The Who Group Members

Roger Harry Daltrey on March 1, 1944, to Harry & Irene Daltrey in Shepherd's Bush, England. Daltrey was primarily raised in the London suburbs of Shepherd's Bush and Bedford Park. Harry Daltrey worked for a water closet manufacturer. Irene Daltrey lost a kidney in 1937 and as a result was told that she could no have children. About a year later, Irene Daltrey was stricken with polio to be partially paralyzed with some loss of use of her hands. Daltrey was the oldest and only boy as he has two sisters, Gillian and Carol, the youngest born in late 1947.

Daltrey's contribution to The Who and thus music history is simple. Daltrey willed The Who to succeed and refused to let The Who and rock music be compromised in any way as long as Daltrey could. His commitment to The Who is permanent.

Daltrey is the only rock & roll singer on the planet who could sing the songs that comprise The Who's catalog, such as, "My Generation," "I Can See For Miles," "Young Man Blues," Tommy, Who's Next, Quadrophenia, and "Who Are You." Daltrey is the perfect voice and man of action for Pete Townshend's lyrics and ideas. As Townshend stated at Daltrey's 50th Birthday, Townshend 's songs are about fear and it takes a man (Daltrey) to sing about fear.

Outside of The Who, Daltrey has established himself as a fine actor as a leading man in movies, acting in Shakespeare and playing television bad guys.

Roger Daltrey is married to Heather Daltrey, and is the father to a son, from a previous marriage, and two daughters, Rosie and Willow, and a son, Jamie, with Heather Daltrey.

Daltrey made his first guitar from a block of wood. At this time, Daltrey formed the band, the Detours. In 1959, Harry Daltrey bought Roger an Epiphone guitar in the hopes that Roger would return to his studies. Daltrey would become the lead guitarist for the Detours. However, Daltrey was soon expelled from Acton Grammar school.

Daltrey started sheet metal work by day and perform/rehearse with the Detours at night. The line-up of the Detours was in flux. Daltrey invited John Entwistle to become the bassist for the Detours that Entwistle accepted. At the urging of Entwistle, Daltrey invited Pete Townshend to join the band on rhythm guitar that Townshend accepted.

The members of the Detours were Townshend on rhythm guitar, Entwistle on bass, Daltrey on lead guitar, Doug Sandom on drums, and Colin Dawson on lead vocal.

In 1961, the Detours were playing at weddings, bar mitzvahs, pubs, and working men's clubs. In late 1962 and early 1963, the Detours opened for Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, a power trio with a lead singer band setup. After a change of lead singers, the Detours decided to go to a power trio plus singer with Daltrey switching to lead vocal and Townshend switching to lead guitar. Daltrey selected the music to be performed which was Beatles' songs, Motown rarities, James Brown numbers, and older rock & roll tunes. Daltrey's work ethic along with Townshend's art school social criticism would generate the source of the band's dynamic tension that would indelibly change music history.

In 1964, the Detours were in the process of changing their name. Townshend's idea was the Hair while his roommate, Richard Barnes, suggested The Who. In April 1964, drummer Doug Sandom left the band. Keith Moon became The Who 's drummer.

Daltrey sang on High Numbers' recordings "Leavin Here," "Here åTis," "I'm the Face" and "Zoot Suit." The Who signed a record deal that forced them to write their own material. In 1965 Pete Townshend composed "I Can't Explain." As a result, Daltrey's dominance of the band diminished notwithstanding that the follow-up single was "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" co-written by Daltrey with Pete Townshend, their only collaboration in 30 years. At this time The Who were performing in local clubs, Daltrey became known for his belligerence on stage and his ability to swing the microphone in wide arcs sometimes whistling the mike over audience members' heads.

As The Who were working on the single "My Generation," The Who toured Sweden. Daltrey became incensed as he felt the band were a bunch of "junkies." Daltrey cooled down long enough for the band to tour Denmark. In September 1965, The Who tossed Daltrey out of the band. Daltrey expressed that The Who was more important, collectively, than any one member's opinion or desire.

In 1965, The Who released the My Generation album with Daltrey singing ten songs. The angry and defiant title track featured the lyric "Hope I die before I get old" with Daltrey stuttering, yet explosive, anger that conveyed sympathetic depth. Daltrey created the persona of a Mod on the verge of a revolution.

