I know exactly where I was on Friday, 29th January 1965. I was watching the TV show Ready Steady Go! I was sitting in an armchair in my parent's lounge about eight feet from the TV screen. Cathy McGowan introduced a new group called The Who. When the TV cameraman did a close-up of Pete Townsend hitting the first chord of 'I Can't Explain' with his windmill arm, within half a second I was six inches from the TV and stayed glued to the spot for the next two and a half minutes. That was my first taste of The Who and they remain my favourite band to this day.
RIP the two members of The Who John Entwistle (October 9, 1944 - June 27, 2002), aged 57 Keith Moon (August 23, 1946 - September 7, 1978), aged 32 You both will be remembered as legends.
I always thought the Who were the purest rock'n rollers of any of the big bands, Stones always had a foot in the blues, Beatles were experimental, but as for pure raw rock n roll energy, bordering on punk enthusiasm, the Who knew how to rock at it's most primal level.
Pete Townsend was a genius in the 60's and 70's he wrote so many great songs plus he was one of the greatest guitarists in the world a true songwriter along with Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon one of the greatest groups ever.
@@williamstrasser8854 Jimmy tried to downplay his contribution to the song for many years only for Daltrey to come out and say that Jimmy played both lead guitar and the solo for the song! I can understand why Pete wouldn't want the public to know that but credit to Jimmy for not trying to take credit for something that could potentially be embarrassing, having to pay someone else to play your parts for you!
Most Punk bands have said they were Who fans..no doubt the music that Pete wrote influenced many Punk musicians...Pete was the first, I believe, (among many firsts) to bring his anger and frustration onto the stage...
If I was ever asked to explain rock and roll to someone, I'd play that scream near the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again". To me that defines rock in about ten seconds.
One of the greatest pop records ever, played by a noisy rock band. This was the moment that rock arrived in pop, with Moon's drumming particularly driving the thing. Fabulous.
By their own admission they mimicked The Kinks in order to get their first big hit in the charts in early 1965. And I am glad they did. This is my all time favourite Who track..
Ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies. Yes, and even later in life, when "The Ox" was putting touring bands together, and spending more to play than they took in, the other two would try to help him out. Friends until the end. I will cry when the next one goes, if I'm even still here! I won't be sad for whichever one of them goes, but my heart will ache for the one left behind.
I don't care what everyone says, The Who were as influential in today's music as any other band in history. Keith and Pete are the bench mark for what good percussion and lead guitar is
don't forget Jon's Bass on this , it simply is beautiful ! Also Talmy got The Ivy League to do backing Vocals because he thought The Who's voices were not good enough !
No other youth movement has been cooler, they just looked awesome, Best Clothes, Best haircuts, Best Drugs, Best mode of transport, best music ..........
I loved the early hits like The Kids Are Alright, I Can't Explain, Happy Jack, Substitute, and Pictures Of Lily. These were brilliant compositions early in the groups career putting it simply Pete Townsend was and still is a great guitarist and song writer.
I remember when I was 13 years old, the year was 1980.. and I wanted to go see them in concert and my father said no, because I was too young. In retrospect, it would have been a good concert and compared to modern day music, The Who kept it pretty clean. Fast forward to 2020, I bought tickets to see them, and Covid hit 🙁 I ended up going to a Rockies game. Someday I will see The Who live, I hope.
Roger Daltrey - lead vocals, tambourine Pete Townshend - lead guitar, backing vocals John Entwistle - bass, backing vocals Keith Moon - drums, backing vocals The Ivy League (John Carter, Ken Lewis, Perry Ford) - backing vocals, handclaps Perry Ford - piano Jimmy Page - 12 string rhythm guitar (session only; contribution not used in the final mix)
Imagine ... one of the greatest rock bands on earth, playing in such small club around the corner.. They really just were like the early punk bands when they started out
Remember when my dad showed me how to dance like a 60s modster when I was a kid and couldn't fathom my clean cut dad ever dressing and dancing like that until he showed me a photo of him in red and black striped bell bottoms, a red plaid jacket and granny boots. I absolutely loved it!
ALL ALGOWRYTHMS SAY THE WHO ARE THE MOST WATCHED BAND ON THE INTERNET "ORGANIC ' VIEWS,..NO FAKE OR BOUGHT PLAYS,..THE WHO ARE ALL NATURAL THE # 1 BAND ON THE WEB ,, STILL IN 2019 !!
This video is from when the Who were called the High Numbers and singing a Wilson Pickett song "ooh poo pah doo". Do a search on RU-vid and you'll see it. It was filmed at either the Railway Hotel in Wealdstone or the Scene Club in Soho, probably in early September 1964 (Wikipedia).
I'm 70 the 60s 70s were the best times ever for music. Whatever band or genre of music you like. Youngsters today have seen and heard nothing in comparison
Pete Townsend said he was horribly embarrassed as a youth about his "great honking nose, and I think he needed to learn to be comfortable with a camera on him. It shows in these early performances.
What a band, no one was playing with this much power and precision in 1965... Sure, Clapton was flashy with his solos and distortion, but Townshend was pioneering a whole different approach to guitar and rock n roll while Clapton; a blatant racist ironically, reveled in Chicago Chess Blues of the 1950's.
Jsalrulz George Harrison was nowhere near the force Pete Townshend was. Townshend wrote profound lyrics that were satirical of middle class society and had an original, proto-punk and rough R&B style propelled by a far better drummer and the Who far more accomplished musicians than the Beatles. The Beatles were good songwriters and synthesizers of girl group, Motown, rockabilly and the Everly Brothers. Harrison wasn't even the best guitarist in Liverpool during the early days of Mersey Beat.. The Beatles were fantastic songwriters when Paul wasn't cheesy and Lennon wasn't drugged up and declaring himself Jesus Christ reincarnated, but as musicians the Who were far better, save Paul's underrated bass playing.
A handful of singles don't make a whole LP genius, go back and listen to those first couplf of Kinks LPs, nowhere near the power and range of The Who's first album
I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that one, but each to their own. I think every Kinks album up until perhaps Village Green had raw, lo-fi quality with garage rock-material music.
I noticed that too lol …k moon starts out with a solid shirt then he is in stripes ..one of the best bands ever, listening to The Who and Steely Dan tonight, another one of the greatest groups..
The Who has always been outstanding...one of my favorite bands of all time!!! This song has always been outstanding and will be so through time!!! A true classic!!+
