Call Me Lightning (song)

"Call Me Lightning" is a 1968 song by British rock band The Who, written by guitarist Pete Townshend. It appears on their fourth American album Magic Bus: The Who on Tour and the compilation album The Ultimate Collection. In the United States, it was the follow-up single to their first U.S. Top 10 hit "I Can See for Miles" and reached No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 4 May 1968,[3] their 16th most successful single on the Hot 100.[4] A promo video was made for the song, and this video was featured in the 1979 documentary The Kids Are Alright. The song was released in the United Kingdom as the B-side of "Dogs".

"Call Me Lightning"
Single by The Who
from the album Magic Bus: The Who on Tour
A-side"Dogs" (UK)
B-side"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (US)
Released16 March 1968 (US)[1]
14 June 1968 (UK)
RecordedJanuary, 25/26 February 1968[2]
StudioIBC Recording Studios
(London, England)[2]
Gold Star Studios
(Los Angeles, California)[2]
Genre
Length2:25
LabelTrack
Songwriter(s)Pete Townshend
Producer(s)Kit Lambert
The Who singles chronology
"I Can See For Miles"
(1967)		 "Call Me Lightning"
(1968)		 "Magic Bus"
(1968)

The B-side, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", had been considered as a possible single release, along with "Call Me Lightning," but it was released as the B-side of "Call Me Lightning" instead.[1] The song received mediocre reception from the Who and their fans, and biographer John Atkins feels that "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" was a better song than "Call Me Lightning", even though its horror film imagery was unsuitable for a single.[1][5]

The song was behind the naming of the rock group Call Me Lightning.

Chart performance
Chart (1968) Peak
position
Australia KMR 30
Netherlands 38
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[3] 40
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[6] 38
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References

Citations

  1. Atkins 2000, p. 103
  2. "Call Me Lightning - The Who". Thewho.com. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  3. "The Who Call Me Lightning Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  4. "The Who Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  5. Atkins 2000, p. 104
  6. Hoffmann 1983, p. 639

Bibliography

  • Atkins, John (2000). The Who on Record: A Critical History, 1963-1998. MacFarland. ISBN 9781476606576.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Hoffmann, Frank (1983). The Cash Box Singles Charts, 1950–1981. The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810815957.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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