Summer 1966, Daltrey divorced his wife. Winter 1966, The Who released the album A Quick One (Happy Jack in the U.S.) with one Daltrey song, his only song to make an album release. Daltrey's "See My Way" was written in order to collect an advance. "See My Way" is a slight song with one verse and one chorus that needed more work. Live versions of "A Quick One" evidence Daltrey's vocal dexterity. Spring 1967, The Who release the single, "Pictures of Lily." The Who play nine Murray the K shows in New York City. Daltrey broke 18 microphones during this engagement.

Summer 1967, The Who played the Monterey Pop Festival. Daltrey also wrote "Early Morning Cold Taxi" with Cyrano Langston which. Winter 1967, The Who released the album The Who Sell Out which is the only Who release where Daltrey doesn't sing a vast majority of the songs. Daltrey displays depth and range in the ethereal "I Can See For Miles" from the triumphant "Oh yeah" to the declarative "I can see for miles." On the album cover, Daltrey is rib cage deep in Heinz Baked Beans in a bathtub. As a result of the cover shoot, Daltrey contracted pneumonia.

May 1969, The Who released the double album Tommy. Some of Daltrey finest singing is on "Amazing Journey," "Pinball Wizard," "Go to the Mirror," "I'm Free" and the finale "See Me Feel Me." Tommy is a deaf, dumb, and blind kid who becomes a Messiah and later is forsaken by his followers. Daltrey becomes the character Tommy in a fine vocal performance of nuance, defiance, independence, enlightenment, and remorse.

Tommy changed Daltrey's look. Daltrey would wear an open, fringed vest over a bare, sun tanned, chest. Daltrey let his hair grow out to become shoulder length and curly. Daltrey, despite his obvious masculinity, had almost become androgynous. Daltrey, through Tommy, had become a recognized sex symbol and a pop star.

Summer 1969, The Who played Woodstock which Daltrey described as "the worst gig we ever played." February 1970, The Who played at Leeds University for a live album. Live at Leeds is considered rock & roll at its finest such as on "Substitute."

Spring, 1970, The Who released a single called "The Seeker." The B-side was Daltrey's composition, "Here For More," a pop song with spiritual underpinnings.

Summer 1971, The Who released the album Who's Next with Daltrey singing seven songs. Who's Next featured the opening "Baba O'Riley" with Daltrey declaring "I don't have to fight/To prove I'm right/I don't need to be forgiven" and "It's only teenage wasteland." Daltrey's singing is legendary on the closing cut, "Won't Get Fooled Again." Daltrey, after conveying the various stages of revolution, gives the definitive rock & roll scream, "Yeeeeaaaaah," after an extended synthesizer passage. Daltrey closes by derisively claiming "Meet the new boss/Same as the old boss," that establishes angry cynicism but in an emotional and sympathetic way.

In 1973, Daltrey released his first solo album, Daltrey, featuring the single "Giving It All Away." On his first album and its impact on The Who, Daltrey firmly stated.

Fall 1973, The Who released the double album Quadrophenia composed by Pete Townshend in its entirety with Daltrey having significant singing parts on 13 songs. Quadrophenia is about the four-faceted Jimmy, a Mod from 1964-1965, who climbs on The Rock to examine his life. Each member of The Who had a theme. Daltrey's theme was "a tough guy, a helpless dancer" about Daltrey's violent determination to avoid spending his life as a sheet metal worker. Daltrey has fine vocal performances on "The Real Me," "The Punk and The Godfather," and "5:15." When performed live, Daltrey would receive a standing ovation for his singing on the gut wrenching finale, "Love Reign O' er Me."

During rehearsals for the Quadrophenia tour, Daltrey and Townshend had a verbal name-calling episode.

In 1975, Daltrey starred in the feature film release of Tommy. Daltrey gave a commanding performance that was the highlight of the movie. On the strength of his acting in Tommy, Daltrey starred in the movie, Lisztomania. Daltrey released his second solo album, Ride a Rock Horse.

Fall 1975, The Who released The Who By Numbers with Daltrey singing seven songs. During the recording of the album, Daltrey pushed forward the litigation against The Who's management discovering that, "we found that we had been screwed up the fucking alley."

In 1976, Daltrey released his third solo album, One of the Boys. Summer 1978, The Who released the album Who Are You with Daltrey singing seven songs. Daltrey's singing on "Music Must Change," Guitar & Pen," and the title track is extremely powerful and vitriolic.

September 8, 1978, Keith Moon, Who drummer, died in his sleep. In 1979, Townshend and The Who continued with a tour. Unfortunately, a concert in Cincinnati resulted in 11 deaths due to a pre-show stampede for festival seating. Daltrey, when informed of the deaths, openly cried.

In 1981, The Who released the album Face Dances with Daltrey singing seven songs, notably "You Better You Bet" and "Another Tricky Day."

In 1982, The Who released the album It's Hard with Daltrey.

In 1985, Daltrey released his fourth solo album, Under a Raging Moon, in dedication to Who drummer, Keith Moon.

Daltrey sang a Townshend song, "After the Fire," that became a successful single. Daltrey toured the East Coast of America in his first solo tour. Daltrey with The Who performed at the benefit concert, Live Aid.

In 1989, Daltrey sings on the Pete Townshend solo album Iron Man on "Fire" and "Dig." In 1991, Daltrey released the solo retrospective album, Best of Rockers & Ballads. In 1992, Daltrey recorded and toured with the Irish folk band, The Chieftains, and released the solo album, Rocks In The Head.

In 1994, Daltrey for his 50th Birthday played Carnegie Hall in a show Daltrey Sings Townshend. In 1996, Daltrey and The Who revived Quadrophenia as a theater piece for 1996-1997 tours.

In 1997, Daltrey released Martyrs and Madmen: The Best of Roger Daltrey. Summer 1998, Daltrey was the guest singer and headliner for a tour called British Rock Symphony.

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR

Johnny Was (2005)

Trafalgar Battle Surgeon (2005) (TV)the Bus Video (2004) (V) (voice)

The Wheels On the Bus Video: Mango and Papaya's Animal Adventures (2003) (V) (voice)

.com for Murder (2002)

Chasing Destiny (2001)

Strange Frequency 2 (2001) (TV)

Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2000) (TV)

Best (2000)

The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns (1999) (TV)

Like It Is (1998)

"Pirate Tales" (1997) (mini) TV Series

Vampirella (1996) (V)

The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True (1995) (TV)

Bad English I: Tales of a Son of a Brit (1995)

Lightning Jack (1994)

The Real Story of Happy Birthday to You (1992) (voice)

If Looks Could Kill (1991)

Forgotten Prisoners: The Amnesty Files (1990) (TV)

Mack the Knife (1990)

Buddy's Song (1990)

Cold Justice (1989)

The Who Live, Featuring the Rock Opera Tommy (1989) (TV) .... Vocals/Tommy Walker/Mr. Walker/Mrs. Walker/Narrator/Specialist

"How to Be Cool" (1988) TV Series

Gentry (1987)

The Hunting of the Snark (1987)

The Little Match Girl (1987/I)

"Buddy" (1986) TV Series

Murder: Ultimate Grounds for Divorce (1984)

Bitter Cherry (1983)

The Comedy of Errors (1983) (TV)

The Beggar's Opera (1983) (TV)

McVicar (1980)

The Legacy (1978)

"One of the Boys" (1977) TV Series

Lisztomania (1975)

Tommy (1975)

John Entwistle:

Born: 9-Oct-1944

Birthplace: London, England

Died: 27-Jun-2002

Location of death: Las Vegas, NV, USA

Cause of death: Accident - Overdose

Gender: Male

Occupation: Guitarist

Nationality: England

Best Known As: Bassist for The Who

Wife: Alison Wise (m. 23-Jun-1967, div., one son)

Son: Christopher

Wife: Maxine (m. 1989, div. 1997)

John Entwistle Biography:

John Entwistle was born on 9-Oct-1944 in London, England. Forced by his mother to play the piano at the age of six, he learned to read music almost before he could read words. By the age of eleven, he decided to follow the footsteps of Bix Beiderbeck to play the horn and die young. Unfortunately, the school orchestra already overloaded with suicidal trumpet players, gave him a French horn instead. So John was doomed to play the French horn.

John chose to play a louder instrument. He chose the bass because it was longer than the guitar a much larger phallic symbol. After meeting Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey at school, they formed the embryo of The Who, which at the time they named “The Detours”. They found a new drummer in Keith Moon and a new manager who promised them that they would soon appear at Carnegie Hall. They never did – but often ordered sandwiches from the Carnegie Delicatessen next door. After a string of Top Ten singles in England, they decided to conquer America.

