The Who
"The Greatest Rock n Roll Band In The World" so they claimed! A lot to live up to, but not many would argue that The Who well and truely lived up to their boast! For over 40 years they have made classic albums songs, but it is as a live band that they really shine. They have lived the rock star dream.
For twenty years beginning in the mid 60s they were at the cutting edge defining what rock music was and is, pushing the boundaries with new sounds and new concepts. Their roots lie in R & B but In the last 20 years or so they may not have sold as many cd's but they can still show younger bands what it takes on stage!
They had it all. Kieth Moon simply the best rock drummer there has ever been. It has been said that he was to drums what Jimi hendrix was to guitar. Pete Townsend a great but perhaps underated guitarist and a truely great songwriter. John Entwistle simply a fantastic and powerful bass player. And Roger Daltry bringing raw emotion and power on vocals and a huge presence on stage.
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Band Members
Pete Townsend
Roger Daltry
John Entwistle
Kieth Moon
Kenney Jones
Supporting Musicians
The following can be regarded as not being full time members of The Who, but each has been part of the live band for a significant period of time.
John "Rabbit" Bundrick – keyboards (1979–1981, 1985–present)
Zak Starkey – drums (1996–present)
Simon Townshend – guitars, backing vocals (1996–1997, 2002–present)
Pino Palladino– bass guitar (2002–present)
History
The 60's
The classic Who lineup came together in 1964 via a band called The Detours. Prior to this Townsend and Entwistle had played in a trad jazz band called the Confederates in which Pete played bajo and John played french horn! Daltry had been with The Detours for a year or so.
The 70's
The 80's
The 90's
Year 2000 Onwards
Equipment
The Who were very involved and influential in the development of new equipment. In part this was driven by their desire for a better and louder stage sound, but also their tendancy to destroy their equipment onstage meant that their kit was constantly changing. In researching the gear they used it is clear that Townsend and Entwistle were both really into guitar gear.
Kieth Moon
Kieth had a long association with Premier Drums though he did use Ludwig drum kits for a short time in the mid 60's.
He went through many kits and as time went by they gradually became larger. His final kit which was used in 1978 and consisted of about 16 drums! Apparently his drums had to be bolted down to prevent them moving around and also were miced up with his own PA.
In 2004 as part of one of his kits was sold at auction. It was expected to raise between £10,000 and £15,000. It actually sold for £120,000 to an American collector, setting a world record for a set of drums!
Pete Townsend
Pete used a huge range and variety of guitars over the years. At some point or another he has probably used (and abused) just about every Fender or Gibson model available.
His fist guitar was given to him at christmas 1956 and cost £3. It wasnt very good! He has always used both acoustic and electric guitars in recording.
Up untill about 1968 he tended to use Harmony acoustic guitars. He used several different models including 6 and 12 string. Since 1968 he appears to have favoured Gibson 6 string acousticssuch as the J-200 but for 12 string he has used mainly Guild guitars. In recent years he has used Takamine, Martin, Collings and Fylde. His acoustic guitars are often fitted with the Fishman Ellipse Matrix Blend pickup/preamp system which is fitted in the soundhole.
Townsend's favoured stage electric in recent years has been the Fender Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster stringed with Ernie Ball nickel strings with the following guages: .011, .015, .018, .032, .042, .052. He has several of these available to him on stage with various tunings and modifications. IN the latter part of the 70's hed tended to use Gibsons, mainly Les Pauls but the Flying V was often used on stage too, one of which was a gift from Joe Walsh of The Eagles. In the 60's his main guitar of choice was a Rickenbacker often with the tremullo removed.
Early amplification consisted ov a VOX AC15 but he quickly moved on to a Fender Bassman head which fed early Marshall 4x12 cabinet, on a stand to raise it to ear level. He said this was
“so I’d literally get the whole force of the thing blowing my head off. It was also blasting right into the guitar pick ups, and I got feedback immediately, which at first I dealt with as a problem, but I quickly began to realise that it could be controlled musically.”
In 1965 the need for greater volume forced a switch to Vox AC100s; the very first 100w amps on the market. The VOX amps proved unreliable and so Townsend and the Who began working with Marshal, Then Sound City and Hiwatt.
Discography
Over such a long career there have been many reissues, live albums and compilations. The following list shows their main studio albums.
My Generation (1965)
A Quick One (1966)
The Who Sell Out (1967)
Tommy (1969)
Live at Leeds (1970)
Who's Next (1971)
Quadrophenia (1973)
Odds & Sods (1974)
The Who by Numbers (1975)
Who Are You (1978)
Face Dances (1981)
It's Hard (1982)
Endless Wire (2006)
Related GMC Lessons
See also
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