212-499: Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend ( / ˈ t aʊ n z ən d / ; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who , one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. His aggressive playing style and poetic songwriting techniques, with the Who and in other projects, have earned him critical acclaim. Townshend has written more than 100 songs for 12 of
424-649: A Vox Cheetah guitar, which he only used for that performance; the guitar was destroyed by Townshend and Moon's drum explosion. In the late 1960s, Townshend began playing Gibson SG Special models almost exclusively. He used this guitar at the Woodstock and Isle of Wight shows in 1969 and 1970, as well as the Live at Leeds performance in 1970. By 1970 Gibson changed the design of the SG Special that Townshend had been using previously, and he began using other guitars. For much of
636-417: A distorted electric guitar solo with warm overtones created by his small valve amplifier . However, the use of distortion was predated by electric blues guitarists such as Joe Hill Louis , Guitar Slim , Willie Johnson of Howlin' Wolf 's band, and Pat Hare ; the latter two also made use of distorted power chords in the early 1950s. Also in 1955, Bo Diddley introduced the " Bo Diddley beat " and
848-531: A double bass (string bass). After the mid-1950s, electric bass guitars ("Fender bass") and drum kits became popular in classic rock. Rock and roll had a profound influence on contemporary American lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language, and is often portrayed in movies, fan magazines, and on television. Some people believe that the music had a positive influence on the civil rights movement , because of its widespread appeal to both Black American and White American teenagers. The term "rock and roll"
1060-536: A pop art group and thus viewed advertising as an artform; they recorded a wide variety of radio advertisements, such as for canned milkshakes and the American Cancer Society , in defiance of the rising anti-consumerist ethos of the hippie counterculture. Townshend stated, "We don't change offstage. We live pop art." Later that year, Lambert and Stamp formed a record label, Track Records , with distribution by Polydor . As well as signing Hendrix, Track became
1272-472: A supergroup he assembled called Deep End , with David Gilmour on guitar, who performed just three concerts and a television show session for The Tube , to raise money for his Double-O charity, supporting drug addicts. In 1993, he and Des McAnuff wrote and directed the Broadway adaptation of the Who album Tommy , as well as a less successful stage musical based on his solo album The Iron Man , based upon
1484-503: A whip on stage, and occasionally leapt into the crowd; Moon threw drumsticks into the air mid-beat; Townshend mimed machine-gunning the crowd with his guitar while jumping on stage and playing guitar with a fast arm-windmilling motion, or stood with his arms aloft allowing his guitar to produce feedback in a posture dubbed "the Bird Man". Meaden was replaced as manager by two filmmakers, Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp . They were looking for
1696-458: A blues number), " Baby Let's Play House ", " Lawdy Miss Clawdy ", and " Hound Dog ". The racial lines, however, are rather more clouded by the fact that some of these R&B songs originally recorded by black artists had been written by white songwriters, such as the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller . Songwriting credits were often unreliable; many publishers, record executives, and even managers (both white and black) would insert their name as
1908-409: A composer in order to collect royalty checks. Covers were customary in the music industry at the time; it was made particularly easy by the compulsory license provision of United States copyright law (still in effect). One of the first relevant successful covers was Wynonie Harris 's transformation of Roy Brown 's 1947 original jump blues hit " Good Rocking Tonight " into a more showy rocker and
2120-611: A contrast to the themes on Tommy . The tour included their second appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival . A record attendance in England which the Guinness Book of Records estimated at between 600,000 and 700,000 people, the Who began their set at 2:00 A.M. on Sunday 30 August. Tommy secured the Who's future, and made them millionaires. The group reacted in different ways – Daltrey and Entwistle lived comfortably, Townshend
2332-496: A defiant teen dates a rock and roll-loving boy but drops him for one who likes traditional adult music—to her parents' relief. In Britain, where postwar prosperity was more limited, rock and roll culture became attached to the pre-existing Teddy Boy movement, largely working class in origin, and eventually to the rockers . "On the white side of the deeply segregated music market", rock and roll became marketed for teenagers, as in Dion and
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#17328527786622544-623: A feature of the Who's live set. By late 1964, the Who were becoming popular in London's Marquee Club , and a rave review of their live act appeared in Melody Maker . Lambert and Stamp attracted the attention of the American producer Shel Talmy , who had produced the Kinks . Townshend had written a song, " I Can't Explain ", that deliberately sounded like the Kinks to attract Talmy's attention. Talmy saw
2756-482: A follow-up, Townshend insisted that the Who take a lengthy break, as they had not stopped touring since the band started. There was no group activity until May 1972, when they started working on a proposed new album, Rock Is Dead—Long Live Rock! , but, unhappy with the recordings, abandoned the sessions. Tensions began to emerge as Townshend believed Daltrey just wanted a money-making band and Daltrey thought Townshend's projects were getting pretentious. Moon's behaviour
2968-551: A gig having been on the Ready Steady Go! set with the Beach Boys ' Bruce Johnston . During "My Generation", Townshend attacked Moon with his guitar; Moon suffered a black eye and bruises, and he and Entwistle left the band, but changed their minds and rejoined a week later. Moon kept looking for other work, and Jeff Beck had him play drums on his song " Beck's Bolero " (with Page, John Paul Jones and Nicky Hopkins ) because he
3180-557: A guitarist, Daltrey on rhythm guitar, Entwistle on bass, Harry Wilson on drums, and Colin Dawson on vocals. The band played instrumentals by the Shadows and the Ventures , and a variety of pop and trad jazz covers. Daltrey was considered the leader and, according to Townshend, "ran things the way he wanted them". Wilson was fired in mid-1962 and replaced by Doug Sandom , though he was older than
3392-468: A guitarist, Townshend also plays keyboards, banjo , accordion , harmonica, ukulele , mandolin , violin, synthesiser, bass guitar, and drums; he is self-taught on all of these instruments and plays on his own solo albums, several Who albums, and as a guest contributor to an array of other artists' recordings. Townshend has also contributed to and authored many newspaper and magazine articles, book reviews, essays, books, and scripts, and he has collaborated as
3604-468: A household with jazz musicians, Townshend absorbed many of his ideas about performance and rock music themes during art school. Townshend's roommate at Ealing Art College, Tom Wright, had a large record collection, and Townshend listened to and became influenced by R&B and rock & roll artists like Howlin' Wolf , John Lee Hooker , Bo Diddley , Booker T. & the MGs , Little Walter , and Chuck Berry . He
3816-565: A lead instrument, playing melodies. In February 1964, the Detours became aware of the group Johnny Devlin and the Detours, and changed their name. Townshend and his house-mate Richard Barnes spent a night considering names, focusing on a theme of joke announcements, including "No One" and "the Group". Townshend preferred "the Hair", and Barnes liked "the Who" because it "had a pop punch". Daltrey chose "the Who"
4028-461: A lot of weight, though Daltrey later said, "even at his worst, Keith Moon was amazing." Recording of Who Are You started in January 1978. Daltrey clashed with Johns over the production of his vocals, and Moon's drumming was so poor that Daltrey and Entwistle considered firing him. Moon's playing improved, but on one track, "Music Must Change", he was replaced as he could not play in 6/8 time. In May,
4240-660: A lyricist and composer for many other musical acts. In 1983, Townshend received the Brit Award for Lifetime Achievement and in 1990 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Who. Townshend was ranked No. 3 in Dave Marsh 's 1994 list of Best Guitarists in The New Book of Rock Lists . In 2001, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as a member of the Who; and in 2008 he received Kennedy Center Honors . He
4452-507: A major influence on British Invasion acts and particularly on the song writing of the Beatles and through them on the nature of later rock music. Many of the earliest white rock and roll hits were covers or partial re-writes of earlier black rhythm and blues or blues songs. Through the late 1940s and early 1950s, R&B music had been gaining a stronger beat and a wilder style, with artists such as Fats Domino and Johnny Otis speeding up
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#17328527786624664-640: A musical family: his father, Cliff Townshend , was a professional alto saxophonist in the Royal Air Force 's dance band the Squadronaires and his mother, Betty (née Dennis), was a singer with the Sidney Torch and Les Douglass Orchestras. The Townshends had a volatile marriage. Both drank heavily and had fiery tempers. Cliff Townshend was often away from his family touring with his band while Betty carried on affairs with other men. The two split when Townshend
4876-520: A new Who album should feature original songs by Roger Daltrey as well as him. That album, simply titled Who , was released on 6 December 2019. It was the band's second album as a duo, and their first in thirteen years. The Age of Anxiety , formerly Floss the Musical , is the name given to a work-in-progress by Townshend. The musical has been a work in progress at least since 2009 with an original estimated release of 2011. On 24 January 2012 Townshend sold
5088-571: A novel, with an opera to follow. Townshend was born ten days after Nazi Germany surrendered in the Second World War and grew up in the shadow of reconstruction in and around London. According to Townshend, postwar trauma was the driving force behind the rock music revolution in the UK. "Trauma is passed from generation to generation", he said, "I've unwittingly inherited what my father experienced." Townshend notes that growing up in this period produced
5300-453: A peak. After the 1976 tour, Townshend took most of the following year off to spend time with his family. He discovered that former Beatles and Rolling Stones manager Allen Klein had bought a stake in his publishing company. A settlement was reached, but Townshend was upset and disillusioned that Klein had attempted to take ownership of his songs. Townshend went to the Speakeasy where he met
5512-575: A perkier vocal more appropriate for an audience unfamiliar with the song to which James's song was an answer , Hank Ballard 's "Work With Me, Annie". Presley's rock and roll version of "Hound Dog", taken mainly from a version recorded by the pop band Freddie Bell and the Bellboys , was very different from the blues shouter that Big Mama Thornton had recorded four years earlier. Other white artists who recorded cover versions of rhythm and blues songs included Gale Storm (Smiley Lewis' "I Hear You Knockin ' "),
5724-540: A potent hit after the Monterey Pop Festival on 18 June. Released in December, their next album was The Who Sell Out —a concept album based on pirate radio, which had been instrumental in raising the Who's popularity. It included several humorous jingles and mock commercials between songs, and the Who's biggest US single, " I Can See for Miles ". Despite the success of " I Can See for Miles ", which reached No. 9 on