Then along came “Tommy”, a Rock Opera with a plot the world is still trying to work out. “Live at Leeds” followed – fans are still trying to find out which part of Leeds The Who lived in. “Who’s Next”, “Quadrophenia”, and a whole string of compilation albums were massive successes.

The Who spent less and less time on the road, which lead John to believe that he had joined the most famous semi-professional band in the business. After a string of moderately successful solo albums by John and other members of the band, the tragic death of Keith Moon changed forever the destiny of The Who. Following a series of live tours and two albums with Keith’s replacement Kenny Jones, The Who floundered, twitched a few times, and finally croaked.

In 1994, John toured as a special guest with Roger Daltrey. In ’95 John toured Japan and America with Ringo Starr’s All Star Band, which gave him the dubious pleasure of knowing that he has now performed “Yellow Submarine” more times than Paul McCartney.

The tour amongst other things, triggered a resurgence of John’s solo career starting with a remixed selection from his solo albums titled appropriately “John Entwistle – Anthology” on the Repertoire label in Europe. A similar selection using the original mixes was released in America titled, “Thunderfingers” on the Rhino label. Shortly after Repertoire released all five solo albums in their original form and Sundazed records released some of the albums in the U.S.

After the “Left for Dead” tour the “John Entwistle Band” flew over to John’s studio to start work on the successful American T.V. series “Van-pires” one of the top programs in it’s “time slot”. They collaborated on 13 NEW songs (one for each show) as well as the main title theme. The songs from the show were released on CD called appropriately “Songs from Van-pires”.

John’s “other career” as an Artist was also taking off. Starting with the release of a Limited Edition serigraph of his, “Who by Numbers” cover, closely followed by updated color editions of The Who – namely “Spirit of ‘76” and “Generations”. Originals of his other cartoons of famous “Rock Stars” went on sale to the Art loving public and he still had plenty of “victims” to draw yet!

The coffin lid creaked open again to reveal the “Quadrophenia” tour starring Townshend, Entwistle and Daltrey with a cast of thousands.

The live recordings of the second “Left for Dead” tour were released under the title “Left for Live” and the band played at the second “Woodstock” festival strangely enough in the emerging Band aircraft hanger. The band also toured as themselves and on the Abbey road tour with among others Todd Rundgren and Anne Wilson in both the US and Japan.

At some point in this hubbub of activity John was voted “Bass Player of the Millennium” and also attended the Grammy’s to receive a “Lifetime Achievement Award”.

On September 12th, 2001, John phoned JEB drummer Steve Luongo to arrange the Charity show at BB King’s Club in New York. Expenses were to be covered by five other surrounding JEB concerts. Suddenly the Madison Square Garden 911 Charity Show was plunked slap bang in the middle of it. Somehow with a lot of juggling and a little help from the rest of The Who, John managed to fulfill all his obligations by performing six shows in five days. This involved rushing straight from MSG to BB Kings.

In 2002, The Who, still as a five piece performed a series of English concerts leading up to another “Children’s Cancer Trust” benefit at The Royal Albert Hall.

Whenever he has the spare time (in his sleep) he scribbles down another chapter in the first of a trilogy of novels recounting his humorous adventures with The Who. (At the current rate “The End” will have to be engraved on his Tombstone!”) At the same time his new Original and limited edition prints of “Guitar Gods” (Jimmy Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend) had to be drawn to coincide with the new Who tour of America.

FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR

Live Aid (13-Jul-1985) Himself

The Kids Are Alright (26-Oct-1979) Himself

Tommy (19-Mar-1975) Himself

Woodstock (26-Mar-1970) Himself

Monterey Pop (26-Dec-1968) Himself

Keith Moon:

Real Name / Birth Name / Full Name: Keith John Moon

Born: 23-Aug-1947

Birthplace: Wembley, Middlesex, England

Died: 7-Sep-1978

Location of death: Mayfair, London, England

Cause of death: Accident - Overdose

Gender: Male

Height: 5' 9" (1.75 m)

Occupation: Drummer

Keith Moon Biography:

Born in Willesden, England on August 23, 1946, Moon was raised in the Northwest London suburb of Wembley. A fan of big band music from his infancy, he also displayed a fondness for comedy and hyperactive behavior at school. As a teenager, Moon became fascinated by the drum playing of jazz great Gene Krupa. In the autumn of 1961, he acquired his first drum kit and began taking lessons a year later. He also developed a life-long love for Californian surf music, idolizing the Chantays and the Beach Boys. In 1964 he auditioned for recently vacated position as drummer for the Who, wowing the other bandmembers in spite of his youth.

