The Who’s prime 10 songs ever – and My Generation is at quantity 3 | Music | Entertainment | EUROtoday

With a profession spanning practically six a long time, The Who turned one of the influential and recognisable names in British rock. Famed for his or her bold idea albums, stage-smashing performances, and a list that helped outline the mod motion and exhausting rock alike, the band’s legacy endures throughout generations – nonetheless proving their relevance now, within the digital age.

Based on world streaming information on Spotify, listed here are The Who’s ten most performed songs – from early singles to their arena-filling anthems:

10 – ‘I Can’t Explain’

32 million streams

Released in late 1964 within the US and January 1965 within the UK, ‘I Can’t Explain’ was The Who’s first single underneath the title they’re now generally known as. Written by Pete Townshend and produced by Shel Talmy, the tune rapidly gained traction, reaching No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart after debuting at No. 45. Clocking in at simply over two minutes, its sharp guitar riff and clipped vocal supply made it a defining instance of mod-era rock.

Over time, it turned a fixture within the band’s dwell performances, usually serving because the opening quantity. The tune’s affect prolonged past The Who, getting a David Bowie cowl within the Seventies.

9 – ‘Squeeze Box’

34 million streams

‘Squeeze Box’ was the lead single from 1975’s The Who by Numbers, fusing country-tinged banjo and cheeky lyrics filled with double entendres. It was a shocking business success, turning into The Who’s solely worldwide number-one single when it topped the charts in Canada.

In the UK, it returned the band to the Top 10 for the primary time since ‘Join Together’ three years earlier. Despite its playful tone, Townshend himself was sceptical of its reputation, later admitting he was astonished it had accomplished so effectively.

8 – ‘The Seeker’

34 million streams

First launched in March 1970 as a standalone single, ‘The Seeker’ displays Townshend’s rising curiosity in non secular themes and existential looking out. The lyrics reference figures equivalent to Bob Dylan and the Beatles, portraying a narrator pissed off by his incapability to seek out lasting solutions.

Although it didn’t seem on a studio album on the time, it was later included within the 1971 compilation Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy, the place it discovered a wider viewers. The tune stays an emblem of the band’s transitional interval – bridging the uncooked power of the ’60s and the extra expansive philosophical work that will outline their subsequent decade.

7 – ‘Eminence Front’

92 million streams

One of the later entries of their discography, ‘Eminence Front’ was launched in 1982 on the album It’s Hard. It paints a portrait of extra and emotional detachment – describing characters who conceal behind standing, cash, and substance abuse. Its signature synthesiser intro and moody pacing made it a standout observe, even when it solely reached No. 68 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Over time, nevertheless, ‘Eminence Front’ has turn into one of many band’s most enduring dwell staples. Townshend later defined the tune was written whereas experimenting with chord progressions on a Yamaha E70 organ, and the lyrics had been partly impressed by drug tradition and self-deception.

6 – ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’

195 million streams

The closing observe on Who’s Next, ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ has grown into one in every of The Who’s strongest and recognisable statements. Initially conceived as a part of Townshend’s bold however finally shelved Lifehouse cinematic undertaking, the tune delivers a pointy critique of revolution and political cycles.

The single charted at No. 9 within the UK and No. 15 within the US, whereas the complete eight-and-a-half-minute model appeared on the 1971 album. It has since turn into a trademark of the band’s dwell reveals, usually carried out as a set nearer.

5 – ‘Who Are You’

210 million streams

Serving because the title observe of their 1978 album, ‘Who Are You’ turned a defining single throughout a tumultuous interval for the band. Written by Townshend and that includes session piano by Rod Argent of The Zombies, the tune displays each private frustration and broader questions of identification. The line “I woke up in a Soho doorway…” references an actual incident during which Townshend was confronted by the police after an evening out.

Released simply weeks earlier than Keith Moon’s loss of life, it turned the final tune to function him on a studio album. Charting at No. 14 within the US and seeing its peak at No. 7 in Canada, the observe was later immortalised because the theme tune for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

4 – ‘Pinball Wizard’

226 million streams

Written for his or her 1969 rock opera Tommy, ‘Pinball Wizard’ was launched as a last-minute addition when critic Nik Cohn steered the album wanted extra pleasure. Townshend responded with the story of a “deaf, dumb and blind” boy who turns into a pinball champion – a surreal twist that proved immensely profitable.

The single reached No. 4 within the UK and No. 19 within the US, and rapidly turned a centrepiece of the band’s dwell set. The tune’s reputation was additional cemented when Elton John carried out it within the 1975 Tommy movie adaptation.

3 – ‘My Generation’

254 million streams

Released in 1965, ‘My Generation’ turned an prompt youth anthem and stays one in every of The Who’s most iconic songs. Townshend wrote it as a response to the alienation reportedly felt by younger folks in post-war Britain, and its confrontational lyrics – together with the defiant stuttered supply by Daltrey – gave voice to a era.

The single reached No. 2 within the UK and have become a rallying cry for mods throughout the nation. Over the years, it has been praised for its uncooked power and lasting cultural affect, incomes a spot in each the Grammy Hall of Fame and Rolling Stone’s checklist of the best songs of all time.

2 – ‘Behind Blue Eyes’

309 million streams

Also initially written for the deserted Lifehouse undertaking, ‘Behind Blue Eyes’ turned a standout observe on Who’s Next. The tune unfolds in two components – starting with a mournful, introspective vocal from Daltrey earlier than constructing into a robust, guitar-driven climax.

Townshend has mentioned it was impressed by a private second after a 1970 efficiency in Denver, when he was tempted by a groupie however selected as an alternative to return to his room and replicate. The ensuing lyrics captured a way of vulnerability and inner battle hardly ever seen in rock on the time. Though it peaked at No. 34 on the US Billboard charts, the tune’s emotional depth has made it one in every of The Who’s most coated and streamed recordings.

1 – ‘Baba O’Riley’

657 million streams

Topping the checklist by a large margin, ‘Baba O’Riley’ serves because the opening observe to 1971’s Who’s Next. Another one which was initially supposed for Lifehouse, the tune’s title combines the names of Indian non secular instructor Meher Baba and minimalist composer Terry Riley – two of Townshend’s main influences.

Although it wasn’t launched as a single within the US or UK, ‘Baba O’Riley’ grew in reputation by means of dwell performances and demanding acclaim. It has since turn into one of the recognisable rock songs in historical past, incessantly utilized in movie, tv, and stadiums world wide.