The Who

Pre 1964
In the early 1960s, Townshend and Entwistle started a trad jazz band called The Confederates. Townshend played banjo and Entwistle played the French horn, which he had learned to play in his school band.

Daltrey met Entwistle walking down the street with a bass slung over his shoulder and asked him to join his band called The Detours, which he had formed the year before.

After a few weeks, Entwistle suggested Townshend as an additional guitarist.

In the early days the band played a variety of music suitable for the pubs and halls they performed in, then became influenced by American blues and country music, playing mostly rhythm and blues.

The lineup was Daltrey on lead guitar, Townshend on rhythm guitar, Entwistle on bass, Doug Sandom on drums, and Colin Dawson vocals.

After Dawson left, Daltrey moved to vocals and Townshend became sole guitarist.

1964
Sandom left and Keith Moon became drummer.

FEB The Detours changed their name to The Who and, with the arrival of Moon that year, the line-up was complete.

For a short period in summer, under the management of mod Peter Meaden, they changed their name to The High Numbers, releasing "Zoot Suit/I'm the Face", a single aimed at appealing to mod fans. When the single failed to chart, the band reverted to The Who.

Meaden was replaced as manager by the team of Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, who saw the band play at the Railway Tavern, offered to manage them and bought Meaden out.

SEP During a performance at the Railway Tavern in Harrow and Wealdstone, London, Townshend accidentally broke the head of his guitar through the ceiling. Angered by sniggers from the audience, he smashed the instrument on the stage. He picked up another guitar and continued the show.

A large crowd attended the next concert, but Townshend declined to smash another guitar. Instead, Moon wrecked his drumkit after Townshend received catcalls from the crowd.

1965
JAN The Who's first release, and first hit, "I Can't Explain" is released. The song was only played in a few markets in the USA, notably by DJ Peter C Cavanaugh on WTAC AM 600 in Flint, Michigan. "I Can't Explain" was a top 10 hit in the UK

and was followed by "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere", a song credited to Townshend and Daltrey.

The debut album My Generation (The Who Sings My Generation in the U.S.) was released the same year.

It included "The Kids Are Alright" and

the title track "My Generation".

1966
Subsequent hits, such as the singles "Substitute",

"I'm a Boy",

"Happy Jack",

the album A Quick One,

1967
the single "Pictures of Lily" and

The Who Sell Out - a concept album

The Who's biggest US single, "I Can See for Miles".

The Who destroyed equipment at the Monterey Pop Festival that year and

repeated the routine on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour with explosive results as Moon detonated his drumkit. Years later, during filming of The Kids Are Alright, Townshend claimed that the event was the start of his hearing troubles. The drum kit had been loaded with an excessive amount of explosives due to Keith Moon bribing a stage hand. The resulting explosion was much more powerful than had been anticipated. Music channel VH1 listed the event at #10 on their list of the 100 Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Moments on Television.

1968
The Who headlined the first Schaefer Music Festival in New York City's Central Park and

released the single "Magic Bus".

DEC They took part in The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, performing their mini-opera, "A Quick One While He's Away".

Townshend became the subject of the first Rolling Stone interview. Townshend said he was working on a full-length rock opera. This was Tommy, the first work billed as a rock opera and a landmark in modern music.

During this time the teachings of India's Meher Baba influenced Townshend's songwriting, continuing for many years. Baba is credited as "Avatar" on Tommy.

In addition to commercial success, Tommy became a critical smash, Life Magazine saying, "...for sheer power, invention and brilliance of performance, Tommy outstrips anything which has ever come out of a recording studio," and Melody Maker declaring, "Surely The Who are now the band against which all others are to be judged."

1969
The Who performed much of Tommy at the Woodstock Music and Art Festival that year.

That, and the ensuing film, catapulted The Who's popularity in the USA. Though the festival became free, the Who demanded to be paid before performing despite banks and roads being closed 2–3 am on Sunday morning and only agreed to play when one of the promoters, Joel Rosenman, came up with a certified check for $11,200 ($68,597 in current dollar terms).

It was during the performance of The Who at Woodstock that one of the most notorious events of the concert took place. Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman sat on the stage with concert organizer Michael Lang during The Who's set. Hoffman had been working the medical tent since the festival's opening act and was under the influence of LSD. Hoffman had become increasingly determined to publicize the case of John Sinclair, who had been given a 10-year jail sentence for passing two marijuana cigarettes to an undercover narcotics officer. Hoffman jumped up and grabbed a microphone during a brief lull in The Who's performance of Tommy saying, "I think this is a pile of shit, while John Sinclair rots in prison!" Townshend replied, "Fuck off! Fuck off my fucking stage!" and struck Hoffman with his guitar. Hoffman leaped off the stage and disappeared into the crowd.

