Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
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| “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft” | |||||
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| Single by The Carpenters from the album Passage |
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| A-side | "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" | ||||
| B-side | "Can't Smile Without You" | ||||
| Released | September 9, 1977 | ||||
| Format | 7" single | ||||
| Recorded | 1977 | ||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||
| Length | 04:10 Single Version 07:09 Album Cut |
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| Label | A&M Records 1978 |
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| Writer(s) | Klaatu | ||||
| Producer | Richard Carpenter | ||||
| The Carpenters singles chronology | |||||
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| Passage track listing | |||||
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"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" is a song by Klaatu, originally released in 1976. The following year, The Carpenters covered the song, using 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 a radio DJ on a request show. The DJ identifies his caller as Mike Ledgerwood. As the DJ asks the caller what song he wants to hear, an alien voice converses with the DJ. The DJ is voiced by longstanding Carpenters' guitarist Tony Peluso, who can be seen in that role at the start of the video for this track.[2]
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.
| Chart | Peak position |
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| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 32 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 18 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 9 |
| Oricon (Japanese) Singles Chart | - |
| UK Singles Chart | 9 |
[edit] Music videos
The Carpenters had two music videos for "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft."
- "Starparade" - German TV, 1977. Available on their DVD "Gold: Greatest Hits"
- "Space Encounters" - Carpenters' TV Special, 1978. Available on their DVD "Interpretations"
[edit] References
- ^ Woloschuk, John. Klaatu Track Facts (quote used by permission). The Official Klaatu Homepage. Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
- ^ Carpenters official web site: (html). Passage album notes. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
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