+ scroll down for Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft by Klaatu
Single:
Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft entered the Australian singles chart* on 19 December 1977 and peaked at #13. It was #86 on the Top 100 of 1978.
Album:
The song is on Passage which entered the Australian albums chart* on 14 November 1977 and peaked at #48.
Songwriters:
Terry Draper, John Woloschuk
Producer:
Richard Carpenter
Record label of Australian release:
A&M
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
BONUS CLIPS BELOW – Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft by Klaatu
Wikipedia:
Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft was originally released in 1976 by Canadian rock band Klaatu on their first album 3:47 EST (audio & video below). The song was played to open night-time transmission of the pirate radio station Radio Caroline.
American soft rock duo The Carpenters covered the song in 1977, using a crew of 160 musicians.
While Klaatu’s original opens with various sounds of living species, the Carpenters’ version opens with a radio DJ on a request show. The DJ identifies a phone caller as “Mike Ledgerwood”. When the DJ asks Mike for his song request, an alien-sounding voice responds. The DJ is voiced by longstanding Carpenters’ guitarist Tony Peluso.
The Carpenters’ version has the tagline “The Recognised Anthem of World Contact Day”. The success of their version led to the duo receiving many letters from people asking when World Contact Day would be held. The Carpenters recorded it with the help of the LA Philharmonic Orchestra and a 60 voice choir.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calling_Occupants_of_Interplanetary_Craft
Songfacts:
This song was inspired by an actual event as described in The Flying Saucer Reader by Jay David (1967). It seems that a group known as the International Flying Saucer Bureau sent a communiqué to all its members asking them to participate in an experiment termed “World Contact Day.” Basically, they said that at a pre-determined date and time, all the members should try to simultaneously send a telepathic message into outer space, in hopes of contacting extra terrestrials. The actual message they “sent” started with the words “calling occupants of interplanetary craft…”
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/klaatu/calling-occupants-of-interplanetary-craft
Lyrics:
In your mind you have capacities you know
To telepath messages through the vast unknown
Please close your eyes and concentrate
With every thought you think
Upon the recitation we’re about to sing
Calling occupants of interplanetary craft
Calling occupants of interplanetary, most extraordinary craft
Click for full lyrics
This song is also on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 70s
Find more songs to enjoy: Bang a Gong song finder
BONUS AUDIO AND VIDEO
Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft by Klaatu
Album:
The song is on 3:47 EST which entered the Australian albums chart* on 28 March 1977 and peaked at #18.
New to Bang a Gong? Click HERE to learn more about us.