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| "Calypso" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by John Denver | ||||
| from the album Windsong | ||||
| A-side | "I'm Sorry" | |||
| B-side | "Calypso" | |||
| Released | July 1975 | |||
| Genre | Folk, country, soundscape | |||
| Length | 3:36 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John Denver | |||
| Producer(s) | Milt Okun | |||
| John Denver singles chronology | ||||
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"Calypso" is a song written by John Denver in 1975 as a tribute to Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his research ship, the Calypso.[1] It was featured on Denver's 1975 album Windsong.
Released as the B-side of "I'm Sorry", "Calypso" received substantial airplay, enabling it to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] After "I'm Sorry" fell out of the #1 position, "Calypso" began receiving more airplay than "I'm Sorry," thus causing Billboard to list "Calypso" as the new A-side,[1] starting the week ending October 11, 1975.[3] Hence, "Calypso" is itself considered a #2 hit on the Hot 100.[4]
John Denver was a close friend of Cousteau. Calypso was the name of Cousteau's research boat that sailed around the world promoting ocean conservation.
This song features the sounds of ship bells, which is heard in the instrumental introductions before both two verses, in which Milton Okun's orchestral arrangement, featuring strings and winds, are heard impersonating the sounds of the oceans and seas.
- ^ a b Bronson, Fred (November 1, 1997). "'Candle' Finds Itself B-Side 'Something'". Billboard. p. 110. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
- ^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits (5th ed.). Random House Digital. p. 417. ISBN 0-8230-7677-6.
- ^ However, on the November 1, 1975 edition of "American Top 40", Casey Kasem reported that "Calypso" had been at #2 for five weeks, whereas by that week the total weeks at #2 was only four. Apparently Kasem had confused the number of weeks that "Calypso" had been at #2, namely, four weeks, with how long it had been since "I'm Sorry" dropped from #1, namely, five weeks.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2010). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (rev. & expanded 9th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-8230-8554-5.