Livin' Thing

Not to be confused with Living Thing.
"Livin' Thing"
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album A New World Record
B-side
Released
  • 4 October 1976 (US)
  • 13 November 1976 (UK)
Format 7" single
Recorded Musicland Studios, Munich; 1976
Genre Symphonic rock
Length 3:32
Label

United Artists (US)

Writer(s) Jeff Lynne
Producer(s) Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"Nightrider"
(1976)		 "Livin' Thing"
(1976)		 "Rockaria!"
(1977)
A New World Record track listing
Music sample
"Livin' Thing"
Music video
"Livin' Thing" on YouTube

"Livin' Thing" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It appears on ELO's 1976 album, A New World Record. Patti Quatro, Brie Brandt, both of Fanny, and Addie Lee sang uncredited vocals, particularly the "higher and higher" parts.[1]

In August 2006, "Livin' Thing" was named by the UK's Q as the number 1 "Guilty Pleasure" single of all time – a list designed to celebrate "uncool" but excellent records, and which received considerable publicity.[2] The original single had the bonus of having "Fire On High" on the flip side, a tune that became the band's most popular instrumental piece. The UK version was released in a blue vinyl format.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1976–77) Peak
Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] 2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 8
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[6] 8
Canada (CHUM)[7] 4
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[8] 41
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[9] 8
Germany (Official German Charts)[10] 5
Ireland (IRMA)[11] 6
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 6
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 4
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[15] 1
Spain (AFE)[16] 11
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 17
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[18] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[19] 13
US Cash Box[20] 10
US Record World[21] 10

Year-end charts

Chart (1976) Rank
Canada (RPM Top 200 Singles)[22] 106
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[23] 85
Chart (1977) Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)[24] 27
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[25] 25
Canada (RPM Top 200 Singles)[26] 106
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[27] 16
US Billboard Hot 100[28] 77
Preceded by
"If You Leave Me Now" by Chicago		 South African number-one single
18 March 1977 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Smile" by Pussycat

Jeff Lynne version

"Livin' Thing"
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 3:42
Label Frontiers
Writer(s) Jeff Lynne
Producer(s) Jeff Lynne
Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra track listing

Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song in his own home studio. It was released in a compilation album with other re-recorded ELO songs, under the ELO name.[29]

Covers

In 2004, The Beautiful South covered the track for their covers album Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs. It reached number 24 on the UK charts and number 26 on the Irish charts.[30][31]

Livin' Thing – CD1 (Sony Music UK; 6753711)
  1. Livin' Thing [3:17]
  2. I'm Living Good [4:00]
Livin' Thing – CD2 (Sony Music UK; 6753712)
  1. Livin' Thing [3:17]
  2. Lovin' You [2:53]
  3. Another Night with the Boys [3:32]
Chart (2004) Peak
Position
Ireland (IRMA)[30] 26
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[31] 24

Uses in films

The song has appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 film, Boogie Nights, the 2005 film Tjenare kungen, the 2007 film, Chaos Theory and the 2011 film Hunky Dory.

References

  1. ↑ Quatro, Suzi (2008). Unzipped. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-93751-8.
  2. ↑ "ELO top 'guilty secret' song list". BBC News Online. 2 August 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970—1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Radio 2 Top 30 : 1 januari 1977" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  7. ↑ CHART NUMBER 1042 – Wednesday, December 29, 1976 at the Wayback Machine (archived 12 February 2006). CHUM.
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 4446." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5169a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  10. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Living Thing". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  12. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Electric Light Orchestra - Thing search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  13. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  14. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  15. ↑ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (E)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  16. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  17. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Electric Light Orchestra – Livin' Thing". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  18. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1976-12-18" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  19. ↑ "Electric Light Orchestra – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  20. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending DECEMBER 25, 1976 at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 March 2013). CHUM.
  21. ↑ "Song artist 137 – Electric Light Orchestra". TsorT. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  22. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  23. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1976" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  24. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1970s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  25. ↑ "Jahreshitparade 1977" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  26. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 28, No. 14, December 31, 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  27. ↑ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1977". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  28. ↑ "Top 100 Hits for 1977". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  29. ↑ "Mr. Blue Sky – The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra". Elo.biz. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  30. 1 2 "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Livin' Thing". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  31. 1 2 "Archive Chart: 2004-10-17" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
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