Origin: London (England)
ROGER DALTREY
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| Roger Daltrey
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Discography:
![Roger Daltrey [Under a raging moon - 1985] aor melodic rock music blogspot full albums bands lyrics](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1B6oSW6Li4w/W0J1bxT3a9I/AAAAAAAAFuU/dHiDQDauNlscAPYY0JtSBy0UwK5uxtQogCLcBGAs/s200/Roger%2BDaltrey%2B%255BUnder%2Ba%2Braging%2Bmoon%2B-%2B1985%255D.jpg "Roger Daltrey [Under a raging moon - 1985]")
Under a raging moon - 1985
(with lyrics)
Notes:
- Roger Harry Daltrey CBE (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician, and actor. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Daltrey came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the founder and lead singer of the rock band the Who, which released 14 singles that entered the Top 10 charts in the United Kingdom during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including "I Can't Explain", "My Generation", "Substitute", "I'm a Boy", "Happy Jack", "Pictures of Lily", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Get Fooled Again", and "You Better You Bet". Daltrey began his solo career in 1973, while still a member of the Who. Since then, he has released eight studio albums, five compilation albums, and one live album. His solo hits include "Giving It All Away", "Walking the Dog", "Written on the Wind", "Free Me", "Without Your Love", "Walking in My Sleep", "After the Fire", and "Under a Raging Moon". In 2010, he was ranked as number 61 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest singers of all time.
Daltrey has been known as one of the most charismatic of rock's frontmen and famed for his powerful voice and energetic stage presence.
As a member of the Who, Daltrey received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1988, and from the Grammy Foundation in 2001. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. The Who are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century, selling over 100 million records worldwide. He and Pete Townshend received Kennedy Center Honors in 2008 and The George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement at UCLA on 21 May 2016.
Daltrey has also been an actor and film producer, with roles in films, theatre, and television.
Early life and education
Roger Harry Daltrey was born on 1 March 1944, in Hammersmith Hospital, East Acton, west London, England, one of three children of Irene and Harry Daltrey. Daltrey's father fought in World War II at the time, and came home a few years later. He was brought up in Acton, the same working class suburban district that produced fellow Who members Pete Townshend, and John Entwistle.
Daltrey attended Victoria Primary School and then Acton County Grammar School along with Townshend and Entwistle. He showed academic promise in the English state school system, ranking at the top of his class on the eleven-plus examination that led to his enrolment at the Acton County Grammar School. His parents hoped that he would eventually continue on to study at university, but Daltrey turned out to be a self-described "school rebel" and developed a dedicated interest in the emerging rock and roll music scene instead.
He made his first guitar from a block of wood, a cherry red Stratocaster replica, and joined a skiffle band called the Detours in need of a lead singer. They told him that he had to bring a guitar, and within a few weeks he showed up with it, and he could play it too. When his father bought him an Epiphone guitar in 1959, he became the lead guitarist for the band; soon afterwards he was expelled from school for tobacco smoking. Townshend wrote in his autobiography, "until he was expelled Roger had been a good pupil."
Daltrey became a sheet metal worker during the day, while practising, and performing nights with the band at weddings, pubs, and working men's clubs. He invited schoolmate Entwistle to play bass guitar in the band, and on the advice of Entwistle, invited Townshend to play guitar. At that time, the band also had Doug Sandom on drums and Colin Dawson on lead vocals. After Dawson left the band, Daltrey switched to lead vocals, and played harmonica as well, while Townshend became the lead guitarist. In 1964, drummer Sandom left the band, eventually being replaced by Keith Moon.
Early on, Daltrey was the band's leader, earning a reputation for using his fists to exercise control when needed, despite his small stature (his height is reportedly 1.65 metres (5 ft 5 in)). According to Townshend, Daltrey "ran things the way he wanted. If you argued with him, you usually got a bunch of fives" (slaps or punches). He generally selected the music that they performed, including songs by the Beatles, various Motown artists, James Brown, and rock standards.
In 1964, the band discovered another band performing as the Detours and discussed changing their name. Townshend suggested "the Hair" and Townshend's roommate Richard Barnes suggested "the Who." The next morning, Daltrey made the decision for the band, saying "It's the Who, innit?"
