The Who - My Generation (1965)

Jimmy Page is renowned for his career with The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin, but he spent several years mastering his craft as a session musician. Producer Shel Talmy favored Page's skills and used him often on his productions. Page played on The Kinks debut album and was even rumored to have authored the guitar solo on "You Really Got Me", which he denies and credits to Dave Davies. The Who's early recordings were also produced by Shel Talmy, and their debut single "I Can't Explain" also featured Page.

John Entwistle and Pete Townshend's first roles as musicians had them as members of a Dixieland jazz band called The Confederates on which Entwistle played the French Horn and Townshend played the banjo. With a chance street encounter between Entwistle and Roger Daltrey, the two were recruited into Daltrey's rhythm and blues band The Detours. The early line-up had Daltrey on lead guitar, Townshend on rhythm guitar, Entwistle on bass, Doug Sandom on drums, and Colin Dawson as vocalist. With the departure of Dawson, Daltrey took over on vocals, leaving Townshend as the sole guitarist. Although The Detours were considered a talented band, they couldn't quite earn a recording contract for need of original material and a better drummer. The band dropped the elder Sandom from The Detours and picked up the younger, manic Keith Moon.

In 1964, The Detours changed their name to The Who and then briefly to The High Numbers on the recommendation of their new manager Peter Meaden. Under Meaden, The High Numbers were tailored to appeal to England's mod subculture that held an affinity for Italian motor scooters, tailored suits, pop music (beat, ska, soul, R&B), and dancing clubs. The band's first single "Zoot Suit" failed to chart, so the group reverted back to The Who, and Meaden relinquished managing control to Kit Lambert and Christ Stamp. Despite all of these changes, The Who maintained a strong local following but needed a little something more to gain national attention. They found a gimmick when Pete Townshend, in a bout of frustration, destroyed his guitar at the Railway Tavern. The next night saw an increased audience expecting more destruction. From then on, Townshend and Moon regularly performed what they call auto-destructive art.

The Who's first single as The Who was the Kinks-inspired tune "I Can't Explain" that peaked at eighth on the UK charts early in 1965. This was followed up with "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere". Their third single "My Generation" peaked at second in the UK and provided a wave of success going into the release of their debut album, the commercially named My Generation. The album met with critical acclaim and commercial popularity reaching fifth on the charts. A handful of other singles were released throughout 1966 to varied success. They found continued chart success with the original singles "Substitute" and "I'm a Boy".

The album is a good source document to The Who's early "Hardcore R&B" days. It's made up mostly of original material by Pete Townshend and is rounded off with three cover songs (two James Brown, one Bo Diddley). Although most of the songs stay in the British Rhythm and Blues and Beat tradition, a number of songs stand out. In particular, "My Generation" and "The Kids Are Alright" are definitive Who power pop and would become the album's most iconic tracks. The beat-inspired "It's Not True" and the romping instrumental "The Ox" are other noteworthy tracks. The 1966 single "I'm a Boy", a song not on the album, holds some importance as it is a remnant of Townshend's first attempt at a rock opera, an idea he'd keep working on in the years to come.

Here is the discography surrounding The Who's debut album:

Zoot Suit (1964 single as The High Numbers)
I Can't Explain (1965 single)
Anytime, Anyhow, Anywhere (1965 single)
My Generation (1965 single)
My Generation
Substitute (1966 single)
A Legal Matter (1966 single)
The Kids Are Alright (1966 single)
I'm a Boy (1966 single)





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