1970
FEB The Who recorded Live at Leeds, thought by many critics as the best live rock album of all time. The album, originally containing mostly the show's set closing hard rock songs, has been re-released in expanded and remastered versions. These versions remedy technical problems with the original and are expanded with portions of the performance of Tommy, as well as versions of earlier singles and stage banter. A double-disc version contains the entire performance of Tommy. The Leeds University gig was part of the Tommy tour, which not only included gigs in European opera houses but saw The Who become the first rock act at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

MAR The Who released the UK top twenty hit "The Seeker".

1971
MAR The band began recording the available Lifehouse material, a new Townshend-penned rock opera, with Kit Lambert in New York, and then restarted the sessions with Glyn Johns in April. Selections from the material, with one unrelated song by Entwistle, were released as a traditional studio album, Who's Next. The album became their most successful album among critics and fans, but terminated the Lifehouse project. Who's Next reached #4 in the USA pop charts and #1 in the UK.

Two tracks from the album, "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again", are cited as pioneering examples of synthesizer use in rock music; both tracks' keyboard sounds were generated in real time by a Lowrey organ (though in "Won't Get Fooled Again", the organ was processed through a VCS3 synthesizer). Synthesizers can be heard elsewhere on the album, in "Bargain", "Going Mobile", and "The Song is Over".

OCT The Who released the UK top twenty hit "Let's See Action".

NOV [4] The Who opened the Rainbow Theatre in London and played for three nights.

1972
They released the UK top ten and US top twenty single "Join Together"

and the UK and US Top Forty "The Relay".

1973
Who's Next was followed by Quadrophenia, The Who's second completed double album rock opera. The album became their highest charting cross-Atlantic success, peaking at #2 in the UK and US.

NOV [20] The US tour started at the San Francisco, California Cow Palace in Daly City where Moon passed out during "Won't Get Fooled Again" and, after a break backstage, again in "Magic Bus". Townshend asked the audience, "Can anyone play the drums? - I mean somebody good." An audience member, Scot Halpin, filled in for the rest of the show, a jam featuring "Smokestack Lightning", "Spoonful" and "Naked Eye".

1974
The Who released the outtakes album Odds & Sods, which featured several songs from the aborted Lifehouse project.

1975
Their album, The Who by Numbers, had introspective songs,

lightened by "Squeeze Box", another hit single. Some critics considered By Numbers Townshend's "suicide note."

A movie version of Tommy released that year was directed by Ken Russell, starred Daltrey and earned Townshend an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score.

DEC The Who set the record for largest indoor concert at the Pontiac Silverdome.

1976
The Who played at Charlton Athletic football ground in what was listed for over a decade in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's loudest concert.

1978
AUG [18] The band released Who Are You. It became their biggest and fastest seller to that date, peaking at #2 in the US, and was certified platinum in the US on the twentieth of September.

SEP [7] This success was overshadowed by Moon's death. He died in his sleep after an overdose of Heminevrin - prescribed to combat alcohol withdrawal - a few hours after a party held by Paul McCartney.

Kenney Jones, of The Small Faces and The Faces, joined as Moon's successor.

1979
MAY [2] The Who returned to the stage with well-received concerts at the Rainbow Theatre in London, at the Cannes Film Festival in France, Wembley Stadium and five dates at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

DEC [3] A small tour of the United States was marred by tragedy: in Cincinnati, Ohio, a crush at Riverfront Coliseum killed 11 fans. The band was not told until after the show because civic authorities feared crowd problems if the concert were cancelled. The band was shaken upon learning of the incident and requested assistance in subsequent venues for appropriate safety precautions for their following concerts.

The Who released a documentary film called The Kids Are Alright

and a film version of Quadrophenia, the latter a box office hit in the UK and the former capturing many of the band's most scintillating moments on stage, including their last performance with Keith Moon.

DEC The Who became the third band, after the Beatles and The Band, featured on the cover of Time. The article, written by Jay Cocks, said The Who had "outpaced, outlasted, outlived and outclassed" all of their rock band contemporaries.

1981
The band released two studio albums with Jones as drummer, Face Dances (1981) and It's Hard (1982).

Face Dances produced a US top twenty and UK top ten hit with the single "You Better You Bet"

and a string of MTV and AOR hits like "Another Tricky Day".

AUG Three videos from the album played on MTV the day it took to the air.