5936-655: A preacher (October 1957), the departure of Presley for service in the United States Army (March 1958), the scandal surrounding Jerry Lee Lewis ' marriage to his thirteen-year-old cousin (May 1958), riots caused by Bill Haley 's ill-fated tour of Europe (October 1958), the deaths of Buddy Holly , The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens in a plane crash (February 1959), the breaking of the Payola scandal implicating major figures, including Alan Freed , in bribery and corruption in promoting individual acts or songs (November 1959),
6148-409: A regular part of the Who's live shows. With the assistance of Lambert, the Who caught the ear of American record producer Shel Talmy , who had the band signed to a record contract. Townshend wrote a song, " I Can't Explain ", as a deliberate sound-alike of the Kinks , another group Talmy produced. Released as a single in January 1965, "I Can't Explain" was the Who's first hit, reaching number eight on
6360-415: A result heard each other's music and even began to emulate each other's fashions. Radio stations that made white and black forms of music available to both groups, the development and spread of the gramophone record , and African-American musical styles such as jazz and swing which were taken up by white musicians, aided this process of "cultural collision". The immediate roots of rock and roll lay in
6572-552: A roadie. The next single, " My Generation ", followed in October. Townshend had written it as a slow blues, but after several abortive attempts, it was turned into a more powerful song with a bass solo from Entwistle. The song used gimmicks such as a vocal stutter to simulate the speech of a mod on amphetamines , and two key changes . Townshend insisted in interviews that the lyrics "Hope I die before I get old" were not meant to be taken literally. Peaking at No. 2, "My Generation"
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6784-600: A rock and roll standard. As interest in rock and roll was beginning to subside in America in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it was taken up by groups in British cities like Liverpool , Manchester , Birmingham , and London . About the same time, a British blues scene developed, initially led by purist blues followers such as Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies who were inspired by American musicians such as Robert Johnson , Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf . Many groups moved towards
6996-518: A semi-autobiographical story The Boy Who Heard Music as a serial on a blog beginning in September 2005. The blog closed in October 2006, as noted on Townshend's website. It is now owned by a different user and does not relate to Townshend's work in any way. On 25 February 2006, he announced the issue of a mini-opera inspired by the novella for June 2006. In October 2006 the Who released their first album in 24 years, Endless Wire . The Who performed at
7208-580: A series of promotional television interviews, and Entwistle worked on the soundtrack for The Kids Are Alright . On 6 September, Moon attended a party held by Paul McCartney to celebrate Buddy Holly 's birthday. Returning to his flat, Moon took 32 tablets of clomethiazole which had been prescribed to combat his alcohol withdrawal . He passed out the following morning and was discovered dead later that day. Rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll , rock-n-roll , rock 'n' roll , rock n' roll , Rock n' Roll or proto-rock )
7420-483: A short (5-date) "Classic Quadrophenia" US tour that ended on 16 September 2017 in Los Angeles, California. From the mid-1990s through the present, Townshend has participated in a series of tours with the surviving members of the Who, including a 2002 tour that continued despite Entwistle's death. In February 2006, a major world tour by the Who was announced to promote their first new album since 1982. Townshend published
7632-457: A short European tour , the remainder of 1972 was spent working on an orchestral version of Tommy with Lou Reizner . By 1973, the Who turned to recording the album Quadrophenia about mod and its subculture, set against clashes with Rockers in early 1960s Britain. The story is about a boy named Jimmy, who undergoes a personality crisis, and his relationship with his family, friends and mod culture. The music features four themes, reflecting
7844-534: A short show without any major responsibilities. After the Hermits tour, the Who recorded their next single, " I Can See for Miles ", which Townshend had written in 1966 but had avoided recording until he was sure it could be produced well. Townshend called it "the ultimate Who record", and was disappointed it reached only No. 10 in the UK. It became their best selling single in the US, reaching No. 9. The group toured
8056-622: A short-lived trad jazz group, the Confederates, featuring Townshend on banjo and Entwistle on horns. The Confederates played gigs at the Congo Club, a youth club run by the Acton Congregational Church, and covered Acker Bilk , Kenny Ball , and Lonnie Donegan . However, both became influenced by the increasing popularity of rock 'n' roll , with Townshend particularly admiring Cliff Richard 's debut single, " Move It ". Townshend left
8268-494: A significant influence, saying "I've totally been influenced by him. You can hear it in my work." Throughout his solo career and his career with the Who, Townshend has played a large variety of guitars—mostly various Fender , Gibson , and Rickenbacker models. He has also used Guild , Takamine and Gibson J-200 acoustic models, with the J-200 providing his signature recorded acoustic sound in such songs as " Pinball Wizard ". In
8480-474: A star-studded cast, including the band members. David Essex auditioned for the title role, but the band persuaded Daltrey to take it. The cast included Ann-Margret , Oliver Reed , Eric Clapton , Tina Turner , Elton John and Jack Nicholson . Townshend and Entwistle worked on the soundtrack for most of the year, handling the bulk of the instrumentation. Moon had moved to Los Angeles, so they used session drummers, including Kenney Jones (who would later join
8692-484: A straightforward pop band and enjoyed drugs and practical jokes. They bonded with Moon, who was excited to learn that cherry bombs were legal to purchase in Alabama. Moon acquired a reputation of destroying hotel rooms while on tour, with a particular interest in blowing up toilets. Entwistle said the first cherry bomb they tried "blew a hole in the suitcase and the chair". Moon recalled his first attempt to flush one down
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8904-476: A time of considerable technological change, soon after the development of the electric guitar, amplifier , 45 rpm record and modern condenser microphones . There were also changes in the record industry, with the rise of independent labels like Atlantic , Sun and Chess servicing niche audiences and a similar rise of radio stations that played their music. It was the realization that relatively affluent white teenagers were listening to this music that led to
9116-426: A trio of albums devoted to his teachings: Happy Birthday , I Am , and With Love . In response to bootlegging of these, he compiled his personal highlights (and "Evolution", a collaboration with Ronnie Lane ), and released his first major-label solo title, 1972's Who Came First . It was a moderate success and featured demos of Who songs as well as a showcase of his acoustic guitar talents. He collaborated with
9328-496: A unique electric guitar style, influenced by African and Afro-Cuban music and in turn influencing many later artists. Rock and roll was strongly influenced by R&B, according to many sources, including an article in The Wall Street Journal in 1985, titled, "Rock! It's Still Rhythm and Blues". In fact, the author stated that the "two terms were used interchangeably", until about 1957. The other sources quoted in
9540-432: A white market, or a new hybrid of black and white forms. In the 1930s, jazz , and particularly swing , both in urban-based dance bands and blues-influenced country swing ( Jimmie Rodgers , Moon Mullican and other similar singers), were among the first music to present African-American sounds for a predominantly white audience. One particularly noteworthy example of a jazz song with recognizably rock and roll elements
9752-509: A wider scale than any other single performer and by 1956, he had emerged as the singing sensation of the nation. Bill Flagg who is a Connecticut resident, began referring to his mix of hillbilly and rock 'n' roll music as rockabilly around 1953. In July 1954, Presley recorded the regional hit " That's All Right " at Sam Phillips' Sun Studio in Memphis. Three months earlier, on April 12, 1954, Bill Haley & His Comets recorded "Rock Around
9964-625: A young, unsigned rock group that they could make a film about, and had seen the band at the Railway Hotel in Wealdstone , which had become a regular venue for them. Lambert related to Townshend and his art school background, and encouraged him to write songs. In August, Lambert and Stamp made a promotional film featuring the group and their audience at the Railway. The band changed their set towards soul, rhythm and blues and Motown covers, and created
10176-519: Is Big Joe Turner with pianist Pete Johnson 's 1938 single " Roll 'Em Pete ", which is regarded as an important precursor of rock and roll. The 1940s saw the increased use of blaring horns (including saxophones), shouted lyrics and boogie-woogie beats in jazz-based music. During and immediately after World War II , with shortages of fuel and limitations on audiences and available personnel, large jazz bands were less economical and tended to be replaced by smaller combos, using guitars, bass and drums. In
10388-459: Is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz , rhythm and blues , boogie-woogie , electric blues , gospel , and jump blues , as well as country music . While rock and roll's formative elements can be heard in blues records from the 1920s and in country records of the 1930s,
10600-543: Is about a girl who has an affair while her lover is away, but is ultimately forgiven. The album was titled A Quick One ( Happy Jack in the US), and reached No. 4 in the UK charts. It was followed in 1967 by the UK Top 5 single " Pictures of Lily ". By 1966, Ready Steady Go! had ended, the mod movement was becoming unfashionable, and the Who found themselves in competition on the London circuit with groups including Cream and
10812-547: Is controlled by an extra volume control behind the guitar's bridge. During the Who's 1989 Tour Townshend played a Rickenbacker guitar that was ironically smashed accidentally when he tripped over it. Instead of throwing the smashed parts away, Townshend reassembled the pieces as a sculpture. The sculpture was featured at the Rock Stars, Cars And Guitars 2 exhibit during the summer of 2009 at The Henry Ford museum. There are several Gibson Pete Townshend signature guitars, such as
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#173285277866211024-472: Is defined by Greg Kot in Encyclopædia Britannica as the music that originated in the mid-1950s and later developed "into the more encompassing international style known as rock music ". The term is sometimes also used as synonymous with "rock music" and is defined as such in some dictionaries. The phrase "rocking and rolling" originally described the movement of a ship on the ocean, but by
11236-677: Is general agreement that it arose in the Southern United States – a region that would produce most of the major early rock and roll acts – through the meeting of various influences that embodied a merging of the African musical tradition with European instrumentation. The migration of many former slaves and their descendants to major urban centers such as St. Louis , Memphis , New York City , Detroit , Chicago , Cleveland , and Buffalo meant that black and white residents were living in close proximity in larger numbers than ever before, and as
