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Rigmor Gustafsson: Calling You

By Jerome Wilson
November 19, 2025
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"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.

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