For the Who's first album, My Generation, Moon co-wrote the instrumental "The Ox," a "Wipeout"-inspired track that emphasized his affection for the surf music sound. In the fall of 1966, Moon collaborated with John Entwistle to compose "In The City," the B-side to "I'm a Boy." Moon contributed two songs to the album A Quick One (While He's Away), "Cobwebs and Strange" and "I Need You." Throughout this period, Moon's innovative drumming continued to break new creative ground. Nearly forty years later, his percussive performance on 1967's "I Can See For Miles" continues to be regarded as a critical high water mark for popular music. But Moon's artistic contributions to the Who extended beyond his drumming. For Townshend's rock opera, Tommy, Moon created the idea of the holiday camp and sang lead on the song ("Tommy's Holiday Camp") that Townshend composed in response.

following the 1970 accidental death of his driver, Neil Boland, Moon's behavior grew increasingly self destructive. In 1973, as the members of the Who began to explore opportunities outside the group, Moon performed in a series of music radio shows for the British Broadcasting Corporation, including "Life with the Moons." Later he moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. In March of 1975, Moon released his only solo album, Two Sides of the Moon.

Moon reunited with the Who for 1978's critically and commercially successful album, Who Are You. His health had deteriorated, however, during his time in California. Only a few weeks later, Moon died in his sleep of an overdose of Heminevrin, ironically a drug he had been taking to curb his alcoholism.

Pete Townshend:

Real Name / Birth Name / Full Name: Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend

Born: 19-May-1945

Birthplace: Chiswick, England

Gender: Male

Occupation: Guitarist

Nationality: England

Height: 6' (1.83 m)

Best Known As: Lead guitarist for The Who

Pete Townshend Biography:

The child of a musical family, Townshend grew up in Shepherd's Bush, where he joined Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle in the skiffle and jazz cover band, the Detours. A promising teenage art student, he attended the Ealing Art School, where he was exposed to Gustav Metzger's notions of auto-destructive art. As the British music scene increasingly demanded that bands perform original material, Townshend emerged as a songwriter of extraordinary skill and insight, mining both his own soul and the sentiments of his Shepherd's Bush audience for universal statements about the quest for identity. His first composition for the band, the remarkable "I Can't Explain," was released in January 1965. The follow-up releases of "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" and the anarchic "My Generation" quickly installed Townshend as both a commercial hit-maker and the spokesman for his generation.

Townshend began experimenting with longer modes of musical storytelling, composing "A Quick One (While He's Away)" in 1966 and "Rael" the following year. Townshend's exploration of musical narrative culminated in 1969 with the critically lauded double concept album, Tommy.

In 1972 Townshend released his first commercial solo album Who Came First, emphasizing the more introspective and personally spiritual side of his work. Refreshed, Townshend then composed Quadrophenia for the Who.

An Oscar nomination followed in 1975 for the film score to Ken Russell's adaptation of Tommy. 1977 brought Townshend's second solo effort, Rough Mix, a collaboration with the late Ronnie Lane. In 1978 Townshend composed the songs for the Who's triumphant Who Are You. The critical and commercially successful solo album, Empty Glass, featuring the hit single "Let My Love Open The Door" followed in 1980, with the equally strong All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, featuring "Slit Skirts," coming two years later. In 1985 Townshend returned to conceptual work with White City - A Novel, which included the Top 30 single "Face the Face." The same year, he published a book of short stories, Horse's Neck. In 1989, Townshend released The Iron Man, based on poet Ted Hughes' children's story. In 1993, Townshend delivered Psychoderelict, an insightful conceptual piece that Townshend continued to perform live for the rest of the decade.

In 1993 Townshend was awarded a Tony for the massively successful Broadway stage adaptation of Tommy. That same year, Townshend mounted a live theatrical version of The Iron Man at London's Young Vic Theatre. In 2000, culminating decades of work, Townshend released the 6 CD box set, The Lifehouse Chronicles, an archive of all the music associated with the project as well as the radio play. In 2001 Townsend was awarded a 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at the Ivor Novello Awards in London.