| Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Klaatu |
| A-Side: | Sub-Rosa Subway |
| Released: | 1976 |
| Recorded: | March 13 – August 1975[1] |
| Studio: | Toronto Sound Studios |
| Length: | 3:23 (single edit) 7:14 (album version) |
| Label: | Daffodil (Canada) Capitol (rest of the world) |
| Producer: | Terry Brown |
| Prev Title: | True Life Hero |
| Prev Year: | 1975 |
| Next Title: | We're Off You Know |
| Next Year: | 1977 |
"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" is a song by Canadian rock band Klaatu, originally released in 1976 on their first album . The song was played to open night-time transmission of the pirate radio station Radio Caroline. The year following its release, American soft rock duo the Carpenters covered the song, using a crew of 160 musicians.[2] The Carpenters' version reached the top 10 in the UK and Canada, and charted at number 1 in Ireland.
Klaatu members John Woloschuk and Terry Draper wrote the song together, with Woloschuk assigned 75% of composer royalties because the music was mostly his work. The lyrics were written equally by both.[3] Woloschuk said:
| Chart (1977) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[4] | 62 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100 | 91 | |
| US Record World Singles Chart | 100 |
| Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft | |
| Cover: | Carpenters_Calling_Occupants.jpg |
| Caption: | US single picture sleeve (painted by designer Andrew Probert) |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Carpenters |
| Album: | Passage |
| B-Side: | Can't Smile Without You |
| Released: | September 20, 1977 (US) |
| Recorded: | 1977 |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 7:06 (album version) 3:59 (single edit) |
| Label: | A&M |
| Producer: | Richard Carpenter |
| Prev Title: | All You Get from Love Is a Love Song |
| Prev Year: | 1977 |
| Next Title: | The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) |
| Next Year: | 1977 |
The Carpenters' version from their Passage album charted worldwide and appeared on several of their hits compilations. The song title appears on the Carpenters' version above the tagline "(The Recognized 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 song ultimately led to a successful Carpenters television special, The Carpenters...Space Encounters.
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, who can be seen in that role at the start of the video for the track.[7]
The vocal melody ranges from B♭3 to G♭5.[8]
The Carpenters' arrangement of the song was later copied on a sound-alike cover released on the 1977 album Top of the Pops, Volume 62.
The cover art was painted by designer Andrew Probert.
Reaching number nine in the UK Singles Chart in 1977, in a UK television special on ITV in 2016 it was voted fifth in The Nation's Favourite Carpenters Song.[9]
| Chart (1977-1978) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 13 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 32 | |
| US Cash Box Top 100 | 23 | |
| US Cashbox Radio Active Airplay Singles | 14 | |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 18 | |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles [10] | 18 | |
| Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[11] | 9 | |
| UK Singles Chart | 9 | |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 | |
| New Zealand (RIANZ)[12] | 19 |
| Chart (1978) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[13] | 78 | |
| Canada (RPM)[14] | 160 |
The Carpenters had two music videos for "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft":
NotesReferences
