Wild West Hero

The story behind

The song Wild West Hero by Electric Light Orchestra closes the album Out of the Blue and, interestingly, is said to have been composed by Jeff Lynne in just four minutes while on vacation. To give it that distinctive western touch, Melvyn Gale, who usually plays the cello in the band, took over the piano with that particular style. The harmonic structure of the chorus of this piece bears a similarity to Pachelbel's Canon, although transposed from D major to G major, which is the main key of Wild West Hero. The only variation is found in the seventh chord of the chorus, which instead of being a C, is an A.This track was recorded in 1977 at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, and released as a single on May 26, 1978, by the Jet label. As a single, it had an interesting run on the UK charts: it entered the Top 40 at number 31 in June 1978, but dropped to 36 the following week. However, a quick reissue in a 12-inch yellow vinyl format reversed its fortunes, and within six weeks it reached number six. It was a coincidence that this same position was the highest achieved by previous and subsequent singles by the band such as Mr. Blue Sky, Sweet Talkin' Woman, and Shine a Little Love. The album Out of the Blue, of which Wild West Hero is a part, was a double album released in October 1977, and became one of the band's most successful records, selling around ten million copies worldwide by 2007.