Their appearance at that festival and in the resulting D.A. debut at the Monterey International Pop Festival, going on immediately before Jimi Hendrix, who may be the only soul alive at the time who could have followed them that night. #1 hit, and they followed that up with their second album, A Quick One, which included their first Townshend-penned “mini-opera,” “A Quick One, While He’s Away.” December 1966 saw the release of an EP consisting mostly of covers titled Ready, Steady, Who as well as another single, “Happy Jack,” that became the first top 40 hit for the group in the United States.ġ967 saw the group have more single success with “Pictures Of Lily” and “The Last Time,” the latter being a Rolling Stones cover issued as a support for Stones Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who were facing incarceration after a trumped-up drug bust. Their next single, “I’m A Boy,” became The Who’s first U.K. Issued on Lambert and Stamp’s own Reaction label, “Substitute” was another hit for the band. In January 1966, The Who split acrimoniously from Shel Talmy and Brunswick Records, with Who manager Kit Lambert assuming record production duties. In many ways, the notoriety they received as a stage act often threatened to eclipse their success as a recording act, but it certainly did give the band greater press attention and an ever-growing fanbase. In addition to their image as representatives of the Mod movement, The Who became known for their thrilling stage affectations, like Roger Daltrey’s swinging of the microphone like a lasso, Pete Townshend’s windmill guitar thrashing, and Townshend and Keith Moon’s destruction of their instruments at the end of each set. The Who's debut US LP, The Who Sings My Generation (Decca, 1965). More Talmy-produced hits followed in 1965 with “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” and the defiant anthem, “My Generation.” December 1965 saw the release of the group’s first LP, also titled My Generation, ( The Who Sings My Generation in the U.S.) which mixed R&B covers with Townshend originals. hit single “I Can’t Explain” in January 1965, written by Pete Townshend and produced by Shel Talmy (known for his work with The Kinks among others). In the fall of 1964, they caught the eye of genius aspiring managers/madmen Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, who soon secured the band a deal with Brunswick Records, who issued the band’s first U.K. The single went nowhere, and soon the band was back in the London Mod clubs, performing as The Who. The lyrics to both songs were written by Pete Meaden, and crafted to appeal to The Mod crowd. Not long after, Doug Sandom was fired from the band following an audition for Fontana Records and was replaced by a young, Beach Boys-influenced drummer, Keith Moon.ĭiscovered playing London Mod clubs by an aspiring London manager named Pete Meaden, The Who were encouraged to change their name to The High Numbers (“Number” being a Mod leader, and “High” meaning, well, high), and it was under this name that they released their first single “Zoot Suit”/“I’m The Face” in July 1964. After discovering that another group was working under the name The Detours, the group renamed themselves The Who. Initially influenced by British rock combos like The Shadows, The Detours eventually shifted stylistically toward American R&B and soul acts like James Brown. They formed in London in 1964, rising out of the ashes of a group called The Detours, which featured John Entwistle on bass, Doug Sandom on drums, Roger Daltrey on vocals, and Pete Townshend on guitar. We're Not Gonna Take It/ See Me Feel Meįrom the start, The Who was more than a rock band-they were a statement.John Entwistle, Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon, and Pete Townshend-The Who at Woodstock. Performed Sunday morning, August 17, 5:30–6:35 am Pete Townshend may not have enjoyed his experience at Woodstock, but the assembled crowd was treated to a spectacular performance as the sun rose, right on cue, and The Who played “See Me, Feel Me.” Bassist John Entwistle had it right: “God was our lighting man.”Ĭelebrating the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock festival, August 1969–2019 Day Two, Performer 13: The Who
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