The Who (1964-1978)

Welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I’m Jumpin’ John, and this episode will deal with an obscure English rock band formed in London, England in 1964.  They call themselves the Who! 

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott.  The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John.  It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then. 
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Rock On!

Transcript

Thank you for that introduction, and welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I’m Jumpin’ John, and this episode will deal with an obscure English rock band formed in London, England in 1964.  They call themselves the Who! 

Three founding members of the Who:  Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, and John Entwistle, all grew up in Acton, London, England and attended the Acton County Grammar School.  Townshend and Entwistle became friends in their second year of Acton County, and formed a traditional jazz group.  In 1959 Roger Daltrey formed a group called the Detours, and by 1962 Townshend and Entwistle had joined Daltrey in the Detours.  With Daltrey as the leader, the Detours consisted of Townshend as a guitarist, Daltrey on rhythm guitar, Entwistle on bass, Harry Wilson on drums, and Colin Dawson on vocals.  The Detours played instrumentals by the Shadows and the Ventures and a variety of pop and traditional jazz covers.  Wilson was fired as drummer in mid-1962 and replaced by Doug Sandom.  Colin Dawson left the band in 1963 and was briefly replaced by Gabby Connolly as lead singer.  With drummer Doug Sandom, their band became known as the first version of the Who.  

Keith Moon grew up in Wembley, Middlesex, England and had been drumming in bands since 1961.  He was performing with a semi-professional band called the Beachcombers, and wanted to play full-time.  In April 1964 Doug Sandom left the Who, after other band members expressed dissatisfaction with his drumming.  Keith Moon played a few songs with the group, impressed the others with his energy and enthusiasm, and was offered the drumming job.

Now with lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon, the Who's classic lineup was set.  The band changed managers to Peter Meaden, who decided that the group would be ideal representing the growing mod movement in Britain.  Meaden renamed the group the High Numbers, and dressed them up in mod clothes.  To appeal to the mod fans, Meadon also wrote the lyrics for both sides of their single "Zoot Suit" backed with "I'm the Face".  The single failed to reach the UK Top 50, the band reverted to calling themselves the Who, and Meaden was replaced as manager by two filmmakers, Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp.  The band changed their set list towards soul, R&B, and Motown covers, and created the slogan "Maximum R&B".

None of the Who musicians played their instruments conventionally, and they created a unique stage image.  Daltrey started using his microphone cable as a whip on stage, and occasionally leapt into the crowd.  Entwistle stood fairly stationary, but developed an active bass playing style that can best be described as “lead bass”.  Moon threw drumsticks into the air mid-beat.  Townshend jumped on stage and played guitar with a fast arm-windmilling motion.  He sometimes mimed machine-gunning the crowd with his guitar.  Pete occasionally stood with his arms aloft, allowing his guitar to produce feedback in a posture dubbed "the Bird Man".  During a June 1964 performance at the Railway pub in London, 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 clamored for a repeat of the event.  Keith Moon obliged by kicking his drum kit over.  So auto-destructive art of destroying guitars and drums on stage became a feature of the Who's live set.  Fans attending a Who concert came to expect a combination of sonic aggression, violent rage, and instruments ending up in splinters.

Shunning the Beatles’ idealized romance and the Rolling Stones’ cocky swagger, the Who rejected pretension and straightforwardly dealt with teenage issues.  At a time when rock music was uniting young people all over the world with peace-and-love idealism, the Who were friendless, bitter outsiders.  The Who’s early records dealt with alienation, uncertainty, and frustration.  Their first single as the Who was 1964’s "I Can't Explain".  The song, which reached #8 on the UK singles chart, would in 2010 be ranked #380 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".  In 1965 the band released "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" and "My Generation".  "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" became their second Top 10 single in the UK, reaching #10.  "My Generation" was released on October 29th, and it reached #2 in the United Kingdom and #74 in the United States.  One of the band's signature songs, "My Generation" was placed #232 in Rolling Stone magazine's 2021 edition of its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".  The song was later included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll" and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for being "historical, artistic and significant".

