Mr. Blue Sky - ELO (1978) 3/12/23

In 1977, Jeff Lynne, the mastermind behind the Electric Light Orchestra, was suffering from a severe case of writer's block.

In an effort to come up with ideas for ELO's follow-up to their "New World Record" album, Jeff had locked himself away in a Swiss Chalet...with absolutely no success.

But then...after two weeks...the sun came out.

Suddenly, his view of the surrounding Alps became spectacular, and the ideas began to flow. During the NEXT two weeks, Jeff wrote 14 songs...including today's "Great Song of

1978." "Mr. Blue Sky."

Those 14 songs were enough to fill a DOUBLE album, which became "Out of the Blue."

"Mr. Blue Sky" was the centerpiece: the fourth and final movement of Jeff's "Concerto for a Rainy Day Suite," a masterpiece of Neo-Classical music that was heavily influenced by The Beatles, The Kinks, The Bee Gees, and Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.

And yet, it was distinctly different from ALL of those influences, using state of the art technology like a vocoder to add synthetic voices...along with interesting instrumentation that included a drumstick tapping on a fire extinguisher!

Note: At the very end of the song, the vocorded voice says, "Please turn me over." On the album, the song ends side 3, and it was Jeff's clever idea to prompt people to turn the album over to side 4.

Music critics went nuts...praising the song with verbiage like: "A miniature Pop Symphony," "A multi-layered Pop treat," "Harmonically operatic," and "musically dramatic."

Although it was an instant hit on FM rock stations, Top 40 stations didn't quite know what to do with a 5-minute concerto in 1978. Although the song reached #8 in the UK, it stalled at #35 on Billboard's Hot 100."

However, "Mr. Blue Sky" became sort of a go-to song on TV, in Films, and at special events.

TV shows included "Dr. Who" and "The Muppet Show." Films included "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, "The Game Plan," and "Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume Two."

But what REALLY caught people's attention was its use during the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Then, in 2017, "Mr. Blue Sky" was back on the Billboard Charts, reaching #11 on the Digital Song Sales Chart and #12 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Chart.

For good measure, it came back yet again in 2019, peaking at #11 on Billboard's Streaming Rock Chart.

"Mr. Blue Sky" by ELO: Thanks to Jeff Lynne and the Swiss Alps, it's a "Great Song of 1978, and again in the 20-teens! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuJIqmha2Hk