It has been one week since the Who performed during the Super Bowl’s halftime show and the internet has been abuzz with comments. Most of them are unfortunately of the “Who are these old geezers” ilk. However, there were some interesting facts during the performance. According to one of my coworkers, I was surprised to find out that the most Googled name that day was not Drew Brees or Peyton Manning, but Who lead singer (in fine voice I might add) Roger Daltrey! And in the most watched televised event in history, Twitter was overloaded during the band’s performance and the next day, their greatest hits package was the number one downloaded CD. The company I work for, Fender Musical Instruments, partnered on a Who sweepstakes with Universal Music and Live Nation called “Name that Riff” that was linked through nfl.com which received a tremendous boost in op-ins during the performance. In today’s massive social network era it wasn’t baby boomers like myself that were responsible for the above events, but the Gen X & Y’ers who were anxious to find out more about this band. I’m sure, due to their music featured on Rock Band, the Who’s classics are familiar to many gamers (don’t forget “Happy Jack” as the soundtrack of those Hummer commercials years ago), even if they are not familiar with the band itself.
When I was in my early teens, the Beatles and Stones were the two biggest bands. I loved them both, but there was another British invasion of bands like the Who, the Yardbirds and the Kinks who had hit records, but were more eclectic for pop bands of that era. I remember one of buddies nicknamed “Mick” because he bore a slight resemblance to Mick Jagger, (or at least he had the same hairstyle - hey, I was nicknamed “Beatle” - go figure) and the reason we became close friends was because of our mutual admiration of the Who. Ever since “The Who Sings My Generation” was released, we couldn’t wait for them to tour the states. I got my chance when they were booked at a local teen club called “The New Place” just north of Chicago. I remember the DJ who promoted the shows, Dex Card, collecting money at the door and we complained that $5.00 seemed quite expensive, even for the Who. He assured us that they would smash all the equipment and we gladly paid the inflated cover charge. We were witnesses to one of the most incredible shows I have ever seen - Daltrey lassoing the drums with his mic cord, as Keith Moon savagely punished his lovely “Pictures of Lily” Premier drum kit, and Townsend wind milling his doomed Fender Stratocaster as John Entwistle calmly moved out of range as the finale exploded. I might add it was also one of the most aggressive shows with the band violently smashing their gear as promised, and the road crew smashing the faces of the audience members who dared try to pick up the pieces as the band left the stage (even Daltrey and Townsend got into a scrap on-stage when the frustrated front man tried to walk off in disgust because their stack of gear overwhelmed the circuit breakers).
I have seen the Who many times since that historic moment in my musical fandom, and they never cease to deliver. A few years ago, my wife Bettina and I went to see the band at the Hollywood Bowl and she being born in the sixties was not sure she would recognize many of their songs. From the opening riff of “I Can’t Explain” to Daltrey’s classic scream in the encore “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (accompanied by almost everyone in the audience), she sang along with every song. And that’s why classic outfits like the Who end up on the Super Bowl – they can deliver a wide range of music familiar enough to the enormous demographic that watch the game, and more importantly for the network, all without a wardrobe malfunction.
FYI: For all you youngsters interested in really seeing what this band is about, I highly recommend the documentary The Kids are Alright. And for us geezers, the recent Amazing Journey – indeed it has been that.
