🕵🏻 And who the hell are you? The Who on CSI

If you were one of those people glued to the TV back in the 2000s, you definitely remember that strumm'd guitar, the drums kicking in at full blast, and a raspy voice shouting at the top of its lungs: "Whoooo are you? Who, who, who, who?". 

In that exact second, you knew it was time to turn off the lights, grab your chips, and get ready to watch a bunch of folks with massive flashlights analyzing every single speck of dust at a crime scene. 

The song, of course, is a legendary track by the iconic British band The Who, released back in 1978. But for an entire generation, that tune stopped belonging solely to Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey; thanks to the power of television, it became the official anthem of forensic science.

The perfect match
Classic rock and UV lights

When CBS launched CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in the year 2000, nobody could have predicted the global phenomenon it would become. A huge part of that magic was its intro.

Creator Anthony E. Zuiker once shared that they were desperately looking for a song that would give the show the exact right personality. The answer wasn't in modern electronic music or something melancholy, but in the pure energy of rock.

Who Are You fit like a glove for two simple reasons:

• The vibe: It has that mysterious yet powerful rhythm that immediately wakes you up.
• The lyrics: The phrase "Who are you?" is literally the job of a forensic investigator. Every time Gil Grissom and his team walked into a Las Vegas hotel room with a body on the floor, that was the only question that mattered: Who are you, who did this to you, and who is to blame?

The recipe for success
(and the love for The Who)

The experiment worked so well that the producers decided the entire franchise would carry The Who's trademark stamp. If you were a fan of the series, you probably know the lineup by heart:

• CSI: Las Vegas: Who Are You
• CSI: Miami: Won't Get Fooled Again (featuring Roger Daltrey’s legendary scream right as Horatio Caine puts on his sunglasses).
• CSI: NY: Baba O'Riley
• CSI: Cyber: I Can't Explain

The British band's music gave the saga a unique identity. Without that theme song, staring at DNA vials and yellow police tape just wouldn't have been the same.

The legacy of "Who, who, who, who"

More than two decades after the original series premiered, Who Are You remains an instant pop culture reference. All it takes is for someone at a party to pull out a blacklight or start investigating who ate the last slice of pizza in the fridge for anyone nearby to feel like humming that chorus.

Next time you hear that classic, don't feel awkward if you get the sudden urge to grab an imaginary magnifying glass and start checking your glass for fingerprints. It's a completely normal side effect of 2000s television.