Happy 70th Birthday, Pete Townshend

It was 70 years ago today that Pete Townshend was born in Chiswick, Greater London, England. He would go onto found one of the most influential bands of all time, The Who. The Who would have a lasting impact on rock music, influencing such subgenres as power pop (in fact, it was Mr. Townshend who gave the genre its name in an interview in the May 20 1967 issue of The New Music Express), heavy metal, punk, and hard rock in general. The Who have always been my second favourite band of all time, after The Beatles.

In celebration of Pete Townshend's 70th birthday I thought would post one of The Who's more famous (or perhaps "notorious" would be a better word) moments in their history. This is a clip from the September 17 1967 edition of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour on which The Who performed "I Can See For Miles" and "My Generation". Before the performance Keith Moon and "a sloppy stage hand" overloaded his drum kit with explosives. The resultant explosion left shrapnel in Keith Moon's arm, singed Pete Townshend's hair, and left Pete Townshend afflicted with tinnitus the rest of his life. Even if it had not been for The Who's fantastic performance on the show, then, they would have made quite an impression on the American viewing audience!




Happy birthday, Pete!