"Calling America" is a song by the rock music group

Electric Light Orchestra 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, classical a ...

(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.

Overview

Like most of the songs on ''Balance of Power'', "Calling America" is musically upbeat and bright. Lyrically, it features a similar theme to ELO's earlier single " Telephone Line", where the narrator is longing for a lover from across the 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 section. In his column ''Real Life Rock'' (published in '' The Village Voice''), Greil Marcus called the song an "answer record to he24-year old hit". 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."

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

released a three-track 12-inch single in the UK, with "Destination Unknown" as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

. The promotional music video was shot in Paris, and contains shots of the band playing in front of

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it a "bright, cleanly done bit of pop sheen from the masters of the genre" with a "very hooky lyric." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' said that it has ELO's "familiar wall of sound and sci-fi predilections."

Track listing

All songs written by Jeff Lynne. ;7-inch single #"Calling America" – 3:28 #"Caught in a Trap" – 3:43 ;US 12-inch single #"Calling America" – 3:28 #"Caught in a Trap" – 3:43 #"Endless Lies" – 2:54 ;UK 12-inch single #"Calling America" – 3:28 #"Caught in a Trap" – 3:43 #"Destination Unknown" – 4:10 #"Rock'n' Roll Is King" - 3:49 #"Secret Messages" - 4:44

Chart history

Video

The video, directed by John Beug and Jane Simpson, was shot in Paris and contains shots of

; the band plays in front of Pompidou.

References

External links

Single chart positions
* (licensed content by

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

) 1986 songs 1986 singles Electric Light Orchestra songs Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne Songs written by Jeff Lynne Songs about telephones Epic Records singles Songs about the United States CBS Records singles {{1980s-rock-song-stub