![]() Daltrey, who had “the mug, the posture, and the demeanor (permanently chipped shoulders) of a budding thug/aspiring John Dillinger, ” For the Record …įull name Roger Harry Daltrey born March 1, 1944, in London, England.įounding member, with John Entwhistle, of rhythm and blues/dance band the Detours, early 1960s founding member of the Who (originally called the High Numbers) with Entwhistle, Keith Moon, and Pete Townshend, 1965 - solo artist, 1973. ” They took volume to new levels (eventually being listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world ’s loudest band). When Townshend began smashing his guitars onstage, and Moon kicked over his drum set, the mods loved it, and this type of flamboyance “saved the Who, who would never have gotten far trying to play R & B with the propriety of the Bluesbreakers or the Stones. Under their tutelage the Who began putting out “soul music pilled-up and riotous, played with none of the elegant perfection of the Rolling Stones, but with all the zealotry of garage-band amateurs, ” wrote Marsh. They carefully calculated ways in which the band could heighten its appeal, suggesting that they revert to a gimmicky name they had used in the past - the Who -and prodding them to make destruction a part of their act. They were as much intrigued by the frantic crowds that came to hear the High Numbers as they were by the group ’s music. Meaden and Gordon were soon replaced by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, two young filmmakers who discovered the band while looking for a movie subject. They built up quite a following in the mods ’ favorite clubs, but their only recording, “I ’m the Face, ” failed to sell. ![]() Drummer Keith Moon joined the group, which had been renamed the High Numbers, and punched up their sound with his manic playing. Late in 1963, the Detours hooked up with managers Pete Meaden and Helmut Gordon, who encouraged the band to cater to the British “mods ” -young people dedicated to amphetamines, Vespa scooters, American rhythm and blues, and stylish clothing. By the early 1960s, the three were playing together in a band called the Detours, which performed rhythm and blues and covers of early Beatles songs in local dance clubs. For more than twenty years, the group ’s lyrics have been effectively shouted out by vocalist Roger Daltrey.ĭaltrey, bassist John Entwhistle, and guitarist Pete Townshend all grew up in the same neighborhood, a working-class section of London known as Shepherd ’s Bush. In a business where bands typically go through many personnel changes and rarely last for more than a few years, the Who are also remarkable for their stability and longevity. From their formation in the 1960s to their recent reunion tour, the Who have embodied some of the most basic elements of rock and roll -chaotic performances, destructive onstage behavior, and record-breaking noise levels - as well as taken music in new directions with trend-setting concept albums and rock operas. “ The Who is the band that refused to die before it I got old, ” stated Dave Marsh in The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll. ![]()
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