Mr. Blue Sky

"Mr. Blue Sky" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), featured on the band's seventh studio album Out of the Blue (1977). Written and produced by frontman Jeff Lynne, the song forms the fourth and final track of the "Concerto for a Rainy Day" suite, on side three of the original double album. "Mr. Blue Sky" was the second single to be taken from Out of the Blue, peaking at number 6 in the UK Singles Chart[2] and number 35 in the US Billboard Charts.[3]

This article is about the ELO song. For the compilation of re-recorded ELO songs, see Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra. For the BBC Radio 4 sitcom, see Mr Blue Sky (sitcom).

"Mr. Blue Sky"
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album Out of the Blue
B-side	"One Summer Dream"
Released	28 January 1978 (UK) June 1978 (US)
Recorded	1977
Studio	Musicland Studios, Munich
Genre	Progressive pop[1]
Length	5:06 (album version) 3:45 (Japanese 7")
Label	Jet
Songwriter(s)	Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)	Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"Turn to Stone" (1977) "Mr. Blue Sky" (1978) "Sweet Talkin' Woman" (1978)
Audio sample
"Mr. Blue Sky" file help
45 RPM blue vinyl issue
Limited edition release

Due to its popularity and frequent use in multiple television shows and movies, it has sometimes been described as the band's signature song.[4]

Inspiration

In a BBC Radio interview, Lynne talked about writing "Mr. Blue Sky" after locking himself away in a Swiss chalet and attempting to write ELO's follow-up to A New World Record:

It was dark and misty for 2 weeks, and I didn't come up with a thing. Suddenly the sun shone and it was, 'Wow, look at those beautiful Alps.' I wrote Mr. Blue Sky and 13 other songs in the next 2 weeks.[5]

The song's arrangement has been called "Beatlesque",[6] bearing similarities to Beatles songs "Martha My Dear" and "A Day in the Life"[7][8] while harmonically it shares its unusual first four chords and harmonic rhythm with "Yesterday".[9]

Arrangement

The arrangement makes prominent use of a cowbell-like sound,[10] which is credited on the album, to percussionist Bev Bevan, as that of a "fire extinguisher". When the song is performed live, a drumstick is used to strike the side of a fire extinguisher, which produces the now iconic sound.

Describing the song for the BBC, Dominic King said:

Lots of Gibb Brothers' vocal inflexions and Beatles' arrangement quotes (Penny Lane bell, Pepper panting, Abbey Road arpeggio guitars). But this fabulous madness creates its own wonder – the bendy guitar solo, funky cello stop-chorus, and the most freakatastic vocoder since Sparky's Magic Piano. Plus the musical ambush on "way" at 2.51 still thrills. And that's before the Swingle Singers/RKO Tarzan movie/Rachmaninoff symphonic finale gets underway. Kitsch, yet truly exhilarating.[11]

The song features a heavily vocoded voice singing the phrase "Mr. Blue Sky". A second vocoded segment at the end of the song was often interpreted as "Mr. Blue Sky"; it is actually "Please turn me over" as it is the end of side three, and the listener is being instructed to flip the LP over.[12] This was confirmed by Jeff Lynne on 3 October 2012 on The One Show.[13]

Critical reception

AllMusic's Donald A. Guarisco considered "Mr. Blue Sky" a "miniature pop symphony" and a "multi-layered pop treat that was a pure Beatles pastiche", saying that "the music divides its time between verses that repeat the same two notes to hypnotic effect a la 'I Am the Walrus' and an effervescent, constantly-ascending chorus that recalls". Guarisco also pointed other references to the Beatles such as "the staccato bassline recalls the chorus of 'Hello Goodbye' and pounding piano lines and panting background vocals recall the midsection of 'A Day in the Life'".[14] Billboard Magazine described the beat as "catchy" and said that the song builds from a "thumping intro" to a "harmonic operatic" ending.[15]

In popular culture

The song has been used in the films Megamind, Role Models, The Magic Roundabout, Wild Mussels, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, The Game Plan, Martian Child, The Invention of Lying, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.[16]

The song was also used in the television shows Doctor Who and The Magic Roundabout. It was also featured during the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the closing ceremony of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in a promotion for the 2022 Games, which will be held in Birmingham (as ELO is from Birmingham).