While both albums sold fairly well and It's Hard received a five-star review in Rolling Stone, some fans were not receptive to the new sound.

"Athena" was a US top thirty hit

and "Eminence Front" charted as well and became a favorite.

However Townshend's life was a mess - his marriage had fallen apart due to his drinking and he had become a heroin user, something which shocked his friends due to his previous anti-drug stance.

1982
He cleaned up in early 1982, but Daltrey told him he would stop touring if it meant keeping Townshend alive.

Shortly after It's Hard, The Who embarked on a farewell tour after Townshend said he wanted one more tour with The Who before turning it into a studio band. It was the highest grossing tour of the year, with sellout crowds in stadiums and arenas throughout North America.

1983
Townshend spent part of the year trying to write material for the studio album still owed to Warner Bros. Records from a contract in 1980.

By the end of the year, however, Townshend declared himself unable to generate material appropriate for The Who and announced the breakup of the band in December.

He then focused on solo projects such as White City: A Novel, The Iron Man (which featured Daltrey and Entwistle and two songs on the album credited to "The Who"), and Psychoderelict, a forerunner to the radio work Lifehouse.

1985
JULY [13] The Who—including Kenney Jones—reformed for a one-off at Bob Geldof's Live Aid concert at Wembley. The BBC transmission truck blew a fuse at the beginning of "My Generation", meaning the picture was lost completely, but the band kept playing. This caused most of "My Generation" and all of "Pinball Wizard" to be missed by the rest of the world. Transmission resumed with "Love, Reign O'er Me" and "Won't Get Fooled Again".

1988
FEB The band was honoured with the British Phonographic Industry's Lifetime Achievement Award. The Who played a short set at the ceremony (the last time Jones worked with The Who).

1989
They embarked on a 25th anniversary The Kids Are Alright reunion tour which emphasised songs from Tommy. Simon Phillips played drums with Steve "Boltz" Bolton playing lead guitar, as Townshend relegated himself to strumming acoustic guitar in order to protect his hearing. Townshend did play electric guitar for several songs in the latter non-Tommy half of the shows. A horn section and backing singers were also added. Newsweek said, "The Who tour is special because, after the Beatles and the Stones, they're IT."

There were sellouts throughout North America, including a four-night stand at Giants Stadium. In all, over two million tickets were sold. The tour included Tommy at Radio City Music Hall in New York and at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, with several guest stars at the latter performance.

1990
A 2-CD live album Join Together was released, stalling at #188 in the US.

A video of the Universal Amphitheatre show was also released and went platinum in the US.

In their first year of eligibility, The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by U2, Bono saying, "More than any other band, The Who are our role models." The Who's display at the Rock Hall describes them as prime contenders for the title of "World's Greatest Rock Band". Only The Beatles and The Rolling Stones receive a similar accolade at the Rock Hall.

1991
The Who recorded a cover of Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" for a tribute album. This was the last time they released any studio work with Entwistle.

1994
Daltrey turned 50 and celebrated with two concerts at Carnegie Hall. These included guest spots by Entwistle and Townshend. Although all three surviving original members of The Who attended, they did not appear on stage together except for the finale, "Join Together", with the other guests.

Daltrey toured that year with Entwistle and with John "Rabbit" Bundrick on keyboards, Zak Starkey on drums and Simon Townshend filling in for his brother. Pete Townshend allowed Daltrey to call this band The Who, but Daltrey declined.

The live album recorded during these concerts, Daltrey Sings Townshend, was not a commercial success.

The Who released the box set Thirty Years of Maximum R&B.

1996
Townshend, Entwistle and Daltrey performed Quadrophenia with guest stars at a concert in Hyde Park. Starkey was the drummer. The performance was narrated by Phil Daniels who played Jimmy the Mod in the film. Despite technical difficulties the show was a success and led to a six-night residency at Madison Square Garden. Townshend played acoustic guitar exclusively. These shows were not billed as The Who. The success of the Quadrophenia shows led to a U.S. and European tour through 1996 and 1997. Townshend played mostly acoustic guitar, but also electric guitar on select songs.

1998
VH1 ranked The Who ninth in their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of Rock 'n' Roll.

1999
The Who performed as a five-piece for the first time in concert since 1985, with Bundrick on keyboards and Starkey on drums.

OCT [29] The first show took place in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden. From there, they performed acoustic shows at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA on 30 and 31 October.

NOV [12] - [13] They played at the House of Blues in Chicago, as a benefit for the Maryville Academy.

