"Quicksilver Lightning" is a song by

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...

, who at the time was the former lead singer of

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

. The track is credited as being written by Dean Pitchford and being composed by

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...

. The track is the theme tune for the 1986 film ''

Quicksilver Quicksilver may refer to: * Quicksilver (metal), the chemical element mercury Arts and entertainment Music * Quicksilver, a bluegrass band fronted by Doyle Lawson * "Quicksilver" (song), a 1950 hit for Bing Crosby * ''Quicksilver'' (sound ...

'' starring Kevin Bacon, Jami Gertz, Paul Rodriguez, Louie Anderson, Laurence Fishburne and

Rudy Ramos Rudy Ramos (born September 19, 1950) is an American actor and musician, born and raised in Lawton, Oklahoma. His acting career has covered six decades. It started with an appearance on the television show ''Ironside (1967 TV series), Ironside'' i ...

. The film was directed by Thomas Michael Donnelly. The film went quite unnoticed, so both the song and the film are not easily remembered.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that the song gives "one of rock’s enduring great voices a solid tune." The song was released as a single in April 1986, and was a minor success on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Mainstream Rock Charts Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

, reaching number 11.

Promotional film

A large portion of the music video was filmed in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California, with parts of the video featuring Daltrey recording the song in a studio. The video begins with Daltrey in a

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

, looking at documents called "Quicksilver", while Jack Casey ( Kevin Bacon) rides behind him. He gets out of the cab and walks into a recording studio, then begins singing the song. The video cuts between Daltrey singing and scenes from the film.

Releases

The song was later released as the B-side to the single, "Hearts of Fire" from Daltrey's seventh solo studio album ''

Can't Wait to See the Movie ''Can't Wait to See the Movie'' is the seventh solo studio album by English singer, songwriter and actor Roger Daltrey, the lead vocalist for the Who. It was released in June 1987 by Atlantic Records, and was primarily produced by Alan Shacklo ...

'', in 1987.

B-side

The B-side "Love Me Like You Do", written by Andy Nye, was included as track six on Daltrey's sixth solo album, '' Under a Raging Moon'', but only on the CD and tape versions, not the record version.

Compilation appearance

Other than the original single release, the track is only available on the 2005 compilation album, '' Moonlighting: The Anthology'', released by

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

Chart performance

Singles -

Billboard Singles A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large out-of-home advertising, outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboard ...

(

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

)

References

{{Roger Daltrey 1986 songs 1986 singles 1980s ballads Atlantic Records singles Songs written by Giorgio Moroder Song recordings produced by Giorgio Moroder Songs written by Dean Pitchford