"Eldorado" is the title track from the 1974 album of the same name by the

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). The song was used 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 ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

single " Boy Blue" in 1975 and later as the flip side to the UK hit single "

Wild West Hero "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, normal ...

" in 1978.

Content

In the 2001 remastered album's liner notes, composer

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 music, rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, h ...

said, "This song is where the dreamer wakes up to reality, then decides he likes his dream world better and tries to get back to Eldorado."

Controversy

The song gained notoriety when it was claimed by some

Christian fundamentalists Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among Protestantis ...

that "Eldorado" contained some "satanic messages" when the record was played in reverse. Lyrics were claimed to sound like "He is the nasty one - Christ you're infernal" when played backwards. Lynne denied these allegations, and inserted an obviously and deliberately backmasked segment into ELO's next album ('' Face the Music''), within the opening portions of the famous " Fire On High" track. He later recorded ''

Secret Messages ''Secret Messages'' is the tenth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1983 on Jet Records. It was the last ELO album with bass guitarist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and a full orchestra, and the last ELO album t ...

'', an entire album strewn with backmasking.

Fleming & John version

The song was covered by

Fleming & John Fleming and John is a musical husband and wife team, Fleming McWilliams and John Mark Painter, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The couple met while attending Belmont University in Nashville, and immediately began collabo ...

on the tribute album ''

Lynne Me Your Ears ''Lynne Me Your Ears – A Tribute to the Music of Jeff Lynne'' is a compilation of compositions written by songwriter Jeff Lynne. Most tracks on the album are cover versions of Lynne's longest-running and most successful group, Electric Light ...

''.

References

{{Electric Light Orchestra singles Electric Light Orchestra songs Songs written by Jeff Lynne Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne 1974 songs Obscenity controversies in music