Do Ya (The Move song)

"Do Ya"
Single by The Move
A-side	"California Man"
B-side	"No Time" (UK)
Released	June 1972 (US) September 1974 (UK)
Recorded	19 December 1971 at Philips Studios, London
Genre	Glam rock[1]
Length	4:06 3:16 (1974 UK single)
Label	United Artists (US) Harvest (UK)
Songwriter(s)	Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)	Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne
The Move singles chronology
"California Man" (1972) "Do Ya" (1972)

"Do Ya" is a song written by Jeff Lynne, that was originally recorded by The Move, which became a hit for the Electric Light Orchestra (led by Lynne, ELO originally being a side project of The Move) in 1977.

Release[]

Written by Jeff Lynne in 1971, it was one of two songs featured on the B-side of the UK hit "California Man" credited to The Move (the other was Roy Wood's "Ella James"). In the US the B-side proved to be more popular than the A and so the song became The Move's only hit in the US albeit a minor one (number 93 on the Hot 100 chart).^[2] The song was originally titled "Look Out Baby, There's a Plane A Comin'"^[3] (which is sung by Wood at the end of the song). The song was later included on the 2005 remastered version of the Message from the Country album, in both the original single version and an alternate take.

The song was recorded on the same multireel tapes alongside the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) tracks "From the Sun to the World" and "In Old England Town", the two songs that Wood appeared on from the ELO 2 album.

Chart position[]

Electric Light Orchestra version[]

"Do Ya"
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album A New World Record
B-side	"Nightrider"
Released	February 1977 (US)
Recorded	1976 Musicland Studios, Munich
Genre	Power pop[4]
Length	3:47
Label	Jet/United Artists
Songwriter(s)	Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)	Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"Rockaria!" (1977) "Do Ya" (1977) "Telephone Line" (1977)
A New World Record track listing
show 9 tracks Side one "Tightrope" "Telephone Line" "Rockaria!" "Mission (A World Record)" Side two "So Fine" "Livin' Thing" "Above the Clouds" "Do Ya" "Shangri-La"

Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) began to perform "Do Ya" live with Lynne on lead vocals during 1973–75, and they recorded it in the studio for inclusion on their 1976 album A New World Record. In a 1978 interview for Australian radio stations 2SM and 3XY, Bev Bevan stated the reason for the re-recording was that after ELO had added the song to their live performances a music journalist asked the band their opinion of "the original version" by Todd Rundgren. (Utopia, a band Rundgren started in 1974, had been performing "Do Ya" in concert, and included a live recording on their 1975 Another Live album.) Bevan said they decided to re-record it as ELO in order to "let everyone know that it's a Jeff Lynne song."^{[full citation needed]}

According to Billboard Magazine it has "an irresistibly catchy melody line and syncopated beat."^[5]

In 2000, Lynne found an unedited alternative mix for the song, also recorded in 1976, that he decided he preferred over the album cut. A digital remaster of the track is included on the compilation box set Flashback.

Chart performance[]

Jeff Lynne version[]

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.^[14]

Other versions[]

The song has been covered by Ace Frehley of KISS on his 1989 solo album Second Sighting, and Todd Rundgren with his band Utopia on his 1998 Japanese-imported album Somewhere/Anywhere, a collection of unreleased tracks, which title is a pun on his 1972 release Something/Anything. Rundgren also performed it with Utopia on the live 2019 DVD/CD release recorded at Chicago Theatre in 2018.

References[]

External links[]

• In-depth Song Analysis at the Jeff Lynne Song Database (jefflynnesongs.com)
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics