“Livin' Thing” by Electric Light Orchestra

"Livin' Thing" comes from Electric Light Orchestra's 1976 album A New World Record, and it's Jeff Lynne's show from top to bottom: he wrote it, produced it, sang lead and played guitar. Its lift comes from an augmented chord, which Lynne traced back to old Victorian-sounding songs, noting that George Harrison was partial to them too, and he liked that nobody could work out how to play it.

The orchestra part of the name earns its keep, with Mik Kaminski on violin and Melvyn Gale and Hugh McDowell on cello, while Richard Tandy handles piano, clavinet and Moog, Kelly Groucutt plays bass and Bev Bevan drums. Patti Quatro's uncredited vocals ride the high parts, and the single carried "Fire On High", later the band's best-loved instrumental, on its flip side.

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