"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, it features a similar theme to ELO's earlier single "

Telephone Line A telephone line or telephone circuit (or just line or circuit industrywide) is a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system. It is designed to reproduce speech of a quality that is understandable. It is the physical wire or ot ...

", where the narrator is longing for a lover from across the telephone, although "Calling America" also discusses

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...

communication. Appropriately, the song pays homage to the track "

Telstar Telstar is the name of various communications satellites. The first two Telstar satellites were experimental and nearly identical. Telstar 1 launched on top of a Thor-Delta rocket on July 10, 1962. It successfully relayed through space the fi ...

", which had celebrated the

communication satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. C ...

of the same name, in the instrumental section. In his column ''Real Life Rock'' (published in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

''),

Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biography Marcus wa ...

called the song an "answer record to he24-year old hit". Fellow American music journalist

Chuck Eddy Chuck Eddy (born November 26, 1960) is an American music journalist. Life and career Chuck Eddy was born in Detroit, Michigan. After starting his journalism career with ''The Village Voice'' and ''Creem'', where he published one of the first nat ...

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 released a three-track 12-inch single in the UK, with "Destination Unknown" as the B-side. The promotional music video was shot in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, and contains shots of the band playing in front of Centre Georges Pompidou.

Reception

'' Cash Box'' called it a "bright, cleanly done bit of pop sheen from the masters of the genre" with a "very

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

y lyric." '' Billboard'' said that it has ELO's "familiar

wall of sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session ...

and sci-fi predilections."

Track listing

All songs written by

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, he has cont ...

. ;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

and contains shots of Centre Georges Pompidou; the band plays in front of Pompidou.

References

External links

Single chart positions
* (licensed content by Sony BMG) 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