The Who

The Who, with a reputation not lacking in superlatives, was formed in 1964 and disbanded (for the first time) in 1983, though most believe the magic faded with their drummer's death in 1978. The band was known primarily for three things: a) live performances, which were astonishingly loud, chaotic events that often ended with the complete destruction of everything on stage, b) a "mod" style of dress (which was followed by other contemporary styles), and c) concept albums such as Tommy and Quadrophenia, the so-called "rock operas". The band was made up of Pete Townshend (guitar), Roger Daltrey (vocals), John Entwistle (bass) and Keith Moon, perhaps the greatest rock-and-roll drummer of all time (and inspiration for the Muppet character Animal).

Pete Townshend claims that the song in the performance above is his first attempt at a piece of music longer than two and a half minutes - he refers to it as "Tommy's parent". "A quick one while he's away" was written to fill a large gap on the Quick One album, and consists of six separate musical sections telling one narrative of loss, infidelity and forgiveness. The performance itself has an interesting story. Yes, that is Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones giving the intro (update: new version does not have Keith's intro). No, I don't know why the audience looks like a group of migrant farmers at a Gallagher show. The video below of "My Generation" concludes with collected footage of The Who destroying whatever they can get their hands on...

Long Live Rock.