11448-466: Is often identified with the emergence of teen culture among the first baby boomer generation, who had greater relative affluence and leisure time and adopted rock and roll as part of a distinct subculture. This involved not just music, absorbed via radio, record buying, jukeboxes and TV programs like American Bandstand , but also extended to film, clothes, hair, cars and motorcycles, and distinctive language. The youth culture exemplified by rock and roll
11660-663: Is rock 'n' roll. I think that 'Rocket 88' is R&B, but I think 'Rocket 88' is the cause of rock and roll existing". In terms of its wide cultural impact across society in the US and elsewhere, Bill Haley 's " Rock Around the Clock ", recorded in April 1954 but not a commercial success until the following year, is generally recognized as an important milestone, but it was preceded by many recordings from earlier decades in which elements of rock and roll can be clearly discerned. Journalist Alexis Petridis argued that neither Haley's "Rock Around
11872-521: Is the group's highest-charting single in the UK. The debut album My Generation was released in late 1965. Among original material by Townshend, including the title track and " The Kids Are Alright ", the album has several James Brown covers from the session earlier that year that Daltrey favoured. After My Generation , the Who fell out with Talmy, which meant an abrupt end to their recording contract. The resulting legal acrimony resulted in Talmy holding
12084-625: The BBC , as one of the best live rock albums of all time. The Tommy tour included shows in European opera houses and saw the Who become the first rock act to play at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. In March the Who released the UK top 20 hit " The Seeker ", continuing a theme of issuing singles separate to albums. Townshend wrote the song to commemorate the common man, as
12296-477: The British Invasion would become the superseding forms of rock music during the mid-1960s, a few American artists were nonetheless able to achieve chart successes with rock and roll recordings during this time. The most notable of these was Johnny Rivers , who with hits such as "Memphis" (1964), popularized a " Go-go " style of club-oriented, danceable rock and roll that enjoyed significant success in spite of
12508-480: The Marshall stack , large public address systems , the use of synthesizers , Entwistle's and Moon's influential playing styles, Townshend's feedback and power chord guitar technique, and the development of the rock opera . They are cited as an influence by many hard rock , punk , power pop and mod bands. The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. The Who evolved from an earlier group,
12720-505: The Monterey Pop Festival and released " I Can See for Miles ", their only US top-ten single. The group's 1969 concept album Tommy included the single " Pinball Wizard " and was a critical and commercial success. Further festival appearances at Woodstock and the Isle of Wight , along with the concert album Live at Leeds (1970), established their reputation as a respected rock act. The success put pressure on lead songwriter Townshend, and
12932-544: The Super Bowl XLIV half-time show on 7 February 2010, playing a medley of songs that included "Pinball Wizard", " Who Are You ", "Baba O'Riley", " See Me, Feel Me ", and "Won't Get Fooled Again". In 2012, the Who announced they would tour the rock opera Quadrophenia . The Who were the final performers at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London, performing a medley of "Baba O'Riley", "See Me, Feel Me", and "My Generation". On 22 March 2018, Townshend stated that
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#173285277866213144-457: The U.S. Supreme Court ruling that abolished the policy of " separate but equal " in 1954, but leaving a policy which would be extremely difficult to enforce in parts of the United States. The coming together of white youth audiences and black music in rock and roll inevitably provoked strong white racist reactions within the US, with many whites condemning its breaking down of barriers based on color. Many observers saw rock and roll as heralding
13356-654: The US pop charts – topped the British charts later that year and again in 1956 and helped identify rock and roll with teenage delinquency. The initial response of the British music industry was to attempt to produce copies of American records, recorded with session musicians and often fronted by teen idols. More grass roots British rock and rollers soon began to appear, including Wee Willie Harris and Tommy Steele . During this period American Rock and Roll remained dominant but in 1958 Britain produced its first "authentic" rock and roll song and star, when Cliff Richard reached number 2 in
13568-507: The West End of London . The group experienced a difficult time when touring Denmark in September, which culminated in Daltrey throwing Moon's amphetamines down the toilet and assaulting him. Immediately on returning to Britain, Daltrey was sacked, but was reinstated on the condition that the group became a democracy without his dominant leadership. At this time, the group enlisted Richard Cole as
13780-590: The beat music of rock and roll and rhythm and blues from skiffle, like the Quarrymen who became the Beatles , producing a form of rock and roll revivalism that carried them and many other groups to national success from about 1963 and to international success from 1964, known in America as the British Invasion. Groups that followed the Beatles included the beat-influenced Freddie and the Dreamers , Wayne Fontana and
13992-483: The eleven-plus exam, Townshend was enrolled at Acton County Grammar School . At Acton County, he was frequently bullied because he had a large nose, an experience that profoundly affected him. His grandmother Emma purchased his first guitar for Christmas in 1956, an inexpensive Spanish model. Though his father taught him a couple of chords, Townshend was largely self-taught on the instrument and never learned to read music. Townshend and school friend John Entwistle formed
14204-410: The hippie movement, and thought their violent stage act would stand in sharp contrast to the peaceful atmosphere of the festival. Hendrix was also on the bill, and was also going to smash his guitar on stage. Townshend verbally abused Hendrix and accused him of stealing his act, and the pair argued about who should go on stage first, with the Who winning the argument. The Who brought hired equipment to
14416-428: The rhythm and blues , then called " race music ", in combination with either boogie-woogie and shouting gospel or with country music of the 1940s and 1950s. Particularly significant influences were jazz, blues , gospel , country, and folk . Commentators differ in their views of which of these forms were most important and the degree to which the new music was a re-branding of African-American rhythm and blues for
14628-506: The rock opera Tommy , released on 23 May 1969 to critical and commercial success. In support of Tommy , the Who launched a tour that included a memorable appearance at the Woodstock Festival on 17 August. While the Who were playing, Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman jumped the stage to complain about the arrest of John Sinclair . Townshend promptly knocked him offstage with his guitar, shouting, "Fuck off my fucking stage!" In 1970,
14840-415: The tempos and increasing the backbeat to great popularity on the juke joint circuit. Before the efforts of Freed and others, black music was taboo on many white-owned radio outlets, but artists and producers quickly recognized the potential of rock and roll. Some of Presley's early recordings were covers of black rhythm and blues or blues songs, such as " That's All Right " (a countrified arrangement of
15052-843: The 1800s; the recording can be heard on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website. Various gospel, blues and swing recordings used the phrase before it became widely popular. " Bosom of Abraham ", an African-American spiritual that was documented no later than 1867 (just after the Civil War ), uses the phrase "rock my soul" frequently in a religious sense; this song was later recorded by musicians from various genres, including various gospel musicians and groups (including The Jordanaires ), Louis Armstrong (jazz/swing), Lonnie Donegan ( skiffle ), and Elvis Presley (rock and roll/pop/country). Blues singer Trixie Smith recorded "My [Man] Rocks Me with One Steady Roll" in 1922. It
15264-474: The 1950s, by leading white and black kids to listen to the same music, put the radio personality 'at the vanguard' and made him 'a really important figure ' ". After Freed was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , the organization's Web site offered this comment: "He became internationally known for promoting African-American rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under
15476-405: The 1970s, he used a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe , some with only two mini- humbucker pick-ups and others modified with a third pick-up in the "middle position" (a DiMarzio Superdistortion / Dual Sound). He can be seen using several of these guitars in the documentary The Kids Are Alright , although in the studio he often played a '59 Gretsch 6120 guitar (given to him by Joe Walsh ), most notably on
15688-494: The 21st century, including highly regarded performances at The Concert for New York City in 2001, the 2004 Isle of Wight Festival , Live 8 in 2005, and the 2007 and 2015 Glastonbury Festival . Townshend remained the primary songwriter and leader of the group, writing over 100 songs which appeared on the band's eleven studio albums. Among his creations is the rock opera Quadrophenia . Townshend revisited album-length storytelling throughout his career and remains associated with
15900-400: The American charts, Townshend was surprised it was not an even bigger hit, as he considered it the best song he had written up to that point. By 1968, Townshend became interested in the teachings of Meher Baba . He began to develop a musical piece about a deaf, dumb, and blind boy who would experience sensations musically. The piece would explore the tenets of Baba's philosophy. The result was
16112-685: The B-side, " Instant Party ", and the single was withdrawn. A new B-side, "Waltz for a Pig", was recorded by the Graham Bond Organisation under the pseudonym "the Who Orchestra". In 1966 the Who released " I'm a Boy ", about a boy dressed as a girl, taken from an abortive collection of songs called Quads ; " Happy Jack "; and an EP, Ready Steady Who , that tied in with their regular appearances on Ready Steady Go! The group continued to have conflict; on 20 May, Moon and Entwistle were late to
16324-431: The B-side, "Bald Headed Woman". "I Can't Explain" became popular with pirate radio stations such as Radio Caroline . Pirate radio was important for bands as there were no commercial radio stations in the UK and BBC Radio played little pop music. The group gained further exposure when they appeared on the television programme Ready Steady Go! Lambert and Stamp were tasked with finding "typical teens", and invited
16536-552: The Belmonts ' " A Teenager in Love " (1959). From its early 1950s beginnings through the early 1960s, rock and roll spawned new dance crazes including the twist . Teenagers found the syncopated backbeat rhythm especially suited to reviving Big Band-era jitterbug dancing. Sock hops , school and church gym dances, and home basement dance parties became the rage, and American teens watched Dick Clark 's American Bandstand to keep up on
16748-510: The British charts. A follow-up single (" Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere "), credited to both Townshend and Daltrey, also reached the top 10 in the UK. However, it was the release of the Who's third single, " My Generation ", in November that, according to Who biographer Mark Wilkerson, "cemented their reputation as a hard-nosed band who reflected the feelings of thousands of pissed-off adolescents at the time." The Townshend-penned single reached number two on
