Calling America
{{short description|1986 single by Electric Light Orchestra}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2012}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Calling America
| cover = Calling America .jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Electric Light Orchestra
| album = Balance of Power
| B-side =
- "Caught in a Trap"
- "Destination Unknown" (UK 12-inch only)
| released =
- {{Start date|1986|01|24|df=y}} (US)
- 21 February 1986 (UK)
| recorded = 1985
| studio =
- Compass Point, Nassau, Bahamas
- Hartmann Digital, Untertrubach, Germany
| genre = Pop rock
| length = 3:28
| label =
- CBS Associated (US)
- Epic (UK)
| writer = Jeff Lynne
| producer = Jeff Lynne
| prev_title = Stranger
| prev_year = 1983
| next_title = So Serious
| next_year = 1986
| misc =
}}
"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.
Overview
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".{{cite book |last1=Marcus |first1=Greil |title=Real Life Rock: The Complete Top Ten Columns, 1986-2014 |date=January 2015 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-19664-1 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eTmbCgAAQBAJ&q=elo+calling+america+telstar&pg=PA4 |language=en}} 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."[https://web.archive.org/web/20181025080226/http://rockcriticsarchives.com/interviews/eddy-marcus/eddy86.html Interview with Chuck Eddy, Nerve magazine, 1986]
Epic Records released a three-track 12-inch single in the UK, with "Destination Unknown" as the B-side.
Reception
Cashbox called it a "bright, cleanly done bit of pop sheen from the masters of the genre" with a "very hooky lyric."{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1986/CB-1986-02-01.pdf|date=February 1, 1986|accessdate=2022-08-03|page=11}} Billboard said that it has ELO's "familiar wall of sound and sci-fi predilections."{{cite magazine|magazine=Billboard|date=February 1, 1986|accessdate=2022-08-03|page=81|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RSQEAAAAMBAJ|title=Reviews}}
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
Chart history
Video
The video, directed by John Beug and Jane Simpson,{{cite web |title=Electric Light Orchestra: Calling America |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8141890/?ref_=nm_flmg_c_17_dr |website=imdb.com |access-date=2023-05-26}} was shot in Paris and contains shots of Centre Pompidou; the band plays in front of Pompidou.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070216081721/http://www.epinions.com/content_3270746244 Single chart positions]
- [http://www.ftmusic.com/balanceofpower/index.html ftmusic.com - UK single b-side "Destination Unknown"]
- {{YouTube|xn_XsOUC9s0&ob|Calling America}} (licensed content by Sony BMG)
{{Electric Light Orchestra singles}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Electric Light Orchestra songs
Category:Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne
Category:Songs written by Jeff Lynne
Category:Songs about telephones