Home » Jazz Articles » Play This! » Rigmor Gustafsson: Calling You

Rigmor Gustafsson: Calling You

By Jerome Wilson
November 19, 2025
View read count

"Calling You" is a song introduced in the 1987 comedy, Bagdad Cafe. With its floating melody and evocative lyrics, the song is haunting and memorable no matter who performs it. Jevetta Steele sings it beautifully in the movie itself, and it has been covered by the likes of Jeff Buckley and Celine Dion. The most remarkable version, however, may be the one Swedish vocalist Rigmor Gustafsson does on her album, Calling You (ACT, 2010).

Gustafsson is accompanied here only by the radio.string.quartet.vienna. They quietly saw underneath as the singer's voice slowly rises out of silence. She sings with an understated passion that climaxes in her clear, yearning delivery of the chorus line, "I'm calling you." The high, soulful texture of Gustafsson's voice contrasts beautifully with the rough sound of the strings. That combination elevates the performance into something magical that stays in your head long after it ends.

Contact Jerome Wilson on All About Jazz.
I'm a long time arts lover who always wants to hear something I haven't heard before.

Contribute to Play This! Recommend a favorite song, album, or performance and we'll share it with your fellow All About Jazz readers. Submit it here.

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Unearthed... Previously Unreleased M...
< Previous

Vilnius Jazz Festival 2025
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.