16960-547: The Clock" nor Presley's version of "That's Alright Mama" heralded a new genre: "They were simply the first white artists' interpretations of a sound already well-established by black musicians almost a decade before. It was a raucous, driving, unnamed variant of rhythm and blues that came complete with lyrics that talked about rocking". Other artists with early rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry , Bo Diddley , Little Richard , Jerry Lee Lewis , and Gene Vincent . Chuck Berry's 1955 classic " Maybellene " in particular features
17172-462: The Clock". Although only a minor hit when first released, when used in the opening sequence of the movie Blackboard Jungle a year later, it set the rock and roll boom in motion. The song became one of the biggest hits in history, and frenzied teens flocked to see Haley and the Comets perform it, causing riots in some cities. "Rock Around the Clock" was a breakthrough success for the group; traditionally,
17384-659: The Confederates after getting into a fight with the group's drummer, Chris Sherwin, and purchased a "reasonably good Czechoslovakian guitar" at his mother's antique shop. Townshend's brothers Paul and Simon were born in 1957 and 1960, respectively. Lacking the requisite grades to attend university, Townshend was faced with the decision of art school, music school, or getting a job. He ultimately chose to study graphic design at Ealing Art College , enrolling in 1961. At Ealing, Townshend studied alongside future Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood . Townshend dropped out in 1964 to focus on music full-time. In late 1961, Entwistle joined
17596-474: The Detours, a skiffle / rock and roll band, led by Roger Daltrey. The new bass player then suggested Townshend join as an additional guitarist. In the early days of the Detours, the band's repertoire consisted of instrumentals by the Shadows and the Ventures , as well as pop and trad jazz covers. Their lineup coalesced around Roger Daltrey on rhythm guitar, Townshend on lead guitar, Entwistle on bass, Doug Sandom on drums, and Colin Dawson as vocalist. Daltrey
17808-404: The Detours, and established themselves as part of the pop art and mod movements , featuring auto-destructive art by destroying guitars and drums on stage. Their first single as the Who, " I Can't Explain " (1965), reached the UK top ten, and was followed by a string of hit singles including " My Generation " (1965), " Substitute " and " Happy Jack " (both 1966). In 1967, they performed at
18020-746: The Diamonds (The Gladiolas' "Little Darlin ' " and Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?"), the Crew Cuts (the Chords' "Sh-Boom" and Nappy Brown's "Don't Be Angry"), the Fountain Sisters (The Jewels' "Hearts of Stone") and the Maguire Sisters (The Moonglows' "Sincerely"). Some commentators have suggested a decline of rock and roll starting in 1958. The retirement of Little Richard to become
18232-527: The Faces ' bassist and fellow Meher Baba devotee Ronnie Lane on a duet album (1977's Rough Mix ). In 1979 Townshend produced and performed guitar on the novelty single "Peppermint Lump" by Angie on Stiff Records , featuring 11-year-old Angela Porter on lead vocals. Townshend made several solo appearances during the 1970s, two of which were captured on record: Eric Clapton 's Rainbow Concert in January 1973 (which Townshend organized to revive Clapton's career after
18444-565: The Jimi Hendrix Experience . Lambert and Stamp realised that commercial success in the US was paramount to the group's future, and arranged a deal with promoter Frank Barsalona for a short package tour in New York. The group's performances, which still involved smashing guitars and kicking over drums, were well received, and led to their first major US appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival . The group, especially Moon, were not fond of
18656-495: The Joint " (1949) (later covered by Bill Haley & His Comets in 1952), " Rocket 88 " by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats ( Ike Turner and his band The Kings of Rhythm and sung by Brenston), was recorded by Sam Phillips in March 1951. This is often cited as the first rock n' roll record. In an interview however, Ike Turner offered this comment: "I don't think that 'Rocket 88'
18868-473: The Louis Prima rocker "Oh Babe" in 1950, as well as Amos Milburn 's cover of what may have been the first white rock and roll record, Hardrock Gunter 's "Birmingham Bounce" in 1949. The most notable trend, however, was white pop covers of black R&B numbers. The more familiar sound of these covers may have been more palatable to white audiences, there may have been an element of prejudice, but labels aimed at
19080-686: The Mindbenders , Herman's Hermits and the Dave Clark Five . Early British rhythm and blues groups with more blues influences include the Animals , the Rolling Stones , and the Yardbirds . Rock and roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language. In addition, rock and roll may have contributed to the civil rights movement because both African-American and European-American teens enjoyed
19292-656: The Pete Townshend SG, the Pete Townshend J-200, and three different Pete Townshend Les Paul Deluxes. The SG was clearly marked as a Pete Townshend limited edition model and came with a special case and certificate of authenticity, signed by Townshend himself. There was a Pete Townshend signature Rickenbacker limited edition guitar of the model 1998, which was his main 6-string guitar in the Who's early days. The run featured 250 guitars that were made between July 1987–March 1988, and according to Rickenbacker CEO John Hall,
19504-495: The Sex Pistols ' Steve Jones and Paul Cook , fans of the Who. After leaving, he passed out in a doorway, where a policeman said he would not be arrested if he could stand and walk. The events inspired the title track of the next album, Who Are You . The group reconvened in September 1977, but Townshend announced there would be no live performances for the immediate future, a decision that Daltrey endorsed. By this point, Moon
19716-438: The UK and No. 4 in the US. " Baba O'Riley " and " Won't Get Fooled Again " are early examples of synthesizer use in rock, featuring keyboard sounds generated in real time by a Lowrey organ ; on "Won't Get Fooled Again", it was further processed through a VCS3 synthesizer. The synthesizer intro to "Baba O'Riley" was programmed based on Meher Baba's vital stats, and the track featured a violin solo by Dave Arbus . The album
19928-472: The UK and US. NME reviewer Charles Shaar Murray called it "prime cut Who" and "the most rewarding musical experience of the year." On tour, the band played the album along to pre-recorded backing tapes, causing much friction. The tapes malfunctioned during a performance in Newcastle, prompting Townshend to drag soundman Bob Pridden onstage, scream at him and kick over all the amplifiers, partially destroying
20140-541: The UK charts, becoming the Who's biggest hit. The song and its famous line "I hope I die before I get old" was "very much about trying to find a place in society", Townshend stated in an interview with David Fricke . To capitalise on their recent single success, the Who's debut album My Generation ( The Who Sings My Generation in the US) was released in late 1965, containing original material written by Townshend and several James Brown covers that Daltrey favoured. Townshend continued to write several successful singles for
20352-403: The US again with Eric Burdon and the Animals , including an appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour , miming to "I Can See For Miles" and "My Generation". Moon bribed a stage hand to put explosives in his drum kit, who loaded it with ten times the expected quantity. The resulting detonation threw Moon off his drum riser and his arm was cut by a flying piece of a cymbal. Townshend's hair
20564-649: The US later that month, where Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times described the Who as "the Greatest Show on Earth". The tour was slightly disrupted at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on 12 December when Moon passed out over his kit after overdosing on brandy and barbiturates. He recovered and completed the gig, playing to his usual strength. After touring Who's Next , and needing time to write
20776-489: The Who are now the band against which all others are to be judged." Daltrey had significantly improved as a singer, and set a template for rock singers in the 1970s by growing his hair long and wearing open shirts on stage. Townshend had taken to wearing a boiler suit and Doctor Martens shoes. In August, the Who performed at the Woodstock Festival , despite being reluctant and demanding $ 13,000 up front. The group were scheduled to appear on Saturday night, 16 August, but
20988-414: The Who filmed another performance at Shepperton Sound Studios for The Kids Are Alright . This performance was strong, and several tracks were used in the film. It was the last gig Moon performed with the Who. The album was released on 18 August, and became their biggest and fastest seller to date, peaking at No. 6 in the UK and No. 2 in the US. Instead of touring, Daltrey, Townshend and Moon did
21200-554: The Who have continued to perform and tour, most commonly with Starkey on drums, Pino Palladino on bass, and Pete's brother Simon Townshend on second guitar and backing vocals. In 2019, the group released the album Who and toured with a symphony orchestra. The founding members of the Who, Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend and John Entwistle , grew up in Acton, London and went to Acton County Grammar School . Townshend's father, Cliff , played saxophone and his mother, Betty, had sung in
21412-427: The Who released Live at Leeds , which several music critics cite as the best live album of all time. Townshend began writing material for another rock opera. Dubbed Lifehouse , it was designed to be a multi-media project that symbolised the relationship between a musician and his audience. The rest of the band were confused by its convoluted plot and simply wanted another album. Townshend began to feel alienated, and
21624-400: The Who were widely considered one of the best and most popular live rock bands; Chris Charlesworth described their concerts as "leading to a kind of rock nirvana that most bands can only dream about". They decided a live album would help demonstrate how different the sound at their gigs was to Tommy , and set about listening to the hours of recordings they had accumulated. Townshend baulked at
21836-509: The Who's studio albums. These include concept albums , the rock operas Tommy (1969) and Quadrophenia (1973), plus popular rock radio staples such as Who's Next (1971); as well as dozens more that appeared as non-album singles, bonus tracks on reissues, and tracks on rarities compilation albums such as Odds & Sods (1974). He has also written more than 100 songs that have appeared on his solo albums, as well as radio jingles and television theme songs . While known primarily as
22048-521: The Who). Elton John used his own band for "Pinball Wizard". Filming was from April until August. 1500 extras appeared in the "Pinball Wizard" sequence. The film premiered on 18 March 1975 to a standing ovation. Townshend was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score . Tommy was shown at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival , but not in the main competition. It won the award for Rock Movie of
22260-728: The Year in the First Annual Rock Music Awards and generated over $ 2 million in its first month. The soundtrack reached number two on the Billboard charts. Work on Tommy took up most of 1974, and live performances by the Who were restricted to a show in May at the Valley , the home of Charlton Athletic , in front of 80,000 fans, and a few dates at Madison Square Garden in June. Towards