In 1966 the Who released three more UK Top 10 singles.  They were "Substitute", which reached #5, "I'm a Boy", which reached #2, and "Happy Jack".  "Happy Jack" peaked at #3 in the UK and was also their first Top 40 hit in the US Billboard Hot 100, where it reached #24.

In 1967 they released two Top 10 UK singles:  "Pictures of Lily", which reached #4, and "I Can See for Miles".  "I Can See for Miles" was the closing number on Side 1 of the Who's 1967 album The Who Sells Out.  It was released as a single on September 18th in the US and October 13th in the UK.  It peaked at #10 in the UK.

Here is an excerpt from the Who’s studio version of “I Can See For Miles”:

"I Can See for Miles" performance in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 was helped by a memorable appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.  At that venue Keith Moon detonated an explosive at the close of their performance of "My Generation".  That Smothers Brothers show performance, plus the heavy touring the group had done in the United States all summer, pushed "I Can See for Miles" to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on Cashbox.  The song remains their highest US chart position to date.  In 2010 "I Can See for Miles" was ranked #262 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

As I just intimated, during their summer 1967 US tour, the Who began gaining some attention in the U.S.  After playing some New York dates two months earlier, the Who were propelled into the American mainstream at June's Monterey International Pop Festival.  On the closing night, Sunday, June 18th, the band played a set with their usual raw energy.  At the end of their frenetic performance of "My Generation", Townshend smashed his guitar and slammed the neck against the amps and speakers.  Smoke bombs exploded behind the amps.  Frightened concert staff rushed onstage to retrieve expensive microphones.  At the end of the mayhem, Moon kicked over his drum kit as the band exited the stage.

The year 1968 saw the release of the single “Magic Bus”.  The song would become a concert staple for the Who, despite only reaching #26 in the UK and #25 in the US. 

Here is an excerpt from the Who’s studio version of “Magic Bus”:

Townshend had become interested in the work of Indian spiritual teacher Meher Baba, and Pete attempted to translate Baba's ideas into music.  This led to his concept of a rock opera telling the story of the fictional Tommy Walker and Tommy's path to becoming a spiritual leader and messianic figure.  Recording of an album began in September 1968, but took six months to complete, as material needed to be arranged and re-recorded in the studio.  After delays surrounding the cover artwork, on May 19th, 1969 the Who released their fourth studio album, the double album Tommy.  The Tommy LP was commercially successful, reaching #2 in the UK album charts.  It peaked at #7 in the US in 1969, but in 1970 it re-entered the US charts, at which time it went on to peak at #4.  Tommy sold 200,000 copies in the first two weeks in the United States alone and was awarded a gold record for sales of 500,000 on August 18th.  "Pinball Wizard", "I'm Free", and "See Me, Feel Me" were released as singles and received heavy airplay on the radio.  "Pinball Wizard" reached #4 in the UK and #19 in the US.  "See Me, Feel Me" reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Who promoted the album's release with an extensive tour, lasting throughout 1969 and 1970 and including a live version of Tommy.  Key gigs from the tour included appearances at 1969’s Woodstock Music and Art Fair, the 1969 Isle of Wight Festival, and 1970 performances at the University of Leeds, the Metropolitan Opera House, and at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.  The live performances of Tommy drew critical praise and revitalized the band's career.  Upon its release, Tommy was acclaimed by critics, who hailed it as the Who's breakthrough.  In 1998, Tommy was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

By 1970, despite their late 1960's superstardom in England and despite the success of the rock opera Tommy, none of the Who's studio records had captured the violence and velocity of their stage show.  It was undeniable that they had become the most ferocious live act in Britain.  The Who wanted a live album that was raw, unfiltered, and dangerous.  Producer Kit Lambert was out of the picture by then, so the band effectively self-produced, with Bob Pridden engineering.  

The band initially intended to capture their live act by assembling a compilation from multiple shows.  However, after recording their February 1970 performance at the University of Leeds, they realized the Leeds tapes alone were explosive enough to stand untouched.  The sound that emerged from Leeds was powerful, honest, and brutally direct.  The original 1970 album’s brevity of only 6 tracks amplified its punch, and by leaving in crackling noises, the Who let the rough edges show.  Rather than a glossy sleeve, the album cover had the look of a bootleg.  The packaging was a plain buff folder stamped “Live at Leeds,” stuffed with replica documents including contracts, receipts, handwritten set lists, even a Maximum R&B poster.  The cover design was deliberate, aligning with Townshend’s art-school instincts and the band’s punk-before-punk ethos.

On May 11th, 1970 the Live at Leeds album was released.  The Live at Leeds LP soared to #3 on the UK albums chart and #4 on the Billboard 200 chart.  Live at Leeds quickly became regarded by music critics and fans alike as one of the greatest live albums ever recorded.  It has since been cited as the best live rock recording of all time by The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, the BBC, Q magazine, and Rolling Stone.  A Rolling Stone readers' poll in 2012 ranked it as the best live album of all time.  In 2020, it was ranked #327 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.  

Here is an excerpt from the Who’s "My Generation" , with crackling noises corrected, as performed at Live at Leeds:

The band's enormous success put pressure on lead songwriter Townshend, and the follow-up to Tommy, called Lifehouse, was abandoned.  Songs from the project showed up in the 1971 album Who's Next, with Glyn Johns producing.  The album was released in August 1971, and Who's Next was an immediate critical and commercial success.  It reached #1 on the UK albums chart and #4 on the Billboard 200 chart.  It has since been viewed by many critics as the Who's best album.  Who's Next has been reissued on CD several times, often with additional songs originally intended for Lifehouse included as bonus tracks.  In 2007, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "lasting qualitative or historical significance".  In 2020, Who's Next was ranked #77 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".  The LP included the singles "Won't Get Fooled Again", which reached #9 in the UK and #15 in the US, "Baba O'Riley", and "Behind Blue Eyes", which reached #34 in the Billboard Hot 100.  

Here is an excerpt from the Who's studio version of "Won't Get Fooled Again":

[With an excerpt from the Who’s studio version of "Baba O'Riley" playing the background]:

"Baba O'Riley" was only issued as a single in Europe.  It was later ranked #159 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".  The song was chosen by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".  I, for one, find it highly ironic that the anti-establishment Who later sold out their song "Baba O'Riley" to Corporate America in 2026 for Burger Kings ads!  

In 1973 the double album rock opera Quadrophenia was released.  It was seen as a celebration of their mod roots.  In the UK, Quadrophenia reached #2.  The LP also reached #2 on the US Billboard 200 chart, which was the highest position of any Who album in the United States.  The album has since sold over 1 million copies and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.  In 2000 Q magazine placed Quadrophenia at #56 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.  The album has been ranked at #267 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.  It is also ranked at #86 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest albums of all time.  The final song on the album was "Love, Reign O'er Me".  It was released as a single.  Despite only reaching #76 on the Billboard Hot 100, "Love, Reign O'er Me" would be a concert staple for many years.

Here is the Who's studio version of  "Love, Reign O'er Me":     

The year 1975 saw the film adaptation of Tommy , and the release of its soundtrack album.  On October 3rd, 1975 The Who by Numbers album was released.  The Who by Numbers peaked at #7 on the UK Albums Chart and #8 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape album chart in the US.  The single released from the album, "Squeeze Box", was a commercial success, peaking at #10 on the UK Singles Chart and #16 in the US Billboard Hot 100.  "Squeeze Box" was also their only international #1 hit, reaching #1 in Canada.  After the album's release, the Who continued to tour to large audiences before semi-retiring from live performances at the end of 1976.  

