Album · Electric Light Orchestra
Out of the Blue by Electric Light Orchestra
Out of the Blue is an album by Electric Light Orchestra, released in 1977. 3 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 49 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Mr. Blue Sky”, on 32 lists with a best position of #10.
Out of the Blue, Electric Light Orchestra's seventh album, came out in October 1977, and Jeff Lynne went for broke: a double album, every song written and produced by him, cut at Musicland Studios and spread across four sides of big hooks and swooning strings. It became the biggest seller they ever had, around 10 million copies by 2007.
This is ELO's pop-meets-classical formula at full wattage. Bev Bevan's drums thump, Richard Tandy's keyboards sparkle, Kelly Groucutt's bass and harmonies fill out the sound, and Mik Kaminski's violin and Hugh McDowell's cello saw away in the middle of the rock band. "Turn to Stone" and "Sweet Talkin' Woman" hurtle along, and "Mr. Blue Sky" is sheer sunshine, the song that keeps the record on the air all these years later.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Out of the Blue on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mr. Blue Sky | 32 | #10 | – | 2009–2026 | |
| 2 | Turn to Stone | 12 | #230 | – | 2012–2026 | |
| 3 | Sweet Talkin' Woman | 5 | #202 | – | 2014–2022 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.