{{Infobox song | name = Out of Limits | cover = | alt = | type = single | artist = [[The Marketts]] | album = Out of Limits! | B-side = Bella Dalena | released = October 1963<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.45cat.com/record/5391 | title=The Marketts - Out of Limits }}</ref> | recorded = 1963 | studio = | venue = | genre = [[Surf rock]]<ref name= "Marsh 1989">{{cite book|first=Dave|last=Marsh|title=The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5t5DYDniSHEC|date=1989|publisher=[[Plume (publisher)|Plume]]|isbn=0-452-26305-0|page=361}}</ref> | length = 2:09 | label = [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]] | writer = [[Michael Z. Gordon]] | producer = | prev_title = Surfer's Stomp | prev_year = 1962 | next_title = Vanishing Point | next_year = 1964 }}
"'''Out of Limits'''" is a 1963 [[surf rock]] instrumental piece written by [[Michael Z. Gordon]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&keyID=1140414&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061124143417/http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&keyid=1140414&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID |url-status=dead |archive-date=2006-11-24 |title=Out of Limits |publisher=Repertoire.bmi.com |access-date=2012-11-10 }}</ref> and performed by [[The Marketts]].
==Background== While on tour with a band called the Routers, Gordon wrote the Marketts' first release on the [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]] label and their biggest hit, an instrumental called "Outer Limits". First pressings were issued as "Outer Limits", named and surf-styled after [[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|the television program of the same name]]. However, [[Rod Serling]] sued the Marketts for quoting the four note motif from his television show, ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'', without his approval, which resulted in the change of the title to "Out of Limits".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Uslan |first1=Michael |last2=Clark |first2=Dick |last3= Solomon|first3=Bruce |publisher= [[Dell Publishing|Dell Publishing Company]]|date= 1981|title= Dick Clark's the First 25 Years of Rock & Roll|url= https://archive.org/details/dickclarksfirst200usla|url-access=registration |quote=It seems that the opening bars were virtually identical to those of the "Twilight Zone" theme. That was bad enough, but linking the tune with "Twilight Zone's" biggest television competitor was too much for Serling. All reissues of the single were retitled "Out of Limits |isbn=9780440517634}}</ref><ref name=Stewart>{{cite web | title=Up Close With Michael Z. Gordon Of The Marketts | date=2019-07-02 | url=http://www.musicdish.com/mag/?id=10270 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702124037/http://www.musicdish.com/mag/?id=10270 | archive-date=2019-07-02 | url-status=usurped | access-date=2022-01-27}}</ref> The record has been described as "an intriguing up-beat disc with a galloping rhythm".<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book| first= Joseph| last= Murrells| year= 1978| title= The Book of Golden Discs| edition= 2nd| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd| location= London| pages= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/163 163]| isbn= 0-214-20512-6| url-access= registration| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/163}}</ref>
==Chart performance== The song peaked at No. 3 in February 1964 on the [[Hot 100]] for two weeks and on ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cashbox]]'' for one week. It stayed on both the Hot 100 and ''Cashbox'' for 14 weeks.<ref name="Whitburn">{{cite book | first= Joel | last= Whitburn | year= 1990 | title= The Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Sixties (7 December 1963 through 7 March 1964) | publisher= Record Research Inc. | location= Menomonee Falls, WI | isbn= 0-89820-074-1 | page= 386}}</ref><ref name="Hoffmann">{{cite book | first= Frank | last= Hoffmann | year= 1983 | title= The Cash Box Singles Charts, 1950-1981 | publisher= The Scarecrow Press, Inc | location= Metuchen, NJ & London | page= 380}}</ref> It sold over a million copies globally,<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs"/> topped the charts on many U.S. radio stations,<ref name=Burke>Burke, David. [http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=59&release=8751 "The Marketts."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015122638/http://acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=59&release=8751 |date=2011-10-15 }}, Ace Records. Accessed February 17, 2012.</ref> and earned Gordon a [[Broadcast Music, Inc.|BMI]] award.<ref>BMI Repertoire, [https://archive.today/20120719144423/http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&page=1&keyid=1140414&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID "Out of Limits"]. Accessed February 17, 2012.</ref> It brought the studio group national prominence, and many radio, nightclub and personal appearances.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs"/>
==Cover versions== [[The Ventures]] also had a very popular version of the song that was included on their 1964 album ''[[The Ventures In Space]]''.
==Popular culture== "Out of Limits" is a popular choice for television and film soundtracks; it can be heard in: *''[[Pulp Fiction]]'' (1994) *''[[Slayground]]'' (1983)<ref>IMDB, ''[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088135/ "Slayground"]'' (1983)</ref> *''[[The Outsiders (film)|The Outsiders]]'' (1983) *''Mafioso: The Father, the Son'' (2004).<ref name=Mafioso>IMDB, [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0282484/ "Mafioso: The Father, The Son"] (2004)</ref> *It is also available on the compilations ''[[Billboard Top Rock'n'Roll Hits: 1964]]'', ''[[Elvira Presents Haunted Hits]]'' and [[Classic Rock (Time-Life Music)|''Classic Rock'' (Time-Life Music)]]. *As the theme tune for ''[[Frankie Boyle's New World Order]]'' (2017)
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}} [[Category:The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)]] [[Category:1963 singles]] [[Category:Rock instrumentals]] [[Category:Surf instrumentals]] [[Category:1963 songs]] [[Category:Songs written by Michael Z. Gordon]] [[Category:Warner Records singles]] [[Category:1960s instrumentals]]