The Who

The Who came roaring out of London in 1964, grown from an earlier outfit called the Detours, and they were the loudest, most violent and most exciting band of the mod era. Roger Daltrey sang with a fist-waving bellow, Pete Townshend slammed out power chords and wrung feedback out of his amplifiers, John Entwistle played the bass like a lead instrument, and Keith Moon drummed like a man possessed. They smashed guitars and drums on stage and called it art, and in the process helped invent the Marshall stack and the monster PA system.

The singles came fast: "I Can't Explain" in 1964, then "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" and "My Generation" in 1965, a snarling blast of noise. "Substitute", "I'm a Boy" and "Happy Jack" followed in 1966, and the next year they played the Monterey Pop Festival and put out "I Can See for Miles" and The Who Sell Out. Then Townshend wrote a rock opera. Tommy, in 1969, was a critical and commercial smash, with "Pinball Wizard" as its crackling highlight, and triumphant sets at Woodstock and the Isle of Wight plus the fearsome Live at Leeds made them one of the great live acts on earth.

Townshend's next grand plan, Lifehouse, fell apart under the pressure, but out of its wreckage came Who's Next in 1971, their finest hour. "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" are full-tilt thunder, bright and huge, and "Behind Blue Eyes" broods beautifully. Quadrophenia in 1973 was another concept album, a tribute to their mod roots, and "Love Reign O'er Me" from that year is enormous.

After The Who by Numbers in 1975 they stepped back from the road, and Who Are You in 1978 was overshadowed by Moon's death soon after. Kenney Jones took over the drums, and "Eminence Front" came in 1982 before they split the following year. They reunited for Live Aid in 1985, returned for good in 1999, and carried on as a duo of Daltrey and Townshend after Entwistle died in 2002. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted them in 1990, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award followed in 2001, and they took their final bow on a farewell tour in 2025.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.