#237 - The Who - My Generation (1965)
MUSIC HISTORY COMPILED BY ADAM BERNARD:
BACKGROUND – THE WHO
Along with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, The Who make up “The Big 3” of British Invasion rock in the 1960s. Using the raw power of James Brown’s soul as a jumping point, they became inventors of the rock opera concept with the albums Tommy and Quadrophenia, and major innovators of punk aggression onstage. The band consisted of versatile singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and prolific composer Pete Townshend, legendary bassist John Entwistle, and wild drummer Keith Moon, whose fast and loud sounds influenced as many percussionists as Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham.
The Who formed in 1964. Daltrey, Townsend and Entwistle grew up and went to grammar school together. Towshend and Entwistle formed a jazz group in their youth, but both quickly became interested in rock. Entwistle's fingers were too big to play guitar, so he moved to bass being inspired by musician Duane Eddy. Unable to afford a bass, he built his own. Daltrey was a year above them in school, and ran with a different crowd - discovering gangs and rock n roll, and was expelled from school at 15. In 1959 he started a band called the Detours, which would eventually morph into The Who. The band played gigs like corporate functions and wedding functions. One day, Daltrey spotted Entwistle by chance on the street carrying a bass and recruited him into the Detours. In mid-1961, Entwistle suggested Townshend as a guitarist. Daltrey was considered the leader and, according to Townshend, "ran things the way he wanted them. After discovering a band that also had a similar name, Townshend and his house-mate Richard Barnes spent a night considering new names, focusing on a theme of joke announcements, including "No One" and "the Group". Townshend preferred "the Hair", and Barnes liked "the Who" because it "had a pop punch".Daltrey chose "the Who" the next morning.
Still having trouble finding a consistent drummer, during a gig in 1961 with a stand-in drummer, the band first met Keith Moon. Moon grew up in Wembley, and had been drumming in bands since 1961. He was performing with a semi-professional band called the Beachcombers, and wanted to play full-time. Moon played a few songs with the group, breaking a bass drum pedal and tearing a drum skin. The band were impressed with his energy and enthusiasm, and offered him the job. Moon performed with the Beachcombers a few more times, but dates clashed and he chose to devote himself to the Who.
In June 1964, during a performance Townshend accidentally broke the head of his guitar on the low ceiling of the stage. Angered by the audience's laughter, he smashed the instrument on the stage, then picked up another guitar and continued the show. The following week, the audience were keen to see a repeat of the event. Moon obliged by kicking his drum kit over, and auto-destructive artbecame a feature of the Who's live set. By late 1964, the Who were becoming popular in London's Marquee Club, and a rave review of their live act appeared in Melody Maker. This attracted the attention of the American producer Shel Talmy, who had produced the Kinks. Townshend had written a song, "I Can't Explain", that deliberately sounded like the Kinks to attract Talmy's attention. Talmy saw the group in rehearsals and was impressed. He signed them to his production company. My Generation was the next single to follow, propelling the band onto stardom.
The Who have sold over 100 million records worldwide. They received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1988,and from the Grammy Foundation in 2001. The band were inducted into the RnR HOF in 1990 where their display describes them as "prime contenders, in the minds of many, for the title of World's Greatest Rock Band", and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. The single "My Generation" and the albums Tommy and Who's Next have each been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2008, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey received Kennedy Center Honors, and in 2009, My Generation was selected for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry
As they were developing as a band, they were influenced by the groups they supported, including Screaming Lord Sutch, Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers, Shane Fenton and the Fentones, and Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. The Detours were particularly interested in the Pirates as they also only had one guitarist, Mick Green, who inspired Townshend to combine rhythm and lead guitar in his style. Entwistle's bass became more of a lead instrument as a result, playing melodies. Eddie Cochran, Bo Didley, Howlin Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Chuck Berry, Little Walter, Booker T and the MG's & James Brown are other notable influences.
They are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century. Their contributions to rock music include the development of the Marshall Stack, large PA systems, the use of the synthesizer, Entwistle and Moon's influential playing styles, Townshend's feedback, windmill guitar strum, and power chordguitar technique, and the development of the rock opera. They are cited as an influence by many bands of various genres, and their songs are still regularly played. Their appearances at Monterey and Woodstock helped give them a reputation as one of the greatest live rock acts, and the loud volume of the band's live show influenced the approach of hard rock and heavy metal. Punk Rock bands such as MC5, the Stooges, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, the Clash and Green Daycite the Who as an influence. An early influence on Queen, guitarist Brian Mayreferred to the Who as being "among our favourite groups". Guns N' Roses, Pearl Jam, Blur, Oasis and Panic! At The Disco are other bands to cite The Who as an influence.
ALBUM BACKGROUND – HOWLIN’ WOLF
My Generation is the debut studio album by the Who, released in December 1965. In the United States, it was released 4 months later as The Who Sings My Generation, with a different cover and a slightly altered track listing The album was made immediately after the Who got their first singles on the charts and, according to the booklet in the Deluxe Edition, it was later dismissed by the band as something of a rush job that did not accurately represent their stage performance of the time
The Who recorded this, and the rest of the album, with an American producer named Shel Talmy, who had come to England to expand his horizons. Talmy had worked as an engineer in America, where he learned the ins and outs of rock and roll recording. He kept a tight schedule, making sure everyone was rehearsed when they entered the studio. One of Talmy's innovations was using 12 microphones on the drums instead of the standard three. "I had overheads, kick drum, two mics on the snare, toms, and all kinds of stuff," he told Songfacts. Talmy enjoyed working with Keith Moon, and remarkably, Moon obeyed Talmy's request not to destroy. "I said, "Do me a favor Keith. I don't care how close you get... don't hit the damn mics, they're too expensive. And he never did. He got within a millimeter or two, but he never hit a mic."
Many of the songs on the album saw release as singles. Aside from "My Generation", which preceded the album's release and reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, "A Legal Matter", "La-La-La Lies", and "The Kids Are Alright" were also released as domestic singles in 1966. As they were not promoted by the band, they were not as commercially successful as "My Generation" or the Reaction singles. "The Kids Are Alright" was however a top 10 single in Sweden, peaking at No. 8.
The Who first charted with their debut single "I Can't Explain" in 1964. When it came time to make a complete album, their first attempt was a set of cover songs, but after an influential music journalist chastised it for lack of originality, the band decided to write more of their own songs for the set. Pete Townshend took the lead, writing eight songs for the album, which were added to three of the covers they recorded ("I Don't Mind" and "Please, Please, Please" by James Brown; "I'm a Man" by Bo Diddley) with the instrumental jam "The Ox" at the end. The album ended up becoming a classic, with "My Generation" emerging as a defining song of the rock era.