22472-413: The accompanying single, "Pinball Wizard", a début performance at Ronnie Scott's , and a tour , playing most of the new album live. Tommy sold 200,000 copies in the US in its first two weeks, and was a critical success, Life saying, "for sheer power, invention and brilliance of performance, Tommy outstrips anything which has ever come out of a recording studio". Melody Maker declared: "Surely
22684-407: The accordion. After a 1976 tour, Townshend took a year-long break from the band to focus on spending time with his family. The Who continues despite the deaths of two of the original members ( Keith Moon in 1978 and John Entwistle in 2002). The band is regarded by many rock critics as one of the best live bands from the 1960s to the 2000s. The Who continues to perform critically acclaimed sets into
22896-571: The albums Who's Next and Quadrophenia . During the 1980s, Townshend mainly used Fenders, Rickenbackers and Telecaster-style models built for him by Schecter and various other luthiers . Since the late-1980s, Townshend has used the Fender Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster , with Lace Sensor pick-ups, both in the studio and on tour. Some of his Stratocaster guitars feature a Fishman PowerBridge piezo pick-up system to simulate acoustic guitar tones. This piezo system
23108-439: The arrest of Chuck Berry (December 1959), and the death of Eddie Cochran in a car crash (April 1960) gave a sense that the initial phase of rock and roll had come to an end. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the rawer sounds of Presley, Gene Vincent , Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly were commercially superseded by a more polished, commercial style of rock and roll influenced pop music. Marketing frequently emphasized
23320-564: The article said that rock and roll combined R&B with pop and country music. Fats Domino was one of the biggest stars of rock and roll in the early 1950s and he was not convinced that this was a new genre. In 1957, he said: "What they call rock 'n' roll now is rhythm and blues. I've been playing it for 15 years in New Orleans". According to Rolling Stone , "this is a valid statement ... all Fifties rockers, black and white, country born and city-bred, were fundamentally influenced by R&B,
23532-685: The band as a support act for bands including Screaming Lord Sutch , Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers , Shane Fenton and the Fentones , and Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. In 1963, Townshend's father arranged an amateur recording of "It Was You", the first song his son ever wrote. The Detours became aware of a group of the same name in February 1964, forcing them to change their name. Townshend's roommate Richard Barnes came up with "The Who", and Daltrey decided it
23744-435: The band as a support act. The Detours were influenced by the bands they supported, including Screaming Lord Sutch , Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers , Shane Fenton and the Fentones , and Johnny Kidd and the Pirates . The Detours were particularly interested in the Pirates as they also only had one guitarist, Mick Green , who inspired Townshend to combine rhythm and lead guitar in his style. Entwistle's bass became more of
23956-443: The band, including " Pictures of Lily ", " Substitute ", " I'm a Boy ", and " Happy Jack ". Lambert encouraged Townshend to write longer pieces of music for the next album, which became " A Quick One, While He's Away ". The album was subsequently titled A Quick One and reached No. 4 in the charts upon its release in December 1966. In their stage shows, Townshend developed a guitar stunt in which he would swing his right arm against
24168-448: The band. "Sally Simpson" is about a fan who tried to climb on stage at a gig by the Doors that they attended and " Pinball Wizard " was written so that New York Times journalist Nik Cohn , a pinball enthusiast, would give the album a good review. Townshend later said, "I wanted the story of Tommy to have several levels ... a rock singles level and a bigger concept level", containing
24380-532: The black popular music of the late Forties and early Fifties". Further, Little Richard built his ground-breaking sound of the same era with an uptempo blend of boogie-woogie, New Orleans rhythm and blues, and the soul and fervor of gospel music vocalization. Less frequently cited as an influencer, LaVern Baker was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. The Hall remarked that her "fiery fusion of blues, jazz and R&B showcased her alluring vocals and set
24592-623: The book by Ted Hughes . McAnuff and Townshend later co-produced the animated film The Iron Giant , also based on the Hughes story. A production described as a Townshend rock opera and titled The Boy Who Heard Music debuted as part of Vassar College 's Powerhouse Summer Theater program in July 2007. On 2 September 2017 at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts , Townshend embarked with fellow singer and musician Billy Idol , tenor Alfie Boe , and an orchestra on
24804-453: The charts with " Move It ". At the same time, TV shows such as Six-Five Special and Oh Boy! promoted the careers of British rock and rollers like Marty Wilde and Adam Faith . Cliff Richard and his backing band, the Shadows , were the most successful home grown rock and roll based acts of the era. Other leading acts included Billy Fury , Joe Brown , and Johnny Kidd & the Pirates , whose 1960 hit song " Shakin' All Over " became
25016-537: The commitment of the group prevented him from releasing solo material. The next album, The Who by Numbers , had introspective songs from Townshend that dealt with disillusionment such as "However Much I Booze" and "How Many Friends"; they resembled his later solo work. Entwistle's "Success Story" gave a humorous look at the music industry, and " Squeeze Box " was a hit single. The group toured from October, playing little new material and few Quadrophenia numbers, and reintroducing several from Tommy . The American leg of
25228-623: The concept of rock and roll had been defined, Billboard magazine columnist Maurie Orodenker started to use the term to describe upbeat recordings such as "Rock Me" by Sister Rosetta Tharpe ; her style on that recording was described as "rock-and-roll spiritual singing". By 1943, the "Rock and Roll Inn" in South Merchantville, New Jersey , was established as a music venue. In 1951, Cleveland , Ohio, disc jockey Alan Freed began playing this music style, and referring to it as "rock and roll" on his mainstream radio program, which popularized
25440-519: The country; Prime Minister John Gorton sent a telegram to the Who telling them never to return to Australia. The Who would not return to Australia again until 2004. They continued to tour across the US and Canada during the first half of the year. By 1968, the Who had started to attract attention in the underground press . Townshend had stopped using drugs and became interested in the teachings of Meher Baba . In August, he gave an interview to Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner describing in detail
25652-415: The crossover of African-American "race music" to a growing white youth audience, the popularization of rock and roll involved both black performers reaching a white audience and white musicians performing African-American music. Rock and roll appeared at a time when racial tensions in the United States were entering a new phase, with the beginnings of the civil rights movement for desegregation , leading to
25864-614: The death of Who drummer Keith Moon , was the 1980 release Empty Glass , which included the top-10 single " Let My Love Open the Door ", and lesser singles " A Little Is Enough " and " Rough Boys ". This release was followed in 1982 by All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes , which included the popular radio track " Slit Skirts ". While not a huge commercial success, music critic Timothy Duggan listed it as "Townshend's most honest and introspective work since Quadrophenia." Through
26076-434: The demands of the music; added to this issue, tour rehearsals had been interrupted due to an argument that culminated in Daltrey punching Townshend and knocking him out cold. At a gig in Newcastle, the tapes completely malfunctioned, and an enraged Townshend dragged sound-man Bob Pridden on-stage, screamed at him, kicked all the amps over and partially destroyed the backing tapes. The show was abandoned for an "oldies" set, at
26288-588: The development of what was to be defined as rock and roll as a distinct genre. Because the development of rock and roll was an evolutionary process, no single record can be identified as unambiguously "the first" rock and roll record. Contenders for the title of " first rock and roll record " include Sister Rosetta Tharpe 's " Strange Things Happening Every Day " (1944), " That's All Right " by Arthur Crudup (1946), " Move It On Over " by Hank Williams (1947), " The Fat Man " by Fats Domino (1949), Goree Carter 's " Rock Awhile " (1949), and Jimmy Preston 's " Rock
26500-592: The drumming and, according to Sandom, Townshend immediately turned on him and threatened to fire him if his playing did not immediately improve. Sandom left in disgust, but was persuaded to lend his kit to any potential stand-ins or replacements. Sandom and Townshend did not speak to each other again for 14 years. During a gig with a stand-in drummer in late April at the Oldfield, the band first met Keith Moon. Moon grew up in Wembley , and had been drumming in bands since 1961. He
26712-416: The early 20th century was used both to describe the spiritual fervor of black church rituals and as a sexual analogy. A retired Welsh seaman named William Fender can be heard singing the phrase "rock and roll" when describing a sexual encounter in his performance of the traditional song " The Baffled Knight " to the folklorist James Madison Carpenter in the early 1930s, which he would have learned at sea in
26924-501: The early days with the Who, Townshend played an Emile Grimshaw SS De Luxe and 6-string and 12-string Rickenbacker semi-hollow electric guitars primarily (particularly the Rose-Morris UK-imported models with special f-holes). When the excited audience responded enthusiastically after he accidentally broke the head off his guitar on a low ceiling during a concert at the Railway Hotel pub in Wealdstone , west London, he incorporated
27136-427: The electric guitar as its centerpiece, adapting his rock band instrumentation from the basic blues band instrumentation of a lead guitar, second chord instrument, bass and drums. In 2017, Robert Christgau declared that "Chuck Berry did in fact invent rock 'n' roll", explaining that this artist "came the closest of any single figure to being the one who put all the essential pieces together". Rock and roll arrived at
27348-511: The electric guitar, creating what is instantly recognizable as rock guitar. This proposal by Richards neglects the black guitarists who did the same thing before Berry, such as Goree Carter , Gatemouth Brown , and the originator of the style, T-Bone Walker . Country boogie and Chicago electric blues supplied many of the elements that would be seen as characteristic of rock and roll. Inspired by electric blues , Chuck Berry introduced an aggressive guitar sound to rock and roll, and established
27560-451: The electronic treatment of sound by such innovators as Joe Meek , and the " Wall of Sound " productions of Phil Spector , continued desegregation of the charts, the rise of surf music , garage rock and the Twist dance craze. Surf rock in particular, noted for the use of reverb-drenched guitars, became one of the most popular forms of American rock of the early 1960s. While the sounds of
27772-451: The end of 1976. The release of Who Are You (1978) was overshadowed by Moon's death shortly after. Kenney Jones replaced Moon and the group resumed touring, and released a film adaptation of Quadrophenia and the retrospective documentary The Kids Are Alright (both 1979). The band embarked on the It's Hard Tour in support of their 1982 album, It's Hard . After Townshend became weary of
