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Cover of Face Dances by The Who
Cover: Face Dances

Song · The Who

“You Better You Bet” by The Who

From the album Face Dances (1981)

“You Better You Bet” by The Who appears on 54 radio countdowns from 23 stations between 1981 and 2026. It was first released in 1981 on the album Face Dances. Its best result is #16 on the KISW 25 Biggest Rock Songs from 1981. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #60 alternative song of 1981.

54countdowns
23stations
#16best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1981–2026years charted

Watch

The Who - You Better You Bet (Promo Video)

Video from YouTube (TheWhoVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"You Better You Bet" throws open Face Dances, the Who's ninth studio album, in 1981, and it's Pete Townshend's song in a good mood: a bright, bouncing pop rock number with Roger Daltrey singing it with a grin, while Townshend and John Entwistle stack up the backing vocals. Kenney Jones keeps the beat tidy and springy, and Bill Szymczyk produced and engineered, with Allan Blazek also at the desk, buffing it to a clean, radio-friendly shine.

It was a proper hit, and a last hurrah on the charts: the final Who single to reach the top 20 in America, peaking at 18, and the last to make the top ten in Britain, at 9. On Billboard's Top Tracks chart it sat at number one for five weeks that spring.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1981 60 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1981 106
1981 16 KISW Seattle-Tacoma, WA KISW 25 Biggest Rock Songs from 1981 25

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1982 68 95.5 KLOS KLOS Memorial Day 500 (1982) 499
1991 244 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) 500
1996 469 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996) 500
1997 442 104.5 KZEP KZEP Memorial Weekend Top 500 (1997) 500
1997 420 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (1997) 499
1997 490 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
2002 397 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (2002) 500
2002 168 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2004 167 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2011 275 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2011 359 97.9 The Loop The Loop Rock N Roll 500 (2011) 500
2012 276 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 239 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2013 199 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 85 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 387 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2013 337 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR CT 500 (2013) 500
2013 218 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2014 350 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 254 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 282 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2015 469 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 387 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 374 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) 500
2015 432 I-95 I-95 Memorial Day Weekend Top 500 (2015) 500
2016 88 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2016 287 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 305 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2016 104 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) 500
2017 96 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2017 220 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2018 96 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2019 1005 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 216 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2020 583 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 207 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2021 291 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 331 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2021 573 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2022 240 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 268 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 196 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2022) 500
2022 135 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2023 520 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 441 97.1 The Drive 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 580 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 267 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2024 276 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) 498
2024 717 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 271 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2025 566 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2026 387 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: You Better, You Bet.

Charting alongside it in 1981

Best songs of 1981 →
  1. 1Start Me UpThe Rolling Stones
  2. 2Tom SawyerRush
  3. 3I Love Rock-N-RollJoan Jett
  4. 4Every Little Thing She Does Is MagicThe Police
  5. 5Jukebox HeroForeigner
  6. 6For Those About to RockAC/DC

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