They incorporated the sounds of string ensembles, vocoders and dub echos into rock songs, thereby creating a very sophisticated studio version of rock. The musical content of ELO songs often went far beyond usual chord structures, mixing pop songwriting with classical romanticism and synthesized sounds. The band claim that their music "picks up where The Beatles' 1967 song I Am the Walrus left off."
Formed in 1970 by Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan (the remaining members of the 1960s rock group The Move). The band used cellos, violin, horns and woodwinds to give their music a classical sound. This was an idea Roy Wood initially had while with The Move, to take rock music in a new direction. In 1970 when Carl Wayne left the The Move, Jeff Lynne, front man with fellow Brum band Idle Race, responded to Wood's second invitation to join the line-up, with the lure of starting the new band. To help finance the fledgling project, two more Move albums were released during the recording of their eponymous first album in 1971 which produced the UK hit 10538 Overture. In the US this album was released with the mistaken title of No Answer, due to a mix-up with an uncompleted telephone call to the American label and subsequent secretarial message.
However, tensions soon surfaced between Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne. With most of the media attention focused on Roy Wood, differences in musical direction, and a disastrous first live outing, it was no surprise when the band went through the first of its many line-up changes as Wood took Hugh McDowell and Bill Hunt with him to form Wizzard. Despite the music press's predictions that the band would fold without Wood, Jeff Lynne stepped up to lead the band, with Bevan remaining on drums, bassist Richard Tandy switching to moog synthesizer, Michael d'Albuquerque on bass, Mike Edwards, Colin Walker (cello) and Wilfred Gibson replacing Steve Woolam on violin. They released ELO 2 in 1973, from which came their first U.S. chart hit, a hugely elaborate version of the Chuck Berry classic Roll Over Beethoven. After their second album, violinist Gibson was dismissed and replaced by Mik Kaminski. They also released On The Third Day in 1973, with Mike Edwards playing all the cello parts due to Colin Walker leaving the band. Later that same year saw the return of Hugh McDowell, who had jumped ship the year previous, to replace cellist Colin Walker.
In 1974 Lynne hired a thirty-piece orchestra, choir and Louis Clark, then began work on the next LP Eldorado, A Symphony, a concept album about dreams, scoring their first U.S. Top Ten hit with Can't Get It Out Of My Head in 1975. Eldorado would become ELO's first gold album.
After the release of Eldorado, bassist and vocalist Kelly Groucutt and cellist Melvyn Gale joined, replacing de Albuquerque and Edwards respectively.
The band split in 1983. In 1985, Lynne, Tandy and Bevan reunited and recorded the album "Balance of Power". This reunion was short lived and the band split once more in 1986. Bev Bevan and Louis Clark, with the consent of Lynne, toured and recorded as ELO Part II from 1988 until Bevan's retirement in 1999. In 2000, Lynne and Tandy reformed Electric Light Orchestra and released a new record, "Zoom". "Zoom" proved to be a commercial failure, and the duo split once more in 2001.
In 2014, following support from BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans, Lynne and Tandy reunited as a part of BBC Radio 2's "Festival in a Day" to perform under the new billing, "Jeff Lynne's ELO", a name Lynne devised as a response to ELO tributes, imitation bands, and offshoots who used ELO to promote their own tours.
In February 2015, Jeff Lynne's ELO performed at the Grammy Awards with Ed Sheeran, and in September of that year they announced a new album would be released under Columbia Records. Jeff Lynne's ELO - Alone in the Universe was released on November 13, 2015, and was ELO’s first album of new material in almost 15 years.
The second album under Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Jeff Lynne's ELO - From Out of Nowhere, was released on November 1, 2019.
There is more than one artist with the name "ELO". The vast majority of scrobbles to "Electric Light Orchestra" are for the rock band from England.
ELO, is a South Korean singer, who debuted with the album, 8 Femmes, on August 26, 2016.
Tightrope
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They say some days you're gonna lose
I tell you I got news for you
Your losin' all the time you never win
If you believe that's how it's gonna be I'd better
Put you down
Get off your tightrope up there come down on
The ground you gotta save me now
When I looked around, I was heading down,
Won't somebody throw me down a line.
They say some days you gotta give
They say some day s you gotta take
If that's the way it's gotta be
Roll it over and you will see
The city streets are full of people going
Nowhere making time
The change from night to day is really only hours
It's just along the line can't you see the sign
When I looked around, I was heading down
Won't somebody throw me down a line
I want to look you straight in the eye
I want to tell you how I really feel
I can feel the wheels turnin' round
Won't somebody throw me down a line
The city streets are full of people going
Nowhere making time
The change from night to day is really only hours
It's just along the line, can't you see the sign
When I closed my eyes, I was so surprised
Somebody had thrown me down the line
Stopped me drownin'
The lyrics of Electric Light Orchestra's song Tightrope convey the importance of taking action and making a change in one's life. The song talks about the ups and downs of life and encourages the listener to make a change and take control of their direction. The lyrics suggest that the listener may be on a tightrope, which implies the precarious nature of their situation. The singer urges them to come down to the ground and take control of their circumstances because continuing down the same path will only lead to losing.
