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 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, their 16th most successful single on the Hot 100. 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".
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. 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.
The song was behind the naming of the rock group Call Me Lightning.

Chart performance