Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
| "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Klaatu | |
| from the album 3:47 EST | |
| B-side | "Sub-Rosa Subway" |
| Released | 1976 |
| Format | 7" single |
| Recorded | 1976 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 3:23 |
| Label | Daffodil |
| Writer(s) | Terry Draper, John Woloschuk |
| Producer | Klaatu |
| "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by The Carpenters | ||||
| from the album Passage | ||||
| B-side | "Can't Smile Without You" | |||
| Released | September 1977 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | 1977 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 7:06 (album version) 3:59 (single edit) |
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| Label | A&M | |||
| Writer(s) | Klaatu | |||
| Producer | Richard Carpenter | |||
| The Carpenters singles chronology | ||||
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"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognized Anthem of World Contact Day)" is a song by Klaatu, originally released in 1976 on their first album 3:47 EST. The following year, The Carpenters covered the song, using a crew of 160 musicians. Both versions of the single had the entire name of the song on the label (the picture sleeve of the Carpenters' single had the subtitle in small print); reissued singles of the Klaatu version had the title shortened to "Calling Occupants."
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[edit] Origin
John Woloschuk, a member of Klaatu and one of the song's composers, has said:
- The idea for this track was suggested by an actual event that is described in The Flying Saucer Reader, a book by Jay David published in 1967. In March 1953 an organization known as the "International Flying Saucer Bureau" sent a bulletin to all its members urging them to participate in an experiment termed "World Contact Day" whereby, at a predetermined date and time, they would attempt to collectively send out a telepathic message to visitors from outer space. The message began with the words..."Calling occupants of interplanetary craft!"[1]
While this is probably the most recognized recording by Klaatu, the band went on to release five studio albums of progressive pop music.
[edit] Chart
| Chart (1977) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 62 |
| Canada RPM 100 Singles | 45 |
[edit] The Carpenters' version
The Carpenters' version from their Passage album is probably even better known, as it was indeed the bigger hit, charting worldwide and appearing on several of their (mostly hits collections) albums. This version has a subject matter similar to Steven Spielberg's film Close Encounters of the Third Kind--in fact, the Carpenters' version predates the release of that film by about three months (the song was released in September 1977, while Close Encounters was released the following November). The success of their version led to the duo receiving many letters from people asking when World Contact Day would be held. It also led to a Carpenters television special, "The Carpenters...Space Encounters".
While Klaatu's original opens with various sounds of living species, the Carpenters' version opens with a radio DJ on a request show. The DJ identifies his caller as "Mike Ledgerwood." As the DJ asks the caller what song he wants to hear, an alien voice converses with the DJ. The DJ is voiced by longstanding Carpenters' guitarist Tony Peluso, who can be seen in that role at the start of the video for this track.[2]
The Carpenters' arrangement of the song was later copied on a sound-alike cover released on the 1977 album Top of the Pops, Volume 62.
The cover art was painted by Star Trek designer Andrew Probert.
In April 2011, the song was featured in the BBC series Wonders of the Solar System hosted by Dr. Brian Cox.
The song was also covered by the children of the The Langley Schools Music Project. Another version can be found on the Carpenters tribute album If I Were A Carpenter performed by the band Babes in Toyland.
The group Lard recreates the chorus with a somewhat similar vocal, but completely different lyrics, in the song Pineapple Face from the album The Last Temptation of Reid. Pineapple Face is a reference to Manuel Noriega and the song presents the lyrics as the thoughts and words of Noriega while taking refuge in the Vatican embassy after the US military surrounded it during Operation Nifty Package.
[edit] Chart
| Chart (1977) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 32 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 18 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 9 |
| UK Singles Chart | 9 |
| Republic of Ireland Singles Chart | 1 |
| Preceded by "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" by Baccara |
Irish Singles Chart number-one single November 12, 1977 - November 19, 1977 |
Succeeded by "Belfast" by Boney M. |
[edit] Music videos
The Carpenters had two music videos for "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft."
- "Starparade" - German TV, 1977. Available on their DVD "Gold: Greatest Hits"
- "Space Encounters" - Carpenters' TV Special, 1978. Available on their DVD "Interpretations"
[edit] References
- ^ Woloschuk, John. "Klaatu Track Facts" (quote used by permission). The Official Klaatu Homepage. http://www.klaatu.org/trackfacts/track_facts_12.html. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
- ^ "Carpenters official web site:". Passage album notes. http://www.richardandkarencarpenter.com/Album_Passage.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
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