The song talks about how life is full of challenges, and some days you win and some days you lose. However, the lyrics suggest that if you believe that you are always losing, then you will never win. The listener is urged to make a change, and the singer suggests that the city streets are full of people who are going nowhere and making no progress. The lyrics also suggest that time is fleeting and that the change from night to day is just hours along the line. The song emphasizes the importance of living in the moment and doing something with one's life.
In conclusion, Electric Light Orchestra's song Tightrope provides a message of hope and empowerment. The song encourages the listener to take action and make a change in their lives. The lyrics suggest that life can be challenging, but with the right mindset, one can overcome any obstacle.
Line by Line Meaning
They say some days you're gonna win
Sometimes life brings victories
They say some days you're gonna lose
Sometimes life brings losses
I tell you I got news for you
I have news to tell you
Your losin' all the time you never win
If you have a negative outlook, then you will never win
If you believe that's how it's gonna be I'd better Put you down
If you maintain your negative outlook, then I will not tolerate it
Get off your tightrope up there come down on The ground you gotta save me now
Stop living in your own world and start helping me out
You better turn around.
You need to change your mindset
When I looked around, I was heading down, Won't somebody throw me down a line.
I was heading towards failure and needed someone to help me
They say some days you gotta give
Sometimes you have to give in life
They say some day s you gotta take
Sometimes you have to take in life
If that's the way it's gotta be Roll it over and you will see
If life demands that you either give or take, adjust accordingly
The city streets are full of people going Nowhere making time
People are moving but not really getting anywhere in life
The change from night to day is really only hours It's just along the line can't you see the sign
The difference between success and failure may only be a small decision
When I looked around, I was heading down Won't somebody throw me down a line
I was heading towards failure and needed someone to help me
I want to look you straight in the eye I want to tell you how I really feel
I want to be honest with you
I can feel the wheels turnin' round Won't somebody throw me down a line
I can sense changes happening and I need help navigating them
The city streets are full of people going Nowhere making time
People are moving but not really getting anywhere in life
The change from night to day is really only hours It's just along the line, can't you see the sign
The difference between success and failure may only be a small decision
When I closed my eyes, I was so surprised Somebody had thrown me down the line Stopped me drownin'
Someone unexpected helped me when I was struggling
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@franciscoj.rodriguez243
They say some days you're gonna win,
They say some days you're gonna lose.
I tell you I got news for you
Your losin' all the time you never win
If you believe that's how it's gonna be I'd better put you down
Get off your tightrope up there come down on
The ground you gotta save me now,
You better turn around.
When I looked around, I was heading down.
Won't somebody throw me down a line.
They say some days you gotta give--
They say some days you gotta take--
If that's the way it's gotta be,
Roll it over and you will see.
The city streets are full of people going nowhere making time.
The change from night to day is really only hours,
It's just along the line can't you see the sign
When I looked around, I was heading down,
Won't somebody throw me down a line.
I want to look you straight in the eye,
I want to tell you how I really feel,
I can feel the wheels turnin' round,
Won't somebody throw me down a line
The city streets are full of people going nowhere making time,
The change from night to day is really only hours
It's just along the line, can't you see the sign
When I closed my eyes, I was so surprised
Somebody had thrown me down the line--stopped me drownin'
@MustardSeedish
Released in 1976. One of the best intros to an album. ELO was ahead of their time. Simply genius.
@aidanhatton7163
What an intro indeed. I can't get enough of it!
@richardkaltenbach3961
WAY THE FUCK AHEAD OF THEIR TIME! THIS BAND IS PURE BADASS!
ELO SIMPLY ROCKS! END OF STORY!!!
@Cerph
Jeff's a genius
@david-bs2ov
MustardSeedish
7 months ago
Still Ahead.
@BunnyChik
I actually get tingly goose bumps at the beginning of this song, good tingles 😊
@chicks-on-the-loose
It strikes me again what a great singer Jeff Lynn is. It rarely gets pointed out by the critics, but his fantastic voice was a major factor in this sound.
@longislandcerealkiller6385
I kind of like that we know something they don't
@tullfan7872
@degree7 He's an octave or two below Barry Gibb. Probably cos Jeff doesn't wear really tight shiny pants. :)
@08shortstop
Oh, yeah, he even stood out when he joined the Traveling Wilburys.