Smash a few Les Paul guitars, light ‘em
on fire, play Woodstock, write and produce
and release “Quadrophenia,”
“Live at Leeds,” “Tommy,”
“Who’s Next,” “Who
Are You,” and then retire…
For The Who, retirement
was never in the cards. “Insatiable”
has always been the mantra for one of
the most creative Englishmen ever born.
Pete Townsend - guitar hero, songwriter,
bandleader - has no peer. The
Who’s guitar player and
vocalist is the most prolific writer on
his side of the Atlantic. Only Bob Dylan
and Neil Young come to mind as troubadours
in league with The Who’s
Pete Townsend, when considering the huge
volume of high quality work, easily digested
by a mass audience.
Noted for the dynamism of their performances
and for their thoughtful and art-influenced
music, the members of The Who
are also acknowledged as rock pioneers,
popularising, along with contemporaries
The Kinks, the power chord and the rock
opera (most notably Tommy). Their earlier
"mod" albums, which boasted
short, aggressive pop songs, Pete Townshend's
distinctive power chords, Keith Moon's
explosive drumming, John Entwistle's nimble
bass style, Roger Daltrey's powerful vocals,
and constant themes of youthful rebellion
and romantic confusion, were formative
influences on hard rock and power pop,
while their loud and violent concerts
helped pave the way for punk rock and
heavy metal. In their early days they
were notorious for auto-destructive art
displays, destroying their instruments
at the end of shows (an activity favored
both by infamous wildman Moon and by Townshend,
whose guitar-smashing would become a rock
cliché). Find
The Who Tickets
For their hard-rocking, take-no-prisoners,
“hope I die before I get old”
attitude, The Who’s
rhythm section paid the ultimate price:
drummer Keith Moon died from the lifestyle
in 1978, after an album release party
celebrating “Who Are You,”
and bassist John “The Ox”
Entwistle, died right before the The
Who’s 2002 tour, in his
Las Vegas hotel room.
The Who’s Roger
Daltrey and Pete Townsend have persevered
and continued to put out great material
and put on great tours .Buy
The Who Tickets.
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