"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) | |||
Released | 16 March 1968 (US) [1] 14 June 1968 (UK) | |||
Recorded | January, 25/26 February 1968 [2] | |||
Studio | IBC Recording Studios (London, England) [2] Gold Star Studios (Los Angeles, California) [2] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:25 | |||
Label | Track | |||
Songwriter(s) | Pete Townshend | |||
Producer(s) | Kit Lambert | |||
The Who singles chronology | ||||
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"Call Me Lightning" is a song written by Pete Townshend, guitarist of the British rock band The Who. Townshend first recorded a home demo of the song in 1964. The Who's recording was a single released in March 1968 and it later appeared on the Who's fourth American album Magic Bus: The Who on Tour .
In the United States "Call Me Lightning" was the follow-up single to the 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]
Billboard described the single as a "pulsating rocker with a happy beat." [5] Cash Box called it "an imaginative blend of rock-blues and rag" and praised "the potent group performance." [6] Record World said it "should turn into sales lightning as The Who do it. Hard, driving beat at its best from the group." [7]
The song features a prominent bass solo by John Entwistle. A promo film was made, and this later was included in the 1979 documentary The Kids Are Alright . "Call Me Lightning" was released in the United Kingdom as the B-side of the single "Dogs".
The US B-side, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", had been considered as a possible A-side single release, along with "Call Me Lightning," as the B-side. [1] "Call Me Lightning" received a mediocre reception from Who fans, and biographer John Atkins feels that "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" was a better song, even though its horror film imagery was unsuitable for a single. [1] [8] Cash Box called "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" a "psychedelified throbber on the lid that could attract added attention." [6]
The song was behind the naming of the rock group Call Me Lightning.
Chart (1968) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia Kent Music Report | 30 |
Canada RPM [9] | 35 |
Netherlands | 38 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [3] | 40 |
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [10] | 38 |
Magic Bus: The Who on Tour is a compilation album by English rock band the Who. It was released as the band's fourth album in the United States by Decca in September 1968 to capitalize on the success of their single of the same name. It is a compilation album of previously released material, and was not issued in the UK, although the album was also released at approximately the same time in Canada. It peaked at #39 on the Billboard 200.
"Won't Get Fooled Again" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend. It was released as a single in June 1971, reaching the top 10 in the UK, while the full eight-and-a-half-minute version appears as the final track on the band's 1971 album Who's Next, released that August. In the US, the single entered Billboard on 17 July, reaching No. 15.
The discography of the English rock band the Who consists of 12 studio albums, 18 live albums, four soundtrack albums, 36 compilation albums, four extended plays, 58 singles and 25 video albums.
"Mr. Sandman" is a popular song written by Pat Ballard and published in 1954. It was first recorded in May of that year by Vaughn Monroe & his orchestra and later that year by The Chordettes and the Four Aces. The song's lyrics convey a request to "Mr. Sandman" to "bring me a dream" – the traditional association of the folkloric figure. The pronoun used to refer to the desired dream is often changed depending on the sex of the singer or group performing the song, as the original sheet music publication, which includes male and female versions of the lyrics, intended.
"Pinball Wizard" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend and featured on their 1969 rock opera album Tommy. The original recording was released as a single in 1969 and reached No. 4 in the UK charts and No. 19 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
"I Can't Explain" is a song by English rock band the Who, written by Pete Townshend and produced by Shel Talmy. It was released as a single in the United States on 19 December 1964 by Decca and on 15 January 1965 in the United Kingdom by Brunswick. It was the band's second single release and first under the Who name.
"Love, Reign o'er Me", subtitled "Pete's Theme", is a song by English rock band The Who. Written and composed by guitarist Pete Townshend, it was released on 27 October 1973 as the second single from the band's sixth studio album and second rock opera, Quadrophenia. It is the final song on the album, and has been a concert staple for years. The song peaked at number 76 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 54 on Cash Box.
"I Can See for Miles" is a song by the English rock band the Who, recorded for the band's 1967 album The Who Sell Out. Written by guitarist Pete Townshend, it was the only song from the album to be released as a single.
"Let My Love Open the Door" is a song written and performed by Pete Townshend from his 1980 album Empty Glass. That year, it reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at number five on RPM's Top 100 singles chart.
"Piece of My Heart" is a romantic soul song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. Franklin's single peaked in December 1967 at number 10 on the Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart in the United States.
"Squeeze Box" is a song by the Who from their album The Who by Numbers. Written by Pete Townshend, the lyrics are couched in sexual double entendres. Unlike many of the band's other hits, the song features country-like elements, as heard in Townshend's banjo picking.
"Shout and Shimmy" is an R&B song written by James Brown, and recorded by him and The Famous Flames. It rose to #16 on the R&B chart and #61 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" is a song written by the premier Motown songwriting/production team of the 1960s Holland–Dozier–Holland. The first hit recording was sung by Kim Weston in 1965. It was most popular in 1975 when it was recorded by the Doobie Brothers.
"Dogs" is a UK single written by Pete Townshend and released by the Who in June 1968. It reached number 25 on the UK singles chart, lower than any single the band had released in several years. The B-side of the UK single was "Call Me Lightning". Both songs were originally released mixed in mono only, as they were not intended for album release.
"Long Live Rock" is a 1979 single by The Who, written by Pete Townshend and recorded in 1972. A different version of the song was performed by Billy Fury's character in the film That'll Be the Day.
"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is a song by English rock band, the Who. It was written by the band's bassist, John Entwistle.
"Trick of the Light" is a song written by bassist John Entwistle for The Who's eighth studio album, Who Are You. It was released as the second single from the album, atypically with another Entwistle song, "905" on the B-side, but did not chart.
"Cry Like a Baby" is a 1968 song written by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, and performed by The Box Tops. The song reached No.2 in April 1968 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks. It was kept out of the top spot by Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey", which stayed at No.1 for five weeks. "Cry Like a Baby" also reached No.2 on Cashbox for one week. It stayed on the Hot 100 for 15 weeks and Cashbox for 14 weeks. It was awarded a gold disc for selling over one million copies in the United States.
"Face the Face" is a song by Pete Townshend. The song is the third track on Townshend's fourth solo album, a concept album titled White City: A Novel, and was released as a single. The UK and US single edit features Pete Townshend's daughter Emma Townshend singing some parts on the song.
"With Pen in Hand" is a song written by Bobby Goldsboro and first released on his March 1968 album, Honey. The song's lyrics address the subjects of divorce and losing custody of one's child, and are sung from the perspective of the parent who expects to be losing custody of their child, as they make a final plea to their spouse to reconcile before the divorce is finalized. "With Pen in Hand" has been a hit for multiple artists in the late 1960 and 1970s.
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