Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft

"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognized Anthem of World Contact Day)" is a song by Klaatu, originally released in 1976 on their first album 3:47 EST. The song would open night transmission of pirate radio stationRadio Caroline. The year following its release, The Carpenters covered the song, using a crew of 160 musicians. Both versions of the single had the entire name of the song on the label (the picture sleeve of the Carpenters' single had the subtitle in small print); reissued singles of the Klaatu version had the title shortened to "Calling Occupants".



Contents
[hide]  *1 Origin  ==Origin[ edit] == John Woloschuk, a member of Klaatu and one of the song's composers, has said:
 * 2 Chart
 * 3 Personnel
 * 4 The Carpenters version
 * 4.1 Chart
 * 4.2 Music videos
 * 4.3 Personnel
 * 5 Other cover versions
 * 6 References


 * 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]

==Chart[ edit] == ==Personnel[ edit] == [2] ==The Carpenters version<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Carpenters' version from their Passage album charted worldwide and appeared on several of their hits compilations. The success of their version led to the duo receiving many letters from people asking when World Contact Day would be held. Ironically, the release of the song predated that of a Steven Spielberg film with a similar theme, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, issued to theatres the following November. A portion of the song can be heard in the 2013 film The Wolverine.
 * John Woloschuk - lead vocals, backing vocals, piano, organ, synthesizer, bass guitar
 * Dee Long - backing vocals, mellotron, synthesizer, electric guitar
 * Terry Draper - lead vocals, backing vocals, drums, tympani, percussion
 * Terry Brown - backing vocals

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The song ultimately led to a successful Carpenters television special, The Carpenters...Space Encounters.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">While Klaatu's original opens with various sounds of living species, the Carpenters' version opens with a radio DJ (the lateTony Peluso) 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 this track.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-richardcarpenter_3-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[3]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The cover art was painted by Star Trek designer Andrew Probert.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In April 2011, the song was featured in the BBC series Wonders of the Solar System hosted by Dr. Brian Cox. ===Chart<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===Music videos<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Carpenters had two music videos for "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft":

===Personnel<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ==Other cover versions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The song was also covered by the children of the The Langley Schools Music Project. Another version can be found on the Carpenters tribute album If I Were a Carpenter performed by the band Babes in Toyland.
 * Starparade – German TV, 1977; available on their DVD Gold: Greatest Hits
 * Space Encounters – Carpenters' TV special, 1978; available on their DVD Interpretations
 * Karen Carpenter - lead and backing vocals
 * Richard Carpenter - lead and backing vocals, keyboards
 * Joe Osborn - bass guitar
 * Tony Peluso - guitar, DJ
 * Ron Tutt - drums
 * Earle Dumler - oboe
 * Gregg Smith Singers - backing vocals
 * Peter Knight - orchestral arrangement

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Flowers of Hell released a version on their 2012 album Odes, on which they cover their influences.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[4]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The group Lard recreates the chorus with a somewhat similar vocal, but completely different lyrics, in the song "Pineapple Face" from the album The Last Temptation of Reid. "Pineapple Face" is a reference to Manuel Noriega and the song presents the lyrics as the thoughts and words of Noriega while taking refuge in the Vatican embassy after the U.S. military surrounded it during Operation Nifty Package.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">A happy hardcore version was released in 1999 by The Space Cadet under the title "1st Contact".