“Do Ya” by Electric Light Orchestra

"Do Ya" was already an old Jeff Lynne song when Electric Light Orchestra put it on A New World Record in 1976: he'd written it years earlier for the Move, where it slipped out as a B-side and became that band's lone, minor US hit. Now leading ELO, Lynne took it back, and the remake turned into a hit of its own in 1977.

He produced it, sang it and played guitar, and this time the riff comes armored: Richard Tandy piling on guitar, piano, clavinet and Moog, Bev Bevan pounding the drums, Kelly Groucutt on bass and backing vocals, and Mik Kaminski's violin and the cellos of Melvyn Gale and Hugh McDowell sawing underneath. It's a garage-rock stomp dressed for the concert hall, and it still hits like a truck.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.