Rock and Roll With a Symphonic Beat

British rock group Electric Light Orchestra or ELO comes from Birmingham, England. Actually, if you just hear their name, they sound like a symphonic orchestra. During their popularity in the years between 1971 and 1986, they came out with 11 studio albums and added on one more in 2001. This band came together as the creation of Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne, whose dream was to add classical overtones to rock and pop songs. Wood departed the band after they came out with their debut album, but Lynne stayed and wrote and arranged all of their original compositions and also produced all of their albums.

There have been eleven additional ELO members over the years, and they include Richard Tandy, Bill Hunt, Steve Woolam, Andy Craig, Hugh McDowell, Mike Edwards, Wilfred Gibson, Mike de Albuquerque, Kelly Groucutt, Mik Kaminski, Colin Walker, and Melvyn Gale.

When ELO reached the U.S., they became even more popular than they ever were in the U.K. By the time the mid-70s rolled around, they had become one of the biggest-selling acts in music. The band holds the record for having the most Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 hits. They have received many different awards and have sold more than 50 million records all over the globe.

The idea for the band began in the late 60s by Roy Wood, who thought it would be great to create a band that used instruments that would usually be used by symphonic orchestras so that their music would have a classic sound. Wood and Bev Bevan were the founding members and were later joined by Bill Hunt (keyboard, horns) and Steve Woolam (violin). Their first song was "10538 Overture", and the debut self-titled album came out in 1971 and was released in the U.S. in 1972 titled "No Answer". "10538 Overture" became a top-10 hit in the U.K. Lynne.

In 1971 ELO came out with their debut album, The Electric Light Orchestra featuring their first single, "10538 Overture". In April 1971, they had their first debut concert, which brought more awareness to the band and grew in popularity.

After four band members chose to leave, ELO came out with their second album ELO 2. The album included their cover of "Roll Over Beethoven". Their cover version made it on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. Their first U.S. chart single was an elaborate version of Chuck Berry's classic "Roll over Beethoven". ELO made their first appearance on the popular T.V. show "American Bandstand".

On the Third Day, their third album came out in 1973 and included the popular single "Showdown".

By 1974 ELO had dominated the U.S. and had their first U.S. Top 10 hit "Can't Get It Out of My Head" from their fourth album Eldorado, A Symphony, which became their first gold album. They became the most featured band in history on The Midnight Special T.V. show.

Their sixth album went platinum A New World Record, and included the hit singles "Livin' Thing", "Telephone Line", "Rockarial" and "Do Ya". Other hits followed like "Evil Woman" and "Strange Magic". More albums and more singles followed, including "Turn to Stone", "Sweet Talkin' Woman", "Mr Blue Sky" and "Wild West Hero".

Between 1974 and 1977, ELO came out with two more albums Strange Magic and a double L.P. Out of the Blue, which included the singles "Wild West Hero," "Mr Blue Sky," and "Sweet Talkin' Woman."

In 1977 ELO performed "The Big Night", a 92-date world tour taking nine months to complete with concerts the largest they had ever performed with 62,000 fans watching for just one night at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.

In 1979 they released the multi-platinum album Discovery, which included ELO's biggest hits "Don't Bring Me Down". The album also had the hits "Shine a Little Love", "Last Train to London", "Confusion", and "The Diary of Horace Wimp". The album reached number one on the U.K. album chart.

In 1980 front-man Jeff Lynne wrote half of the soundtrack for the musical movie "Xanadu" starring Olivia Newton-John. The soundtrack went to Double Platinum, featuring hits like "Magic," "I'm Alive," and "All Over the World." The title track was performed by ELO and Olivia Newton-John and topped the U.K. charts. The success of the soundtrack created a musical that was based on the movie opening under the same name and premiered on Broadway in 2007 and in London, England in 2015.

In 1983 ELO came out with their tenth studio album Secret Messages with the single "Rock 'n' Roll Is King", a song that was written and performed by the band. They returned to their rock and roll roots with this song which featured a violin solo by Miki Kaminski.

They continued to record and roll out the hits until 1989, when ELO officially disbanded. The remaining members of ELO continue to record and tour, calling themselves The Orchestra.