27984-450: The end of the year, the group released the out-takes album Odds & Sods , which featured several songs from the aborted Lifehouse project. In 1975, Daltrey and Townshend disagreed about the band's future and criticised each other via interviews in the music paper New Musical Express . Daltrey was grateful that the Who had saved him from a career as a sheet-metal worker and was unhappy at Townshend not playing well; Townshend felt
28196-560: The end of which Townshend smashed his guitar and Moon kicked over his drumkit. The Independent described this gig as one of the worst of all time. The US tour started on 20 November at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California ; Moon passed out during "Won't Get Fooled Again" and during " Magic Bus ". Townshend asked the audience, "Can anyone play the drums? – I mean somebody good." An audience member, Scot Halpin , filled in for
28408-600: The entertainment division of the Royal Air Force during World War II, and both supported their son's interest in rock and roll . Townshend and Entwistle became friends in their second year of Acton County, and formed a trad jazz group; Entwistle also played French horn in the Middlesex Schools' Symphony Orchestra. Both were interested in rock, and Townshend particularly admired Cliff Richard 's début single, " Move It ". Entwistle moved to guitar, but struggled with it due to his large fingers, and moved to bass on hearing
28620-555: The entire run sold out before serious advertising could be done. He also used the Gibson ES-335 , one of which he donated to the Hard Rock Cafe. Townshend also used a Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck very briefly circa late 1967, and both a Harmony Sovereign H1270 and a Fender Electric XII for the studio sessions for Tommy for the 12-string guitar parts. He also occasionally used Fender Jazzmasters on stage in 1967 and 1968 and in
28832-490: The eventual smashing of his instrument into the band's performances. However, as instrument-smashing became increasingly integrated into the Who's concert sets, he switched to more durable and resilient (and, importantly, cheaper) guitars for smashing, such as the Fender Stratocaster , Fender Telecaster and various Danelectro models. On the Who's The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour appearance in 1967, Townshend used
29044-422: The festival ran late and they did not take to the stage until 5 am on Sunday; they played most of Tommy . During their performance, Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman interrupted the set to give a political speech about the arrest of John Sinclair ; Townshend kicked him off stage, shouting: "Fuck off my fucking stage!" During " See Me, Feel Me ", the sun rose almost as if on cue; Entwistle later said, "God
29256-415: The festival; Hendrix shipped over his regular touring gear from Britain, including a full Marshall stack . According to biographer Tony Fletcher , Hendrix sounded "so much better than the Who it was embarrassing". The Who's appearance at Monterey gave them recognition in the US, and "Happy Jack" reached the top 30. The group followed Monterey with a US tour supporting Herman's Hermits . The Hermits were
29468-399: The film premiered on 18 March 1975. Townshend was nominated for an Academy Award for scoring and adapting the music in the film. The Who by Numbers came out in November of that year and peaked at No. 7 in the UK and 8 in the US. It featured introspective songs, often with a negative slant. The album spawned one hit single, " Squeeze Box ", that was written after Townshend learned how to play
29680-462: The first definition. In the earliest rock and roll styles, either the piano or saxophone was typically the lead instrument. These instruments were generally replaced or supplemented by the electric guitar in the mid-to-late 1950s. The beat is essentially a dance rhythm with an accentuated backbeat , almost always provided by a snare drum . Classic rock and roll is usually played with one or more electric guitars (one lead , one rhythm ) and
29892-456: The follow-up to Tommy , Lifehouse , was abandoned. Songs from the project made up the album Who's Next (1971), including the hits " Won't Get Fooled Again ", " Baba O'Riley ", and " Behind Blue Eyes ". The group released another concept album, Quadrophenia (1973), as a celebration of their mod roots, and oversaw the film adaptation of Tommy (1975). They continued to tour to large audiences before semi-retiring from live performances at
30104-463: The four personalities of the Who. Townshend played multi-tracked synthesizers, and Entwistle played several overdubbed horn parts. By the time the album was being recorded, relationships between the band and Lambert and Stamp had broken down irreparably, and Bill Curbishley replaced them. The album reached No. 2 in both the UK and US. The Quadrophenia tour started in Stoke on Trent in October and
30316-446: The genre did not acquire its name until 1954. According to the journalist Greg Kot , "rock and roll" refers to a style of popular music originating in the United States in the 1950s. By the mid-1960s, rock and roll had developed into "the more encompassing international style known as rock music , though the latter also continued to be known in many circles as rock and roll." For the purpose of differentiation, this article deals with
30528-463: The greatest Black musicians like BB King, Arthur Crudup and Fats Domino. His style of music combined with black influences created controversy during a turbulent time in history. Many other popular rock and roll singers of the time, such as Fats Domino and Little Richard , came out of the black rhythm and blues tradition, making the music attractive to white audiences, and are not usually classed as "rockabilly". Presley popularized rock and roll on
30740-600: The group in rehearsals and was impressed. He signed them to his production company, and sold the recording to the US arm of Decca Records , which meant that the group's early singles were released in Britain on Brunswick Records , one of UK Decca's labels for US artists. "I Can't Explain" was recorded in early November 1964 at Pye Studios in Marble Arch with the Ivy League on backing vocals, and Jimmy Page played fuzz guitar on
30952-619: The group to release a solo album, Smash Your Head Against the Wall , in May 1971. Recording at the Record Plant in New York City in March 1971 was abandoned when Lambert's addiction to hard drugs interfered with his ability to produce. The group restarted with Glyn Johns in April. The album was mostly Lifehouse material, with one unrelated song by Entwistle, " My Wife ", and was released as Who's Next in August. The album reached No. 1 in
31164-536: The group would be ideal to represent the growing mod movement in Britain which involved fashion, scooters and music genres such as rhythm and blues , soul and modern jazz . He renamed the group the High Numbers, dressed them up in mod clothes, secured a second, more favourable audition with Fontana and wrote the lyrics for both sides of their single " Zoot Suit"/"I'm the Face " to appeal to mods. The tune for "Zoot Suit"
31376-733: The group's regular audience from the Goldhawk Social Club. Enthusiastic reception on television and regular airplay on pirate radio helped the single slowly climb the charts in early 1965 until it reached the top 10. In early 1965, the Who made their first appearance on the television music show, Top of the Pops , at the BBC 's Dickenson Road Studios in Manchester , with "I Can't Explain". The follow-up single, " Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere ", by Townshend and Daltrey, features guitar noises such as pick sliding , toggle switching and feedback , which
31588-401: The group, they split in 1983. The Who occasionally re-formed for live appearances such as Live Aid in 1985, a 25th-anniversary tour in 1989 with Simon Phillips on drums and a tour of Quadrophenia in 1996–1997. A full reunion began in 1999, with drummer Zak Starkey . After Entwistle's death in 2002, plans for a new album were delayed until 2006, with Endless Wire . Since Entwistle's death,
31800-413: The guitar strings in a style reminiscent of the vanes of a windmill. He developed this style after watching Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards warm up before a show. The Who commenced their first US tour on 22 March 1967. Townshend took to trashing his hotel suites, though not to the extent of his bandmate Moon. He also began experimenting with LSD , though stopped taking the drug after receiving
32012-422: The guitar work of Duane Eddy . He was unable to afford a bass and built one at home. After Acton County, Townshend attended Ealing Art College , a move he later described as profoundly influential on the course of the Who. Daltrey, who was in the year above, had moved to Acton from Shepherd's Bush , a more working-class area. He had trouble fitting in at the school, and discovered gangs and rock and roll. He
32224-586: The imprint for all the Who's UK output until the mid-1970s. The group started 1968 by touring Australia and New Zealand with the Small Faces . The groups had trouble with the local authorities and the New Zealand Truth called them "unwashed, foul-smelling, booze-swilling no-hopers". After an incident that took place on a flight to Sydney , the band were briefly arrested in Melbourne and then forced to leave
32436-490: The intention of finding new talent and creating a documentary about them. The band anguished over a name that all felt represented the band best, and dropped the High Numbers name, reverting to the Who. In June 1964, during a performance at the Railway Tavern, Townshend accidentally broke the top of his guitar on the low ceiling and proceeded to destroy the entire instrument . The on-stage destruction of instruments soon became
32648-589: The latter's heroin addiction), and the Paul McCartney -sponsored Concerts for the People of Kampuchea in December 1979. The commercially available video of the Kampuchea concert shows the two rock icons duelling and clowning through Rockestra mega-band versions of "Lucille", "Let It Be", and "Rockestra Theme"; Townshend closes the proceedings with a characteristic split-legged leap. Townshend's solo breakthrough, following
32860-399: The levees and plantations, took in folk songs, and features blues and rhythm". In discussing Alan Freed's contribution to the genre, two significant sources emphasized the importance of African-American rhythm and blues. Greg Harris, then the executive director of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, offered this comment to CNN : "Freed's role in breaking down racial barriers in U.S. pop culture in
33072-400: The malfunctioning tapes. On 14 April 1974, Townshend played his first solo concert, a benefit to raise funds for a London community centre. A film version of Tommy was directed by Ken Russell , and starred Roger Daltrey in the title role, Ann-Margret as his mother, and Oliver Reed as his step-father, with cameos by Tina Turner , Elton John , Eric Clapton , and other rock notables;
33284-525: The music. Many early rock and roll songs dealt with issues of cars, school, dating, and clothing. The lyrics of rock and roll songs described events and conflicts to which most listeners could relate through personal experience. Topics such as sex that had generally been considered taboo began to appear in rock and roll lyrics. This new music tried to break boundaries and express emotions that people were actually feeling but had not discussed openly. An awakening began to take place in American youth culture. In
33496-659: The name of rock and roll". Not often acknowledged in the history of rock and roll, Todd Storz , the owner of radio station KOWH in Omaha , Nebraska, was the first to adopt the Top 40 format (in 1953), playing only the most popular records in rotation. His station, and the numerous others which adopted the concept, helped to promote the genre: by the mid 50s, the playlist included artists such as " Presley , Lewis , Haley , Berry and Domino ". The origins of rock and roll have been fiercely debated by commentators and historians of music. There
