Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
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| "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (Recognized Anthem of World Contact Day)" | ||
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| Single by Carpenters | ||
| from the album Passage | ||
| A-side(s) | "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" | |
| B-side(s) | "Can't Smile Without You" | |
| Released | 1977 | |
| Format | 45 rpm record | |
| Recorded | 1977 | |
| Genre | Pop | |
| Length | 07:09 | |
| Label | A&M Records | |
| Writer(s) | Klaatu | |
| Producer(s) | Jerry Weintraub | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Carpenters singles chronology | ||
| "All You Get From Love Is A Love Song" (1977) | "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" (1977) | "Sweet, Sweet Smile" (1977) |
"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" is a song by Klaatu, originally released in 1976. It was covered by the Carpenters with a crew of 160 musicians.
John Woloschuk, a member of Klaatu and one of the song's composers, has said:
- The idea for this track was suggested by an actual event that is described in The Flying Saucer Reader, a book by Jay David published in 1967. In March 1953 an organization known as the "International Flying Saucer Bureau" sent a bulletin to all its members urging them to participate in an experiment termed "World Contact Day" whereby, at a predetermined date and time, they would attempt to collectively send out a telepathic message to visitors from outer space. The message began with the words..."Calling occupants of interplanetary craft!"[1]
The original World Contact Day was March 15, 1953.
The song was subtitled "The Recognised Anthem of World Contact Day", presumably in the hope that it would be adopted as the anthem for the event should another World Contact Day be held in the future.
While this is probably the most recognized recording by Klaatu, the band went on to release five studio albums of progressive pop music. The Carpenters version is probably even better known, as it was indeed the bigger hit, charting worldwide and appearing on several of their (mostly hits collections) albums. The success of their version led to the duo receiving many letters from people asking when World Contact Day would be held.
While Klaatu's original opens with various sounds of living species, the Carpenters version opens with an Alien talking to a radio DJ on a request show. The radio DJ is identified on the recording as being someone called Mike Ledgerwood.
It was also sung by the children of the The Langley Schools Music Project. Another cover version can be found on the Carpenters tribute album If I Were A Carpenter performed by the all-woman band Babes in Toyland.
[edit] Trivia
The voice of the fictional radio DJ heard at the beginning of the Carpenters recording was recorded by a senior executive working at the UK offices of the Carpenters' record company A&M Records. The executive was named Mike Ledgerwood - a person who worked closely with the group on its UK marketing. He used his real name as the name of the fictional DJ. Prior to working for A&M Records, Ledgerwood had been Deputy Editor of the British weekly pop paper Disc & Music Echo.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.klaatu.org/trackfacts/track_facts_12.html (quote used by permission)
