Top Ten Songs by the Who

It was the late 1960’s, and the Beatles had changed the music world forever. Single-handedly, John, Paul, George and Ringo had, seemingly overnight, taken the world from the doo-wop age where Elvis still ruled into the age of the four-member rock and roll bands. The Beatles’ “sound” was completely new and instantly captivating. In the early 1970’s, the Beatles made a trip to India to study transcendental meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Upon their return to the recording studio, the band was completely transformed. Gone were the suits and ties, the long but stylishly cropped hair, and the simple but artful musical arrangements. The hippie “flower power” days were in full bloom, and the Beatles once again set a new standard of music, behavior and physical appearance. Out came the outrageous colorful clothing, the long unkempt hair, and the use of psychedelic drugs. Timothy Leary was advising the young generation to “turn on, tune in, and drop out.” The turning point came with the Beatles’ release of Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the album that, even today, is thought to be the best, most unique rock recording of all time.

As the Beatles did, so followed the world. English wanna-be groups sprung up like opium poppies and, eventually took their acts on the road creating “The British Invasion” of the American music scene. Of all these performers, only two have gone the distance and have become rock royalty: Eric Clapton (The Yardbirds, Cream, Derek and the Dominoes), and the Who.