33708-441: The narrative that runs through his music of a boy lost in the stresses and pressures of postwar life. In his autobiography, he wrote: I wasn't trying to play beautiful music. I was confronting my audience with the awful, visceral sound of what we all knew was the single absolute of our frail existence—one day an aeroplane would carry the bomb that would destroy us all in a flash. It could happen at any time. Although he grew up in
33920-825: The next morning. By the time the Detours had become the Who, they had already found regular gigs, including at the Oldfield Hotel in Greenford, the White Hart Hotel in Acton, the Goldhawk Social Club in Shepherd's Bush, and the Notre Dame Hall in Leicester Square. They had also replaced Druce as manager with Helmut Gorden, with whom they secured an audition with Chris Parmeinter for Fontana Records . Parmeinter found problems with
34132-471: The ongoing British Invasion. Another example was Bobby Fuller and his group The Bobby Fuller Four , who were especially inspired by Buddy Holly and stuck with a rock and roll style, scoring their most notable hit with "I Fought the Law" (1965). In the 1950s, Britain was well placed to receive American rock and roll music and culture. It shared a common language , had been exposed to American culture through
34344-418: The phrase. Several sources suggest that Freed found the term, used as a synonym for sexual intercourse, on the record " Sixty Minute Man " by Billy Ward and his Dominoes . The lyrics include the line, "I rock 'em, roll 'em all night long". Freed did not acknowledge the suggestion about that source in interviews, and explained the term as follows: "Rock 'n roll is really swing with a modern name. It began on
34556-506: The physical looks of the artist rather than the music, contributing to the successful careers of Ricky Nelson , Tommy Sands , Bobby Vee , Jimmy Clanton , and the Philadelphia trio of Bobby Rydell , Frankie Avalon , and Fabian , who all became "teen idols". Some music historians have also pointed to important and innovative developments that built on rock and roll in this period, including multitrack recording , developed by Les Paul ,
34768-454: The plot of a new album project and its relationship to Baba's teachings. The album went through several names during recording, including Deaf Dumb and Blind Boy and Amazing Journey ; Townshend settled on Tommy for the album about the life of a deaf, dumb and blind boy, and his attempt to communicate with others. Some songs, such as "Welcome" and "Amazing Journey", were inspired by Baba's teaching, and others came from observations within
34980-450: The project was abandoned after he suffered a nervous breakdown. Much of the material intended for Lifehouse was released as a traditional studio album, Who's Next . It became a commercial smash, reaching number one in the UK, and spawned two successful hit singles, " Baba O'Riley " and " Won't Get Fooled Again ", that featured pioneering use of the synthesizer. "Baba O'Riley" in particular was written as Townshend's ode to his two heroes at
35192-416: The project was never broadcast. The Who had not released an album in over a year, and had not completed the recording of Tommy , which continued well into 1969, interspersed with gigs at weekends. Lambert was a key figure in keeping the group focused and getting the album completed, and typed up a script to help them understand the story and how the songs fitted together. The album was released in May with
35404-605: The prospect of doing so, and demanded that all the tapes be burned. Instead, they booked two shows, one in Leeds on 14 February, and one in Hull the following day, with the intention of recording a live album. Technical problems from the Hull gig resulted in the Leeds gig being used, which became Live at Leeds . The album is viewed by several critics including The Independent , The Telegraph and
35616-532: The rest of the 1980s and early 1990s Townshend would again experiment with the rock opera and related formats, releasing several story-based albums including White City: A Novel (1985), The Iron Man: A Musical (1989), and Psychoderelict (1993). Townshend also got the chance to play with his hero Hank Marvin for Paul McCartney 's " Rockestra " sessions, along with other rock musicians such as David Gilmour , John Bonham , and Ronnie Lane . Townshend recorded several concert albums, including one featuring
35828-446: The rest of the band, married, and a more proficient musician, having been playing semi-professionally for two years. Dawson left after frequently arguing with Daltrey and was briefly replaced by Gabby Connolly, before Daltrey moved to lead vocals. Townshend, with Entwistle's encouragement, became the sole guitarist. Through Townshend's mother, the group obtained a management contract with local promoter Robert Druce, who started booking
36040-447: The rest of the show. After a show in Montreal , the band (except for Daltrey, who retired to bed early) caused so much damage to their hotel room, including destroying an antique painting and ramming a marble table through a wall, that federal law enforcement arrested them. By 1974, work had begun in earnest on a Tommy film . Stigwood suggested Ken Russell as director, whose previous work Townshend had admired. The film featured
36252-400: The rights to all of his back catalog and much of his future work including Floss The Musical if it is ever completed. He summarized the work in an interview with Sirius Satellite Radio published February 2010. In a 2015 interview Townshend stated that the work was intended to be an art installation. In March 2019 it was announced that a work entitled The Age of Anxiety would be published as
36464-418: The rights to the master tapes, which prevented the album from being reissued until 2002. The Who were signed to Robert Stigwood 's label, Reaction, and released " Substitute ". Townshend said he wrote the song about identity crisis, and as a parody of the Rolling Stones 's " 19th Nervous Breakdown ". It was the first single to feature him playing an acoustic twelve-string guitar . Talmy took legal action over
36676-420: The rock opera form. Many studio recordings also feature Townshend on piano or keyboards, though keyboard-heavy tracks increasingly featured guest artists in the studio, such as Nicky Hopkins , John Bundrick , or Chris Stainton . Townshend is one of the key figures in the development of feedback in rock guitar. When asked who first used feedback, Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore said: Pete Townshend
36888-416: The same period, particularly on the West Coast and in the Midwest , the development of jump blues , with its guitar riffs, prominent beats and shouted lyrics, prefigured many later developments. In the documentary film Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll , Keith Richards proposes that Chuck Berry developed his brand of rock and roll by transposing the familiar two-note lead line of jump blues piano directly to
37100-450: The slogan "Maximum R&B". In June 1964, during a performance at the Railway, Townshend accidentally broke the head of his guitar on the low ceiling of the stage. Angered by the audience's laughter, he smashed the instrument on the stage, then picked up another guitar and continued the show. The following week, the audience were keen to see a repeat of the event. Moon obliged by kicking his drum kit over, and auto-destructive art became
37312-525: The song has been seen as the major breakthrough for the rock and roll genre, as its immense popularity introduced the music to a global audience. In 1956, the arrival of rockabilly was underlined by the success of songs like " Folsom Prison Blues " by Johnny Cash , " Blue Suede Shoes " by Perkins, and the No. 1 hit " Heartbreak Hotel " by Presley. For a few years it became the most commercially successful form of rock and roll. Later rockabilly acts, particularly performing songwriters like Buddy Holly , would be
37524-520: The spiritual message he wanted as well as being entertaining. The album was projected for a Christmas 1968 release but recording stalled after Townshend decided to make a double album to cover the story in sufficient depth. By the end of the year, 18 months of touring had led to a well-rehearsed and tight live band, which was evident when they performed "A Quick One While He's Away" at The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus television special. The Stones considered their own performance lacklustre, and
37736-439: The stage for the rock and roll surge of the Fifties". "Rockabilly" usually (but not exclusively) refers to the type of rock and roll music which was played and recorded in the mid-1950s primarily by white singers such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins , Johnny Cash , and Jerry Lee Lewis , who drew mainly on the country roots of the music. Presley was greatly influenced by and incorporated his style of music with that of some of
37948-465: The stationing of troops in the country, and shared many social developments, including the emergence of distinct youth sub-cultures, which in Britain included the Teddy Boys and the rockers . Trad jazz became popular in the UK, and many of its musicians were influenced by related American styles, including boogie woogie and the blues . The skiffle craze, led by Lonnie Donegan , used amateurish versions of American folk songs and encouraged many of
38160-410: The studio for Tommy . The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey , guitarist Pete Townshend , bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon . They are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century. Their contributions to rock music include the development of
38372-458: The subsequent generation of rock and roll, folk, R&B and beat musicians to start performing. At the same time British audiences were beginning to encounter American rock and roll, initially through films including Blackboard Jungle (1955) and Rock Around the Clock (1956). Both movies featured the Bill Haley & His Comets hit " Rock Around the Clock ", which first entered the British charts in early 1955 – four months before it reached
38584-489: The time, Meher Baba and composer Terry Riley . Townshend began writing songs for another rock opera in 1973. He decided it would explore the mod subculture and its clashes with rockers in the early 1960s in the UK. Entitled Quadrophenia , it was the only Who album written entirely by Townshend, and he produced the album as well due to the souring of relations with Lambert. It was released in November, and became their highest charting cross-Atlantic success, reaching No. 2 in
38796-414: The toilet: "[A]ll that porcelain flying through the air was quite unforgettable. I never realised dynamite was so powerful." After a gig in Flint, Michigan on Moon's 21st birthday on 23 August 1967, the entourage caused $ 24,000 of damage at the hotel, and Moon knocked out one of his front teeth. Daltrey later said that the tour brought the band closer, and as the support act, they could turn up and perform
39008-494: The tour began in Houston to a crowd of 18,000 at The Summit Arena , and was supported by Toots and the Maytals . On 6 December 1975, the Who set the record for largest indoor concert at the Pontiac Silverdome , attended by 78,000. On 31 May 1976, they played a second concert at the Valley which was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's loudest concert at over 120 dB. Townshend had become fed up of touring but Entwistle considered live performance to be at
39220-472: The use of feedback more his style, and so it's related to him. Whereas the other players like Jeff Beck and myself were playing more single note things than chords. Many rock guitarists have cited Townshend as an influence, among them Slash , Alex Lifeson , and Steve Jones . In addition to his work with the Who, Townshend has been sporadically active as a solo recording artist. Between 1969 and 1971 Townshend, along with other devotees to Meher Baba , recorded
39432-451: The way for desegregation, in creating a new form of music that encouraged racial cooperation and shared experience. Many authors have argued that early rock and roll was instrumental in the way both white and black teenagers identified themselves. Several rock historians have claimed that rock and roll was one of the first music genres to define an age group . It gave teenagers a sense of belonging, even when they were alone. Rock and roll
39644-747: The white market also had much better distribution networks and were generally much more profitable. Famously, Pat Boone recorded sanitized versions of songs recorded by the likes of Fats Domino, Little Richard, the Flamingos and Ivory Joe Hunter. Later, as those songs became popular, the original artists' recordings received radio play as well. The cover versions were not necessarily straightforward imitations. For example, Bill Haley's incompletely bowdlerized cover of " Shake, Rattle and Roll " transformed Big Joe Turner's humorous and racy tale of adult love into an energetic teen dance number, while Georgia Gibbs replaced Etta James ' tough, sarcastic vocal in "Roll With Me, Henry" (covered as "Dance With Me, Henry") with
39856-443: The whole of America had gone mad." A more enjoyable appearance came a few weeks later at the 1969 Isle of Wight Festival in England, which Townshend described as "a great concert for" the band. According to Townshend, at the end of the Isle of Wight gig the field was covered in rubbish left by fans (which the band's roadies helped to clear up), which inspired the line "teenage wasteland" from their single " Baba O'Riley ". By 1970,
40068-422: Was "Misery" by the Dynamics , and "I'm the Face" borrowed from Slim Harpo 's "I Got Love If You Want It". Although Meaden tried to promote the single, it failed to reach the top 50 and the band reverted to calling themselves the Who. The group – none of whom played their instruments conventionally – began to improve their stage image; Daltrey started using his microphone cable as
40280-476: Was "trying to get Keith out of the Who". To alleviate financial pressure on the band, Lambert arranged a song-writing deal which required each member to write two songs for the next album. Entwistle contributed " Boris the Spider " and "Whiskey Man" and found a niche role as second songwriter. The band found they needed to fill an extra ten minutes, and Lambert encouraged Townshend to write a longer piece, " A Quick One, While He's Away ". The suite of song fragments
40492-465: Was a critical and commercial success, and has been certified 3× platinum by the RIAA . The Who continued to issue Lifehouse -related material over the next few years, including the singles " Let's See Action ", " Join Together " and " Relay ". The band went back on tour, and "Baba O' Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" became live favourites. In November they performed at the newly opened Rainbow Theatre in London for three nights, continuing in
40704-401: Was a recurring source of concern for older generations, who worried about juvenile delinquency and social rebellion, particularly because, to a large extent, rock and roll culture was shared by different racial and social groups. In America, that concern was conveyed even in youth cultural artifacts such as comic books . In "There's No Romance in Rock and Roll" from True Life Romance (1956),
40916-415: Was a toddler and he was sent to live with his maternal grandmother Emma Dennis, whom Pete later described as "clinically insane", later citing this experience as having unknowingly influenced the plot of Tommy . The two-year separation ended when Cliff and Betty purchased a house together on Woodgrange Avenue in middle-class Acton , and the young Pete was happily reunited with his parents. His neighbourhood
41128-448: Was also strongly influenced by cellist Malcolm Cecil , who often damaged his cello during performances, along with Gustav Metzger , pioneer of auto-destructive art . In light of these influences, guitar smashing became not just an expression of youthful angst, but also a means of conveying ideas through musical performance. "We advanced a new concept", he writes. "Destruction is art when set to music." Townshend also cited Robbie Basho as
41340-511: Was becoming increasingly destructive and problematic through excessive drinking and drugs use, and a desire to party and tour. Daltrey performed an audit of the group's finances and discovered that Lambert and Stamp had not kept sufficient records. He believed them to be no longer effective managers, which Townshend and Moon disputed. The painful dissolution of the managerial and personal relationships are recounted in James D. Cooper's 2014 retrospective documentary, Lambert & Stamp . Following
41552-404: Was booked for a series of experimental concerts. Townshend approached the gigs with optimism; the rest of the band were just happy to be gigging again. Eventually, the others complained to Townshend that the project was too complicated and they should simply record another album. Things deteriorated until Townshend had a nervous breakdown and abandoned Lifehouse . Entwistle was the first member of
41764-410: Was considered the leader of the group and, according to Townshend, "ran things the way he wanted them." Dawson quit in 1962 after arguing too much with Daltrey, who subsequently moved to lead vocalist. As a result, Townshend, with Entwistle's encouragement, became the sole guitarist. Through Townshend's mother, the group obtained a management contract with local promoter Robert Druce, who started booking
41976-401: Was definitely the first. But not being that good a guitarist, he used to just sort of crash chords and let the guitar feedback. He didn't get into twiddling with the dials on the amplifier until much later. He's overrated in England, but at the same time you find a lot of people like Jeff Beck and Hendrix getting credit for things he started. Townshend was the first to break his guitar, and he
42188-414: Was embarrassed at his wealth, which he felt was at odds with Meher Baba's ideals, and Moon spent frivolously. During the latter part of 1970, Townshend plotted a follow-up Tommy : Lifehouse , which was to be a multi-media project symbolising the relationship between an artist and his audience. He developed ideas in his home studio, creating layers of synthesizers, and the Young Vic theatre in London
42400-423: Was expelled at 15 and found work on a building site. In 1959 he started the Detours, the band that was to evolve into the Who. The band played professional gigs, such as corporate and wedding functions, and Daltrey kept a close eye on the finances as well as the music. Daltrey spotted Entwistle by chance on the street carrying a bass and recruited him into the Detours. In mid-1961, Entwistle suggested Townshend as
42612-406: Was immediately beset with problems. Daltrey resisted Townshend's wish to add Joe Cocker 's keyboardist Chris Stainton (who played on the album) to the touring band. As a compromise, Townshend assembled the keyboard and synthesizer parts on backing tapes, as such a strategy had been successful with "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again". The technology was not sophisticated enough to deal with
42824-408: Was on one of these trips in the summer of 1956 that he repeatedly watched the 1956 film Rock Around the Clock , sparking his fascination with American rock and roll . Not long thereafter, he went to see Bill Haley perform in London, Townshend's first concert. At the time, he did not see himself pursuing a career as a professional musician; instead, he wanted to become a journalist. Upon passing
43036-413: Was one-third Polish, and a devout Jewish family upstairs shared their housing with them and cooking with them—many of his father's closest friends were Jewish. Townshend says he did not have many friends growing up, so he spent much of his boyhood reading adventure novels like Gulliver's Travels and Treasure Island . He enjoyed his family's frequent excursions to the seaside and the Isle of Man . It
43248-524: Was our lighting man". At the end, Townshend threw his guitar into the audience. The set was professionally recorded and filmed, and portions appear on the Woodstock film , The Old Grey Whistle Test and The Kids Are Alright . Woodstock has been regarded as culturally significant, but the Who were critical of the event. Roadie John "Wiggie" Wolff, who arranged the band's payment, described it as "a shambles". Daltrey declared it as "the worst gig [they] ever played" and Townshend said, "I thought
43460-539: Was performing with a semi-professional band called the Beachcombers, and wanted to play full-time. Moon played a few songs with the group, breaking a bass drum pedal and tearing a drum skin. The band were impressed with his energy and enthusiasm, and offered him the job. Moon performed with the Beachcombers a few more times, but dates clashed and he chose to devote himself to The Who. The Beachcombers auditioned Sandom, but were unimpressed and did not ask him to join. The Who changed managers to Peter Meaden . He decided that
43672-400: Was ranked No. 10 in Gibson.com's 2011 list of the top 50 guitarists, and No. 37 on Rolling Stone ' s 2023 list of 250 greatest guitarists of all time. He and Roger Daltrey received The George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement at UCLA on 21 May 2016. Townshend was born in Chiswick , West London, at the Chiswick Hospital, Netheravon Road, in the UK. He came from
43884-444: Was singed and his left ear left ringing, and a camera and studio monitor were destroyed. The next album was The Who Sell Out – a concept album paying tribute to pirate radio, which had been outlawed in August 1967 by the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act 1967 . It included humorous jingles and mock commercials between songs, a mini rock opera called "Rael", and "I Can See For Miles". The Who declared themselves
44096-466: Was so unconventional that it was initially rejected by the US arm of Decca. The single reached the top 10 in the UK and was used as the theme song to Ready Steady Go! The transition to a hit-making band with original material, encouraged by Lambert, did not sit well with Daltrey, and a recording session of R&B covers went unreleased. The Who were not close friends either, apart from Moon and Entwistle, who enjoyed visiting nightclubs together in
44308-418: Was so unhealthy that the Who conceded it would be difficult for him to cope with touring. The only gig that year was an informal show on 15 December at the Gaumont State Cinema in Kilburn , London, filmed for the documentary The Kids Are Alright . The band had not played for 14 months, and their performance was so weak that the footage was unused. Moon's playing was particularly lackluster and he had gained
44520-536: Was the best choice. Not long after the name change, drummer Doug Sandom was replaced by Keith Moon , who had been drumming semi-professionally with the Beachcombers for several years. The band was soon taken on by a mod publicist named Peter Meaden who convinced them to change their name to the High Numbers to give the band more of a mod feel. After bringing out one failed single ("I'm the Face/Zoot Suit"), they dropped Meaden and were signed on by two new managers, Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert , who had paired up with
44732-410: Was the first to do a lot of things. He's very good at his chord scene, too. Similarly, when Jimmy Page was asked about the development of guitar feedback, he said: I don't know who really did feedback first; it just sort of happened. I don't think anybody consciously nicked it from anybody else. It was just going on. But Pete Townshend obviously was the one, through the music of his group, who made
44944-409: Was used in 1940s recordings and reviews of what became known as " rhythm and blues " music aimed at a black audience. Huey "Piano" Smith credits Cha Cha Hogan , a jump-blues shouter and comic in New Orleans, with popularizing the term in his 1950 song "My Walking Baby". In 1934, the song "Rock and Roll" by the Boswell Sisters appeared in the film Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round . In 1942, before
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