DEC [22] - [23] Finally, two Christmas charity shows at the Shepherds Bush Empire in London. These were the first full-length concerts with Townshend playing electric guitar for the duration of the show since 1982.

The 29 October show in Las Vegas was partially on TV as well as the internet and would later see release as the DVD The Vegas Job. Reviews for the shows were good.

2000
The success of 1999 led to a U.S. tour in 2000 and a UK tour in November.

JUNE [6] The tour started at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York to benefit the Robin Hood Foundation and ended with a charity show on 27 November at the Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer trust. With good reviews, all three members of The Who discussed a new album.

VH1 placed The Who eighth in the 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

2001
OCT [20] The band performed at The Concert for New York City, during which they played "Who Are You","Baba O'Riley", "Behind Blue Eyes", and "Won't Get Fooled Again" for the fire and police departments of New York City.

The Who were honoured with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award that year.

2002
The Who played five shows in England; in Portsmouth on 27 and 28 January and Watford on 31 January, in preparation for two shows for the Teenage Cancer Trust Benefit at the Albert Hall on 7 and 8 February. These were Entwistle's last shows with The Who.

JUNE [27] Just before their US tour was due to commence, Entwistle was found dead at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The cause was a heart attack in which cocaine was a contributing factor.

After a brief delay, the tour commenced in Los Angeles with bassist Pino Palladino. Most shows from the tour were released officially on CD as Encore Series 2002.

SEP Q magazine named The Who as one of the "50 Bands to See Before You Die".

2003
NOV The Who landed seven albums in Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, more than any other artist with the exceptions of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

2004
The Who released "Old Red Wine" and "Real Good Looking Boy" (with Pino Palladino and Greg Lake, respectively, on bass guitar), as part of a singles anthology (The Who: Then and Now), and went on an 18-date tour playing Japan, Australia, the UK and the U.S. All shows were released on CD as part of Encore Series 2004.

The band headlined the Isle of Wight Festival.

Rolling Stone ranked The Who #29 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

2005
The Who announced that spring would see their first studio album in 23 years (tentatively titled WHO2). Townshend continued working on the album, however, and posted a novella called The Boy Who Heard Music on his blog. This developed into a mini-opera called Wire & Glass which formed the kernel for the new Who album, and later a full opera which Townshend presented at Vassar College.

JULY The Who performed on the London stage of the Live 8 concert.

The Who were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame.

2006
The Who were first recipients of the Freddie Mercury Lifetime Achievement Award in Live Music at the Vodafone music awards.

OCT [30] Endless Wire was released (31 October in the U.S.). It was the first full studio album of new material since 1982's It's Hard and contained the band's first mini-opera since "Rael" on 1967's The Who Sell Out. Endless Wire debuted at #7 on Billboard and #9 in the UK Albums Chart. On the eve of its release (29 October), The Who performed part of the mini-opera and several songs from the new album live as the closing act of the BBC Electric Proms at the Roundhouse in London.

In advance of the album, and to support it, The Who embarked upon their 2006-2007 tour. Shows were released on CD and DVD as part of Encore Series 2006. Starkey was invited to join Oasis in April 2006, and The Who in November 2006, but he declined, preferring to split his time between the two.

2007
JUNE [24] The Who topped the bill at the Glastonbury Festival.

NOV The documentary Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who was released. The documentary includes footage not in earlier documentaries, including film from the 1970 Leeds University appearance and a 1964 performance at the Railway Hotel when they were The High Numbers. Amazing Journey was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award.

2008
The Who were honoured at the VH1 Rock Honors in Los Angeles. Taping of the show took place 12 July, followed by a network broadcast on 17 July.

That same week, a 12-song best-of collection was released for the music video game Rock Band.

The Who performed at the Rock Band party at the Orpheum Theater during the 2008 E3 Media and Business Summit.

OCT The Who embarked on a tour of four Japanese cities and nine North American cities.

DEC The Who were recognised at the Kennedy Center Honors. After other musical celebrities performed their music, the finale was a surprise chorus of police and rescue first responders who had been touched by the Who's performance at The Concert for New York City after the shock of 9-11.

2009
An Australia and New Zealand tour was completed in early 2009.

AUG Townshend announced on The Who's website that he is working on a new musical titled Floss which follows the story of an aging rocker known as "Walter", some songs of which will debut on a new Who album proposed for 2010. Roger has announced that he plans to tour with The Who sometime next year.

It has been reported that The Who will perform at Super Bowl XLIV, marking the British band's first performance in North America since 2008. The NFL hasn't officially confirmed the report yet, stating that "When we have something to announce, we'll announce it."