The Who: Maximum R&B, Rock Opera and the Loudest Band in the World

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Oldies Music Timeline

The Who in 1967. Left to right: Keith Moon, John Entwistle, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend.

The Who in 1967. Left to right: Keith Moon, John Entwistle, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend.
Photo: KRLA Beat, 12 August 1967, via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain (US).

The band that smashed its instruments, invented the rock opera, and became one of the loudest, most thrilling live acts in rock history.

The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) was lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist and principal songwriter Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon — four distinct and powerful sounds that together made a band unlike any other: Townshend’s raging guitar, Moon’s near-anarchic drumming, Entwistle’s thundering bass lines and Daltrey’s impassioned vocals.

At a Glance

  • Formed: 1964, London, England (evolved from the Detours; briefly the High Numbers)
  • Classic members: Roger Daltrey (vocals) — born 1 March 1944, London; Pete Townshend (guitar, songwriter) — born 19 May 1945, London; John Entwistle (bass) — born 9 October 1944, London, died 27 June 2002, Las Vegas; Keith Moon (drums) — born 23 August 1946, London, died 7 September 1978, London
  • Genre: Rock, hard rock, mod, rock opera
  • Active: 1964–1983; reunions from 1985; touring from 1996 to the present
  • Breakthrough: “My Generation” (1965); the rock opera Tommy (1969) and Woodstock
  • Studio albums: 12, from My Generation (1965) to Who (2019)
  • Honours: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1990); UK Music Hall of Fame (2005)

The Biography

Mods, maximum R&B and “My Generation”

The Who evolved from an earlier group, the Detours, and established themselves as part of the pop art and mod movements, playing a self-styled brand of “Maximum R&B” and featuring auto-destructive art — destroying guitars and drums on stage. By early 1964 the group had changed its name to the Who. Their debut single, “I Can’t Explain”, and the anthem “My Generation” (1965) made them stars in Britain, and their debut album, My Generation, was released on 3 December 1965. They followed it with A Quick One (1966) and the sardonic concept album The Who Sell Out (1967), presented as a pirate radio broadcast and including the single “I Can See for Miles”.

Tommy, Woodstock and Live at Leeds

It was the 1969 rock opera Tommy — and a memorable performance at Woodstock that summer — that made the Who a world-class album-rock act. Tommy, a double album about a deaf, blind and non-speaking boy who becomes a pinball champion and then a messianic figure, was the first successful rock opera; its single “Pinball Wizard” became one of their signature songs. Tommy later became an all-star orchestral album (1972), a film with Daltrey in the title role (1975) and a Broadway musical, The Who’s Tommy, which premiered in 1993 and won Townshend a Tony Award.

Further festival appearances at Woodstock and the Isle of Wight, along with the concert album Live at Leeds (1970), established their reputation as one of the greatest live bands in rock. The Who cemented their standing with Who’s Next (1971), an album of would-be teen anthems — “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Baba O’Riley” — and sensitive romances such as “Behind Blue Eyes”.

Quadrophenia and the 1970s

Townshend’s second rock opera, Quadrophenia (1973), a celebration of the band’s mod roots set against clashes between Mods and Rockers in early 1960s Britain, reached No. 2 in both the UK and the US. It was made into a film in 1979. The band continued with The Who by Numbers (1975) and Who Are You (1978), Keith Moon’s final studio album with the group.

Moon died of an accidental drug overdose on 7 September 1978, shortly after Who Are You was released, and was replaced by drummer Kenney Jones. In 1979 the band released the film adaptation of Quadrophenia and the retrospective rock documentary The Kids Are Alright. On 3 December 1979, eleven fans were killed in a crowd crush before a Who concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio — the darkest tragedy linked to the band.

Break-up, reunions and the later years

Townshend sought to honour Moon’s memory by keeping the band going, but the Who broke up in 1982 after the albums Face Dances (1981) and It’s Hard (1982). They reunited for Live Aid in 1985, a 25th-anniversary tour in 1989, and a Quadrophenia tour in 1996–1997, and have toured regularly since, with Daltrey and Townshend carrying the band on after Entwistle’s death in Las Vegas on 27 June 2002.

The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, in their first year of eligibility, by U2; the Hall’s display describes them as “prime contenders, in the minds of many, for the title of World’s Greatest Rock Band”. They entered the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. After a gap of 24 years they released a new studio album, Endless Wire, on 30 October 2006, and their twelfth studio album, Who, on 6 December 2019.

Oldies Music Timeline

  • 1964 — The Who form in London from the Detours; classic lineup of Daltrey, Townshend, Entwistle and Moon.
  • 1965 — “My Generation” released; debut album My Generation released 3 December 1965.
  • 1967 — The Who Sell Out released, including “I Can See for Miles”.
  • 19 May 1969 — Tommy released, the first successful rock opera.
  • August 1969 — Perform at Woodstock.
  • 1970 — Live at Leeds released.
  • August 1971 — Who’s Next released, including “Baba O’Riley” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”.
  • 1973 — Quadrophenia released; reaches No. 2 in the UK and US.
  • 1975 — Tommy film released, with Daltrey in the title role.
  • 1978 — Who Are You released; Keith Moon dies 7 September 1978.
  • 1979 — Quadrophenia film and The Kids Are Alright released; 11 fans killed in a crowd crush in Cincinnati, 3 December 1979.
  • 1982 — The Who break up after It’s Hard.
  • 1985 — Reunion performance at Live Aid.
  • 1990 — Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
  • 1993 — The Who’s Tommy premieres on Broadway; Townshend wins a Tony Award.
  • 27 June 2002 — John Entwistle dies in Las Vegas.
  • 30 October 2006 — Endless Wire released, first studio album in 24 years.
  • 6 December 2019 — Twelfth studio album, Who, released.

Studio Albums

My Generation (1965) · A Quick One (1966) · The Who Sell Out (1967) · Tommy (1969) · Who’s Next (1971) · Quadrophenia (1973) · The Who by Numbers (1975) · Who Are You (1978) · Face Dances (1981) · It’s Hard (1982) · Endless Wire (2006) · Who (2019)

12 studio albums in total.

Why They Matter

  • Rock opera: Tommy (1969) effectively originated the concept of the rock opera, and Quadrophenia (1973) extended it; both became films and stage works.
  • Live reputation: Live at Leeds (1970) is widely regarded as one of the greatest live rock albums ever made.
  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: inducted in 1990, in their first year of eligibility, by U2; UK Music Hall of Fame, 2005.
  • Songs that endure: “My Generation”, “Pinball Wizard”, “Baba O’Riley”, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Behind Blue Eyes” remain staples of rock radio and film.
  • Influence: Townshend’s guitar-smashing stagecraft, Moon’s drumming, Entwistle’s bass and the band’s use of synthesisers on Who’s Next shaped hard rock, punk and arena rock.

Sources

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