The Who

About The Who

Their band name my be a sly little anti-celebrity joke, but the British band The Who are considered to be one of the biggest icons in rock. With their amphetamine-charged, destructive performances, The Who set up the template for badly behaved rock bands while also managing to channel the rage and confusion of a whole generation. And not just any generation-we're talking the 1960's here. The Who managed to make noise sound poignant, and many of their three-minute pop songs are deeper than they sound at first listen. Their singles catalog would make any aspiring modern rock band weep, and signature Who tracks include "My Generation", "The Kids Are Alright", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Get Fooled Again" and the wacky "Squeezebox.' The intelligent rockers never bought into their own hype, even while they were living in the lap of excess, and there is always a self-deprecating (some might say self-loathing) element to their music. At their peak, The Who consisted of guitarist Pete Townsend, golden-maned singer Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwhistle and manic drummer Keith Moon. Like many bands from that era, The Who formed when the young musicians struck up a friendship while gigging around the 60's scene in club bands of their own. Pete and John played banjo and French horn in a no-name "trad jazz" pub band. Even rock legends need to start somewhere. As Britain become increasingly infatuated with American rock and R&B records, The Who formed to give the young musicians an outlet for their more energetic, aggressive music. In fact, The Who's legendary stage-trashing live show developed by accident, when the very physical Townsend unintentionally put his guitar through a club ceiling while "rocking out." Gawkers gathered for the band's next gig to see if he'd try it again. Pete took the attention as an affront to his professionalism, but drummer Keith Moon was only to happy to oblige by completely destroying his drum kit, much to the crowd's delight. Originally, The Who stuck to recording pop singles and developing their well-dressed mod rock image. However, under the influence of 60's culture, The Who went on to create more complicated, conceptual music, culminating in the gonzo acid nightmare that is their rock opera Tommy.