Personnel

• Jeff Lynne – lead and backing vocals, lead and rhythm guitars
• Bev Bevan – drums, percussion, backing vocals, fire extinguisher
• Richard Tandy – piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Mellotron, vocoder
• Kelly Groucutt – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Mik Kaminski – violin
• Hugh McDowell – cello
• Melvyn Gale – cello

Additional personnel

• Jeff Lynne, Richard Tandy and Louis Clark – Orchestral and choral arrangements
• Orchestra conducted by Louis Clark

Chart history

Weekly charts Chart (1978) Peak position Australia Kent Music Report[17] 87 Canada RPM Top Singles[18] 27 Dutch GfK chart[19] 8 German Media Control Singles Chart[20] 27 Ireland (IRMA)[21] 28 UK Singles Chart[2] 6 US Billboard Hot 100[3] 35 US Cash Box Top 100 27 US Record World Singles[22] 33 Chart (2017) Peak position US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[23] 12

Year-end charts Chart (1978) Position UK [24] 43 US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[25] 206 Chart (2017) Position US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[26] 71

Jeff Lynne version

"Mr. Blue Sky"
Song by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra
Released	8 October 2012 (UK) 9 October 2012 (US)
Recorded	2001–2012 Bungalow Palace
Length	3:44
Label	Frontiers
Songwriter(s)	Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)	Jeff Lynne
Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra track listing
12 tracks "Mr. Blue Sky" "Evil Woman" "Strange Magic" "Don't Bring Me Down" "Turn to Stone" "Showdown" "Telephone Line" "Livin' Thing" "Do Ya" "Can't Get It Out of My Head" "10538 Overture" "Point of No Return"

Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song and other ELO tracks in his own home studio in 2012. The resulting album, Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra, was released under the ELO name.[27]

Music video

A music video was released in late 2012 via the official ELO website[28] and YouTube,[29] a colourful animation directed by Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger with animation sequences designed and animated by University of Southern California students.[30]

Other recordings

• Mr. Blue Sky - Nerf Herder (1998)
• Mr. Blue Sky - Lily Allen (2006)
• Mr. Blue Sky - Connie Talbot (2014)[31]
• Mr. Blue Sky - Weezer (2019)

References

1. Reed, Ryan (20 November 2019). "A Guide to Progressive Pop". Tidal.
2. "Electric Light Orchestra". Offfical Charts Company. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
3. "Electric Light Orchestra - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
4. https://www.smoothradio.com/features/the-story-of/mr-blue-sky-elo-lyrics-meaning-guardians-video/
5. "BBC - Radio 2 - Sold On Song - TOP 100 - Number 18 - Mr Blue Sky". www.bbc.co.uk.
6. "Mr. Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) |". Toponehitwonders.com. 22 April 2009.
7. "Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra Songfacts". Songfacts.com. 19 October 2007.
8. "THE BEATLES The Beatles music review by MrCleveland". Progarchives.com.
9. "Mr. Blue Sky harmonic analysis v2" (PDF). 19 June 2011.
10. Bosso, Joe. "Interview: Jeff Lynne talks recording standards and rerecording classic ELO songs". MusicRadar. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
11. BBC. "BBC - Radio 2 - Sold On Song - TOP 100 - Number 18 - Mr Blue Sky". BBC. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
12. Wilgenburg, Rajno van (24 February 2017). "You Always Misheard The Lyrics Of 'Mr Blue Sky' By Electric Light Orchestra".
13. "Jeff Lynne on The One Show". YouTube. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
14. Donald, A. Guarisco. "Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
15. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. 17 June 1978. p. 96. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
16. Shepard, Jack (19 April 2017). "Tracklist for Guardians of the Galaxy's Awesome Mixtape Vol. 2 revealed". The Independent. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
17. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 978-0-646-11917-5.
18. "RPM Top Singles". 2 September 1978.
19. Hung, Steffen. "Discografie Electric Light Orchestra". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
20. "charts.de - Electric Light Orchestra". charts.de. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
21. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Mr Blue Sky". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
22. Hawtin, Steve. "Song artist 171 - Electric Light Orchestra". Tsort.info. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
23. "Electric Light Orchestra Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
24. Scaping, Peter, ed. (1979). "Top 200 Singles in 1978". BPI Year Book 1979 (4th ed.). London, England: The British Phonographic Industry Ltd. pp. 186–89. ISBN 978-0-906154-02-1.
25. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-142-0.
26. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
27. "Releases : ELO - Mr. Blue Sky - The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra". Elo.biz. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
28. "Official Music Videos : ELO". Elo.biz. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
29. "Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
30. "School of Cinematic Arts News - USC School of Cinematic Arts". cinema.usc.edu. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
31. "Connie Talbot - Mr. Blue Sky". 17 November 2014 – via YouTube.

External links

• In-depth Song Analysis at the Jeff Lynne Song Database (Jefflynnesongs.com)
• "Electric Light Orchestra: Mr. Blue Sky" at Discogs (list of releases)
• "Mr. Blue Sky" song review at Allmusic
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics