{{short description|Rush song}} {{for|other songs|Limelight (disambiguation)#Songs}} {{use mdy dates|date=April 2019}} {{Infobox song | name = Limelight | cover = Limelight Single.jpg | alt = The record's face is a series of skyscrapers | type = single | artist = [[Rush (band)|Rush]] | album = [[Moving Pictures (Rush album)|Moving Pictures]] | B-side = [[YYZ (instrumental)|YYZ]] | released = {{start date|1981|2|25}} | recorded = October{{snd}}November 1980 | studio = [[Le Studio]], [[Morin Heights]], [[Quebec]] | genre = {{hlist|[[Arena rock]]|[[hard rock]]<ref name=RS500/>}} | length = {{duration|m=4|s=19}} | label = [[Mercury Records|Mercury]] | writer = {{hlist|[[Geddy Lee]]|[[Alex Lifeson]]|[[Neil Peart]]}} | producer = {{hlist|Rush|[[Terry Brown (record producer)|Terry Brown]]}} | prev_title = [[Entre Nous (Rush_song)|Entre Nous]] | prev_year = 1980 | next_title = [[Vital Signs (Rush song)|Vital Signs]] | next_year = 1981 | misc = {{Audio sample | type = single | file = Rush-Limelight.ogg }} {{External music video | {{YouTube|ZiRuj2_czzw|"Limelight"}} }} }}
"'''Limelight'''" is a song by Canadian [[progressive rock]] band [[Rush (band)|Rush]]. It first appeared on the 1981 album ''[[Moving Pictures (Rush album)|Moving Pictures]]''. The song's lyrics were written by [[Neil Peart]] with music written by [[Geddy Lee]] and [[Alex Lifeson]]. "Limelight" expresses Peart's discomfort with Rush's success and the resulting attention from the public. The song paraphrases the opening lines of the "[[All the world's a stage]]" speech from [[William Shakespeare]]'s play ''[[As You Like It]]''. The band had previously used the phrase for its [[All the World's a Stage (album)|1976 live album]]. The lyrics also refer to "the camera eye", the title of the song that follows on the ''Moving Pictures'' album.
Released as the lead single from the album in February 1981, it charted at {{Numero|4}} on the U.S. ''Billboard'' [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|Top Tracks]] chart and {{Numero|55}} on the U.S. [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], and remains one of Rush's most popular songs commercially. "Limelight" was one of five Rush songs inducted into the [[Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame]] on March 28, 2010.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/753007--new-home-a-place-to-sing-praises-of-our-songwriters | publisher=[[The Toronto Star]] | access-date=2010-06-16 | date=2010-01-20 | first=Ashante | last=Infantry | title=(News) ''New home a place to sing praises of our songwriters''}}</ref> It was listed at No. 435 on ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2021.<ref name=RS500>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-15 |title=The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/ |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> Lifeson's guitar solo in "Limelight" was also listed as ''[[Guitar World]]''{{'}}s 26th greatest guitar solo of all time.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-25 |title=The 50 greatest guitar solos of all time |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-50-greatest-guitar-solos-of-all-time/3 |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=[[Guitar World]] |language=en}}</ref>
==Background== In "Limelight", lyricist Neil Peart comments on the band's commercial success and the fame and its demands that come with rock star status. According to guitarist [[Alex Lifeson]], the song is about "being under the microscopic scrutiny and the need for privacy—trying to separate the two and not always being successful at it".<ref>{{cite book|last=Morse|first=Tim|title=Classic Rock Stories: The Stories Behind the Greatest Songs of All Time|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bYKuiC4Hz2YC&pg=PT104|year=1998|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=9781429937504|page=104}}</ref> Bassist [[Geddy Lee]] describes the motivation for "Limelight" in a 1988 interview:
{{blockquote|"Limelight" was probably more of Neil's song than a lot of the songs on that album in the sense that his feelings about being in the limelight and his difficulty with coming to grips with fame and autograph seekers and a sudden lack of privacy and sudden demands on his time [that] he was having a very difficult time dealing with.
I mean we all were, but I think he was having the most difficulty of the three of us adjusting; in the sense that I think he's more sensitive to more things than Alex [Lifeson] and I are. It's difficult for him to deal with those interruptions on his personal space and his desire to be alone. Being very much a person who needs that solitude, to have someone coming up to you constantly and asking for your autograph is a major interruption in your own little world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inthestudio.net/online-on-demand/rush-basks-limelight-moving-pictures-35th-anniversary-geddy-leealex-lifesonneil-peart/ |title=Rush, ''Moving Pictures'': Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, the late Neil Peart|year=c. 2016 |website=[[In the Studio with Redbeard]] |access-date=January 21, 2020}}</ref>}}
In a 2007 interview, [[Alex Lifeson]] gives his take on "Limelight":
{{blockquote|It's funny: after all these years, the solo to "Limelight" is my favourite to play live. There's something very sad and lonely about it; it exists in its own little world. And I think, in its own way, it reflects the nature of the song's lyrics—feeling isolated amidst chaos and adulation.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Vital Signs|author=Joe Bosso|date=July 2007|journal=Guitar World}}</ref>}}
==Recording and live performance== Lifeson's guitar solo was performed on what he called a "Hentor Sportscaster", a modified [[Fender Stratocaster]] equipped with a [[Floyd Rose]] vibrato arm. Critics frequently point out Lifeson's use of vibrato in the solo,<ref>{{cite book|title=Guitar All-in-One For Dummies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uV7TCCpQWmEC&pg=PA266|year=2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9780470550182|page=266}}</ref> with Max Mobley writing that it "is dripping with Floyd Rose whammy".<ref name="Mobley"/> "Limelight" has been described as Lifeson's "signature song",<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kitts|first1=Jeff|last2=Tolinski|first2=Brad|title=Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time!: From the Pages of Guitar World Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fg838EcECUwC&pg=PT82|year=2002|publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation]]|isbn=9780634046193|page=82}}</ref> and critics cite the influence of [[Allan Holdsworth]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Prown|first1=Pete|last2=Newquist|first2=Harvey P.|title=Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=60Jde3l7WNwC&pg=PA167|year=1997|publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=9780793540426|page=167}}</ref> Lifeson himself calls it his favourite solo.<ref>{{cite book|title=Guitar World Presents Dear Guitar Hero: The World's Most Celebrated Guitarists Answer Their Fans' Most Burning Questions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AagZj0YKWGsC&pg=PT16|date=2012-05-01|publisher=Backbeat Books|isbn=9781476813592|pages=16–17}}</ref>
The song was a staple of Rush's live performances, having been played on every tour since its release, up until the Grace Under Pressure Tour, when it was removed. It was then brought back for the following two tours, and was then removed again for the [[Presto tour|Presto Tour]]. It was then put back in all further tour setlists, until the [[R40 Live Tour]].<ref name="Mobley">{{cite book|last=Mobley|first=Max|title=Rush FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Rock's Greatest Power Trio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KM3dAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT120|year=2014|publisher=Backbeat|isbn=9781617136047|pages=120–21, 190}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tours |url=https://www.rush.com/tour/ |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=Rush.com |language=en-CA}}</ref>
==Critical reception== ''[[Record World]]'' said that its "buzzsaw guitar and vocal dynamics" should appeal to pop radio.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Record World]]|date=March 14, 1981|page=1|access-date=February 26, 2023|title=Hits of the Week|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/80s/81/RW-1981-03-14.pdf}}</ref> ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' identified "Limelight" as one of the "top cuts" from ''Moving Pictures''.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=February 28, 1981 |magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]] |access-date=March 12, 2026|title=Hits out of the Box |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1981/CB-1981-02-28.pdf#page=15 |page=15 |via=World Radio History}}</ref>
==Personnel== ===Rush=== *[[Geddy Lee]] – bass, vocals, synthesizers *[[Alex Lifeson]] – electric and acoustic guitars *[[Neil Peart]] – drums, percussion
===Production=== *[[Rush (band)|Rush]] *[[Terry Brown (record producer)|Terry Brown]]
==In popular culture== {{More citations needed section|date=February 2025}} *The song was featured in the films ''[[Sonny (film)|Sonny]]'', ''[[Used Cars]]'', ''[[That's My Boy (2012 film)|That's My Boy]]'', ''[[I Love You, Man]]'', and ''[[Fanboys (2009 film)|Fanboys]]''. The latter two films also feature the song "[[Tom Sawyer (song)|Tom Sawyer]]". *Both a cover and the original version of the song are available as downloadable tracks for the music video game series ''[[Rock Band]]'', the latter being bundled with the rest of the ''Moving Pictures'' album. It is also playable in ''[[Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock]]'' and ''[[Guitar Hero Live]]''. *Upon the band's entrance into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]], a slightly edited version of the song was used in the intro for [[CBC Television|CBC]]'s ''[[Hockey Night in Canada]]'' on April 20, 2013. *In an episode of the [[USA Network]] sitcom ''[[Playing House (TV series)|Playing House]]'' ("Drumline", Season 1, Episode 5), "Limelight" plays over the last scene.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://community.ew.com/2014/05/21/playing-house-drumline/|title='Playing House' recap: Making big, huge mistakes|work=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=June 29, 2016}}</ref>
==Chart performance== {{col-begin}} {{col-2}}
===Weekly charts=== {|class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center" |+Weekly chart performance for "Limelight" ! Chart (1981) ! Peak<br/>position |- {{single chart|Canadatopsingles|18|chartid=0326|rowheader=true|access-date=February 7, 2026}} |- !scope="row"|Canada ([[CHUM Chart|CHUM]])<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061107225439/http://www.1050chum.com/index_chumcharts.aspx?artist=7526|archive-date=November 7, 2006|title=Rush|url=http://www.1050chum.com/index_chumcharts.aspx?artist=7526|publisher=[[CHUM (AM)|1050 CHUM]]|access-date=February 7, 2026}}</ref> |6 |- {{single chart|Billboardhot100|55|artist=Rush|rowheader=true|access-date=February 7, 2026}} |- {{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|4|artist=Rush|rowheader=true|access-date=February 7, 2026}} |} {{col-2}}
===Year-end charts=== {|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" !scope="col"|Chart (1981) !scope="col"|Position |- !scope="row"|Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=2543&|title=RPM's Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1981|magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]|volume=63|issue=12|page=20|date=December 26, 1998|access-date=January 9, 2021}}</ref> |align="center"|75 |} {{col-end}}
==See also== *[[List of Rush songs]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Rush}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:1981 singles]] [[Category:Rush (band) songs]] [[Category:Music videos directed by Bruce Gowers]] [[Category:Songs written by Alex Lifeson]] [[Category:Songs written by Geddy Lee]] [[Category:Songs written by Neil Peart]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Terry Brown (record producer)]] [[Category:1980 songs]] [[Category:Mercury Records singles]] [[Category:Songs about fame]] [[Category:Music based on works by William Shakespeare]]