Friday, January 29, 2016

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Klaatu

Artist:Klaatu
Song:Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft
Album:Klaatu/Hope





Klaatu was one of the more enigmatic bands of the 70s. The band was so intent on being anonymous that trade magazines like Billboard speculated that they could be The Beatles recording under a pseudonym. People believed this for a while and it helped Klaatu's record sales until fans discovered the truth. Klaatu were from Toronto. They named themselves after the alien from the classic sci-fi film The Day The Earth Stood Still. And much of their music including Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft had a sci-fi theme. Klaatu was formed in 1972 by Toronto studio musicians John Woloschuk and Dee Long. Drummer Terry Draper was added later. After releasing a couple of singles on GRT Records, they signed with Daffodil Records and released their debut album 3:47 EST in 1976. The album and the single Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft did well enough that Capitol Records picked it up for release in the US. The group insisted on remaining anonymous. There were no publicity photos of Klaatu and there were no names on the album cover. The songwriting was credited to Klaatu. When the album started getting radio airplay, the similarity to The Beatles was noticed and rumours started spreading. It took on a life of its own when Steve Smith of the Providence Journal wrote about it. Klaatu was recording their album Hope in England. They knew about The Beatles rumours because the British music paper New Musical Express published an article Deaf Idiot Journalist Starts Beatle Rumour. But they didn't realize how widely the rumour had spread. So they didn't take it seriously. Finally somebody checked the US Copyright office and found out Klaatu's real identity. Obviously Klaatu's record sales weren't as strong after that. Their first two albums are available as a twofer. Klaatu split up in 1981. Capitol in Canada tried to get them to tour but Long refused and left the band. Long and Woloschuk returned to studio work. Draper owns a successful roofing business but he started releasing albums in 1997 and he still does that today. Here's the video for Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft by Klaatu.

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