Favorite Electric Light Orchestra Songs

A list of my favorite songs by English rock group Electric Light Orchestra.


Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan.

The band was formed to accommodate Lynne's and Wood's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones, deriving as an offshoot of Wood's previous band the Move, of which Lynne and Bevan were also members. Their music is characterised by a fusion of Beatlesque pop, classical arrangements and futuristic iconography.

After Wood's departure in 1972, Lynne became the band's leader, arranging and producing every album while writing virtually all of their original material.

ELO were most active during the 1970s and 1980s, recording a string of studio albums that include the conceptual works Eldorado (1974) and Time (1981).

Their hit singles include: "Livin' Thing", "Telephone Line", "Rockaria!", "Turn to Stone", "Sweet Talkin' Woman", "Mr. Blue Sky", "Wild West Hero", "Shine a Little Love", "Last Train to London", "Confusion", "The Diary of Horace Wimp", "Midnight Blue", "Hold On Tight", "Evil Woman", "Here Is the News" and "Ticket to the Moon".

In 1980 Jeff Lynne was asked to write for the soundtrack of the musical film 'Xanadu'. The movie performed poorly at the box office but the soundtrack did exceptionally well, eventually going double platinum. The album spawned hit singles "Xanadu" (with Olivia Newton John), "I'm Alive", which went gold, "All Over the World" and "Don't Walk Away".

ELO effectively disbanded in 1986. Bev Bevan (under an agreement with Lynne who co-owned the ELO name with him) continued on in 1989 as ELO Part II. Lynne reformed the band in 2001, and was later joined by Richard Tandy. The group records and tours under the name Jeff Lynne's ELO.

On December 20th 2016, it was announced ELO had been elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2017. The members of ELO listed were Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood, Bev Bevan and Richard Tandy.

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