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Hair (1967)
(#1, 1969; Fifth Dimension)
excerpts from the film version (released in 1979), starring John Savage, Treat Williams, & Beverly D'Angelo
The Who
- the band began in the late 50s as the Detours
- included Pete Townshend, John Entwhistle, and Roger Daltry
- 1965 - while performing, Townsend inadvertantly broke guitar neck against
ceiling, lost his temper & smashed it to pieces … Keith Moon spontaneously
busted up his drum set
- 1965-66 - 4 Top 10 singles in Britain, including ...
My
Generation (commentary
)
Top 10 in 1965
- stuttering vocal
- antiestablishment image ("mods")
- December 19, 1966 - "Happy Jack" ... Britain's answer to The Monkees?!! [that's what some had considered them]
- The Who were to perform in a variety series called Sound and Picture City set to premiere on the BBC (this video is a promo for that show), but it never materialized
- September 15, 1967 - performed "My Generation" on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
- 1967 - 2nd album, Happy Jack, fell 10 minutes short of a full album, so they added the
"miniopera" with a storyline & characters entitled "A Quick
One While He's Away"
- video is from the Rolling Stone's Rock and Roll Circus
A Quick
One While He's Away
The Who performing at the Monterey Pop Festival
(from L-R: unknown dancer, Townshend, Daltry, & Moon)
Roger Daltrey
 |
Pete Townshend
 |
Tommy
- 1969 - released Tommy (number 4 in 1969), a 90-minute "rock opera," primarily
composed by Townshend with some material by Moon & Entwhistle; story of
a deaf, dumb, & blind boy who becomes a pinball "wizard"
Pinball
Wizard
see The Who's performance at Woodstock
- 1975 - Tommy (nominated for an Oscar for Best Score Adaptation) was released as a star-studded film starring Roger Daltrey as Tommy, including the following excerpts ...
- Townsend was anxious to follow-up on Tommy's success and began working on science fiction-themed story (Lifehouse); though abandoned, several songs for that project were included on Who's Next (1971), containing ...
- 1973 - released 2nd "rock opera" - Quadrophenia, a study of the conflict between Mods & Rockers and psychological turmoil in the youth generation, including the following excerpts:
- 5/25/78 - performance at Shepperton Film Studios
before an audience of 500 invited guests
- 7/7/78 - Moon died of a drug overdose of Heminevrin (sedative), a drug prescribed
to prevent seizures induced by alcohol withdrawal
- his reputation as the "madman of rock" was well-deserved …
he was once paralyzed for days because he ingested elephant tranquilizer!!
- 12/3/79 - 11 people killed in the crush of fans waiting to get into Cincinnati's
Riverfront Stadium
- Townshend went on a year-long alcohol, cocaine, & heroin binge
- actually fell asleep on stage during a performance in 1981!!
- 1982 - band officially broke up, but have regrouped for several performances
since
- Townshend has had a fairly successful solo career … recently revived Tommy
- 1989 - The Who reunites for a tour
Jesus Christ Superstar (1971)
excerpts from the film version (released in 1973):
Other Rock Operas & Musicals
- Godspell (1971)
- Bernstein's Mass (1971) exhibits rock influence; lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell)
- Grease (1972) - longest-running Broadway musical prior to Cats
- The Wiz (1975)
- Dreamgirls (1981)
- Spring Awakening (2006); nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won 8, including
"Best Musical." This broke the record of 6 Tony Awards held previously by
"Death of a Salesman" and "History Boys."
cast performance at 2007 Tony Awards [video
]
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