Who Are You would be the eighth studio album by the Who, and their last album to feature Keith Moon.  It was released on August 1978, receiving mixed reviews from critics.  Nevertheless, the Who Are You LP was a commercial success, peaking at #2 on the US Billboard 200 chart and #6 on the UK Albums Chart.  The title track and closing number on the album, "Who Are You", was one of the band's biggest hits in North America, peaking at #7 in Canada and at #14 on the US Billboard Hot 100.  The song has become one of the band's signature songs at their live shows.  The piano on the song "Who Are You" was played by Rod Argent of the Zombies and Argent.

Throughout the late 1960's and early 1970's Keith Moon occasionally participated on projects with other musicians, including Jeff Beck, the Beatles, John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, and others.  Keith also was famous for his destructive behavior and use of drugs and alcohol.  On September 7th, 1978, at the age of 32, Keith Moon died from an overdose of a drug intended to treat symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.  Devastated by Moon's sudden death, the other three band members of the Who did consider breaking up, but they ultimately decided to keep going.  They brought in Kenney Jones, who was previously with The Small Faces, as a new drummer.  After that the Who released albums, toured, and had some success, though not always at the same level as before.  The three founding members, Townshend, Daltrey, and Entwistle pursued solo projects as well.  Sadly, on June 27th, 2002, 57 year old John Entwistle died in Paradise, Nevada.  His death was due to a heart attack, induced by an undetermined amount of cocaine.  Entwistle's death came one day before the scheduled first show of the Who's 2002 United States tour.  The band would continue on and, as of 2026, a version of the Who band continues to tour, keeping  the band's legacy alive.

Considered one of the most significant rock bands of the 20th century, the Who are cited as an influence by many hard rock, punk, power pop, and mod bands.  The Who’s contributions to rock music were many.  Contributions included the development of the Marshall stack, large public address systems, the use of synthesizers, Entwistle's and Moon's influential playing styles, Townsend’s feedback and power chord guitar technique, and the development of the rock opera.  The band received a Lifetime achievement award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1988.  In 1990 the Who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  In 2001, the band received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.  In 2005 the Who was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, and in 2008 the Who received Kennedy Center Honors.  The discography of the Who consists of 12 studio albums, 18 live albums, 4 soundtrack albums, 36 compilation albums, 4 extended plays, 58 singles, and 25 video albums.  

Individual recognition and awards were numerous.  In 1983, Pete Townshend received the Brit Award for Lifetime Achievement.   In 2011 Townshend was ranked #10 in Gibson.com's list of the top 50 guitarists.  In 2023 he was ranked #37 on Rolling Stone's list of 250 greatest guitarists of all time.  In 2016 Townshend and Roger Daltrey received The George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement.  In 2008 Daltrey was ranked #61 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest singers of all time.  Daltrey has also been an actor and film producer, with roles in films, theatre, and television.  In June 2025 Daltrey was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the Birthday Honours for services to charity and music.  Renowned for his musical abilities, John Entwistle was widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rock bassists of all time.  His instrumental approach featured pentatonic lead lines and a then-unusual treble-rich sound.  Entwistle was voted as the greatest bass guitar player ever in a 2011 Rolling Stone  readers' poll and, in 2020, Rolling Stone ranked him #3 in its list of the "50 Greatest Bassists of All Time".  Keith Moon's drumming continues to be praised by critics and musicians, and he was posthumously inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1982, becoming the second rock drummer to be chosen.  In 2011 Moon was voted the second-greatest drummer in history by a Rolling Stone readers' poll.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Rock and Roll Flashback!  This episode highlighted the Who, the British rock group that was among the most popular and influential bands of the 1960’s and 1970’s and the band that originated the rock opera.  I will close out this podcast with the Who’s studio version of “Pinball Wizard”.  So, fellow time travelers, may your path be smooth and your music always be rockin’.  And until next time...rock on!