-style piano for this track.
It entered the UK Top 40 at No. 31 in June 1978 but fell to number 36 the following week. Thanks to a rush-release in 12" format on yellow vinyl, its fortunes were reversed a week later, and within six weeks it had risen to a peak position of number 6. [2] Coincidentally this was also the highest UK position achieved by the group's previous single, "Mr. Blue Sky", and the next two, "Sweet Talkin' Woman" and "Shine a Little Love".
The chorus of the song has the same chord progression as Pachelbel's Canon's but transposed from D to G, which is the tonality of "Wild West Hero". The only exception is the 7th chord of the chorus, which is A instead of C.
Chart (1978) | Peak position |
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Irish Singles Chart [3] | 9 |
UK Singles Chart [2] | 6 |
Out of the Blue is the seventh studio album by the British rock group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in October 1977. 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.
Discovery is the eighth studio album by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released on 31 May 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.
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