Electric Light Orchestra – Music, It’s All About The Composition! – By Michelle S.
Electric Light Orchestra was formed in Birmingham England in 1970 when two musicians, Jeff Lynne and Roy wood had a vision to create rock/pop music with classical overtones.
After recording two more albums with their current band “The Move”, both musicians quit and were joined by fellow “Move” member Bev Bevan and started on their own journey to pick up where the Beatles left off.
This was the time that they were realizing Lynne’s dream of pairing classical instruments with rock ‘n’ roll riffs. This idea worked for a while, but after a certain point, the music was slowly being steered away to only include string instruments with huge pop riffs. It was a risk, but it worked to the band’s advantage.
Roy Wood left ELO around the time of their first album, leaving Lynne at the helm as the sole creative force, which to this day, he has taken ELO to creative and commercial heights.
Their fourth album Eldorado, A Symphony, a concept record about a daydreamer, yielded their first US top 10 single “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head” and became the band’s first gold album. The next two albums that followed gave us four top 20 hits which included “Evil Woman,” “Strange Magic,” “Livin’ Thing” and “Telephone Line” – that are all still played on classic rock stations today.
Their most ambitious album was the multi-platinum double LP Out of The Blue, that featured three more hit singles including the popular “Mr. Blue Sky.”
Add an “over the top tour” with a giant spaceship stage with colorful lasers and fog machines, what more could a music fan ask for? They were the concert to see!
Over all, ELO has sold over 50 million records worldwide and between 1972 and 1986, Jeff Lynne wrote and produced twenty-six Top 40 hits in the UK and twenty in the US.
Their legacy is still growing, and their success continues today, with Jeff Lynne’s ELO selling out huge shows around the world, and their timeless songs have become staples for music fans of all generations.
After all is said and done, ELO has paved their way into the rock history books and beyond.