Telephone Line (Electric Light Orchestra song)
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| "Telephone Line" | ||||
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| Single by Electric Light Orchestra | ||||
| from the album A New World Record | ||||
| B-side | "Poor Boy (The Greenwood)" & "King of the Universe" (double B-side UK only) | |||
| Released | May 1977 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1976 Musicland Studios , Munich | |||
| Genre | Art rock, Pop | |||
| Length | 4:39 (LP/UK single length) 3.56 (USA single edit) |
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| Label | Jet Records(UK) United Artists (US) |
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| Writer(s) | Jeff Lynne | |||
| Producer | Jeff Lynne | |||
| Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology | ||||
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"Telephone Line" is a song by Electric Light Orchestra.
The song is track two on their 1976 album A New World Record and was the final single to be released from the band's LP until September 2006 when Surrender was released from the expanded reissue. It became their "biggest single success in the U.S.A. and was their first U.K. gold award for a single. With ELO's continuing success in America it seemed obvious to Lynne to use an American ring tone during the song."[1] Writer/guitarist Jeff Lyne explained:
| “ | To get the sound on the beginning, you know, the American telephone sound, we phoned from England to America to a number that we know nobody would be at, to just listen to it for a while. On the Moog we recreated the sound exactly by tuning the oscillators to the same notes as the ringing of the phone. | ” |
The song charted in the Top Ten in both the United Kingdom and the United States, peaking at #8 in the UK and #7 in the US. In 1977, the song would reach #1 in New Zealand and Canada. The US version of the single was released in green vinyl--as was the norm, many ELO singles were issued in different colors--but it was the only single that was green. It became the band's first single to achieve Gold sales figures.
"Telephone Line" is the theme song of the 1977 film Joyride starring Desi Arnaz, Jr., Robert Carradine, Melanie Griffith, and Anne Lockhart, directed by Joseph Ruben. The song is featured in the movie Billy Madison when Billy phones a former high school classmate, played by Steve Buscemi, to apologize for picking on him.
It was also used on HBO's Big Love in the season 2 episode "Vision Thing".
The song has been covered by Irish band Aslan and also by the French well-known singer Claude François (Sacrée chanson).
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart (1977) | Peak Position |
Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 10 | |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 1 | |
| French SNEP Singles Chart | 10 | |
| German Media Control Singles Chart | 32 | |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 1 | |
| UK Singles Chart[2] | 8 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 7 | RIAA: Gold |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100 Singles | 4 | |
| U.S. Record World Singles | 7 |
[edit] References
- ^ A New World Record, Electrica Light Orchestra, 1976 & 2006. CD liner notes.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Electric Light Orchestra". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=2340. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
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