“Evil Woman” by Electric Light Orchestra

Jeff Lynne dashed off "Evil Woman" in a matter of minutes, and it handed Face the Music, ELO's fifth album, from 1975, the single it was missing. The record was all but finished when he decided nothing on it would work on the radio, so he packed the band off to play football and wrote one on the spot.

The rush doesn't show. It's slick and cool, Lynne's idea of an R&B tune dressed up in evening wear: Richard Tandy's piano struts through big solos, Mik Kaminski's violin and the cellos of Melvyn Gale and Hugh McDowell swirl through a string arrangement Louis Clark helped shape, and Kelly Groucutt and Bev Bevan keep the groove tight, with Ellie Greenwich among the backing singers. It became the band's first hit around the world, climbing into the top 10 in Britain and America alike early in 1976.

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