Tho Who: A Rock and Roll Legend

by kat515

A bunch of information about how the band from the British Invasion came to be. Tho Who has great music and a pretty cool story. For more information, visit the band's website at the who . com

A/N This is a bunch of information on the band The Who. Their music is totally awesome!

The Who: A Rock and Roll Legend

The British Invasion of the 1960s changed the American music industry. The invasion consisted of many popular British bands spreading their music throughout the United States. One of the many bands along with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones was the Who. The Who started out just like any other group of teenagers with a passion for music. They had to go through many changes to reach where they are now. The Who is legendary for their rock and roll music and is an icon for the mod style today.

There were four main band members in the Who. Roger Daltrey was the main vocalist in the group and was considered as the founding member. He was born on March 1, 1944, in West London, England. Pete Townshend was born on May 19, 1945, in Chiswick, West London. Townshend was the lead guitarist and main composer. John Entwistle, who rocked the bass guitar, was from London. He was born on October 9, 1944. Entwistle had the nicknames of "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers" due to how fast he could move his fingers while he was playing. Keith Moon was the drummer for the Who. His story began in Wembley on August 4, 1946. These four young men were all very diverse, but they came together to form one of the most well known rock and roll bands in history.

The Who was not always known as the Who. In 1959, Entwistle and Townshend were part of an assembly called the Confederates, a trad jazz outfit, with Pete on the banjo and John playing the trumpet. Daltrey was in a group named the Detours in 1961 that recruited John Entwistle on the bass guitar. Pete Townshend was added to the Detours on the guitar in 1962 by Entwistle's suggestion. The drummer for the Detours was Doug Sandom with Collin Dawson as the lead singer. Keith Moon was in another group known as Mark Twain and the Strangers during this time.

In February of 1964 the Detours changed their name to the Who. Keith Moon joined the Who by audition in April 1964. Later that month, their publicist Peter Meaden, a mod fanatic, had the band name changed to the High Numbers. He also formed them into a mod style band. The High Numbers made their television debut on August 24, 1964, on BBC-TV's The Beat Room. Pete Townshend started a new trend of smashing the guitar on stage in September. At the next concert they performed in, Keith Moon destroyed his drum kit when Pete refused to smash his guitar. Right after, the group became widely known for instrumental destruction on stage. The High Numbers changed their name back to the Who again in November of 1964.

The Who made their debut in the United States in March of 1967. In September "I Can See For Miles" was ranked number nine on the US music charts. In 1969, Tommy was received with great enthusiasm from the fans. Later, in 1969, the Who performed at Woodstock, a four day concert that went down as one of the greatest turning points in music history. This performance marked the Who as a true rock and roll legend.

After many years, the Who was forced to make a few new changes to the band. On September 7, 1978, Keith Moon was found dead in his flat from a drug overdose of pills used to fight against alcohol. John Entwistle died in the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on June 27, 2002 with a heart attack. Zak Starkey, Ringo Starr's son, replaced Moon as the Who's drummer. The bass guitarist was often changed without John Entwistle.

The Who is honored as one of the greatest and most influential rock and roll bands ever known. The Who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame in 1990 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. They won the first annual Freddie Mercury Lifetime Achievement in 2006. The group was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1988 and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend accepted Kennedy Center Honors in December of 2008. In total, the Who has sold over 100 million records with eighteen Gold, twelve Platinum, and five Multi-Platinum awards in the United States. Their mod style caused the creation of mod revival bands such as the Jam, Blur, and Oasis. Sometimes the band is referred to as "The Godfathers of Punk" because of its loud, attitude-filled, and aggressive approach to rock. The power the Who had in their music will not be forgotten in the near future.

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