During 1964, band manager Peter Meaden renamed the band to "the High Numbers" as part of a move to establish the band as Mod favourites. The name was a reference to the T-shirts with "numbers" that the Mods used at the time. Peter Meaden composed Mod songs for them (the songs were almost copies of Mod hits at the time, with changed lyrics) and they released one single, "I'm the Face/Zoot Suit", on Fontana Records. The single proved to be commercially unsuccessful.
After Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp discovered the High Numbers at the Railway Hotel, the band changed their name back to The Who.
Career with the Who
Overview
With the band's first hit single ("I Can't Explain") and record deal in early 1965, Townshend began writing original material and Daltrey's dominance of the band began to decrease.
The other members of the Who expelled Daltrey from the band in late 1965 after he beat up their drummer Keith Moon for supplying illegal drugs to Townshend and Entwistle, causing him to re-examine his methods of dealing with people. A week later, Daltrey was admitted back to the band, but was told he'd be on probation. He promised that there would be no more violent outbursts or assaults. Daltrey recalled, "I thought if I lost the band I was dead. If I didn't stick with the Who, I would be a sheet metal worker for the rest of my life."
The band's second single, "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere", was the only song on which Daltrey and Townshend collaborated, and Daltrey wrote only two other songs for the band during these years. As Townshend developed into one of rock's most accomplished composers, Daltrey's vocals became the vehicle through which Townshend's visions were expressed, and he gained an equally vaunted reputation as a powerful singer and riveting front-man. The Who's stage act was highly energetic, and Daltrey's habit of swinging the microphone around by its cord on stage became his signature move.
Daltrey's Townshend-inspired stuttering expression of youthful anger, frustration, and arrogance in the band's breakthrough single, "My Generation", captured the revolutionary feeling of the 1960s for many young people around the world and became the band's trademark. Later, his scream near the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again" became a defining moment in rock and roll.
By 1973, Daltrey was experiencing considerable success with his solo projects and acting roles. While other members of the band worked on recording the music for Quadrophenia, Daltrey used some of this time to check the Who's books. He found they had fallen into disarray under the management of Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. Lambert was also Pete Townshend's artistic mentor, and challenging him led to renewed tension within the band. During a filming session (in an incident that Daltrey claimed was overblown) Townshend and Daltrey argued over the schedule. Townshend hit Daltrey over the head with his guitar, and Daltrey responded by knocking Townshend unconscious with a single blow.
With each of the Who's milestone achievements, Tommy, Who's Next, and Quadrophenia, Daltrey was the face and voice of the band as they defined themselves as the ultimate rebels in a generation of change. When Ken Russell's adaptation of Tommy appeared as a feature film in 1975, Daltrey played the lead role, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture" and appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine on 10 April 1975. Afterward, Daltrey worked with Russell again, starring as Franz Liszt in Lisztomania. He worked with Rick Wakeman on the soundtrack to this film, writing the lyrics to three songs and also performing these, as well as others.
The Who continued after the death of their drummer Keith Moon in 1978, but tension continued to rise as Daltrey felt that new drummer Kenney Jones was the wrong choice for the Who. In 1980, Daltrey completed a drama film called McVicar about British bank robber John McVicar. Daltrey produced and starred in the film, and completed a soundtrack with other members of the band. This success, along with other stresses, contributed to a deterioration of relations with Townshend, and the Who retired from active touring in 1982 when Townshend felt that he was no longer able to write for the band. The band continued to work together sporadically, reuniting for the Live Aid concert, and recording songs for Daltrey's solo album Under a Raging Moon, and Townshend's solo album The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend.
Daltrey turned to working as an actor, with roles in projects such as The Beggar's Opera and The Comedy of Errors for the BBC. He appeared in several film, television, and stage productions during this period, including Mike Batt's The Hunting of the Snark (1987), The Little Match Girl (1987), Buddy's Song (1992), which he also produced, and Mack the Knife (1990). In 1991, he received a Grammy Award with the Chieftains for An Irish Evening: Live at the Grand Opera House, Belfast. In 1993 Daltrey starred in an episode of Tales From The Crypt.
The Who returned in 1989 with their 25th Anniversary Tour, which was also the 20th anniversary of their rock opera Tommy. The tour featured a large backing band, and guest appearances by Steve Winwood, Patti LaBelle, Phil Collins, Elton John, and Billy Idol. In spite of an abdominal hemangioma (later removed by surgery), Daltrey managed to complete the tour. He continued to work on stage and screen, completing projects such as The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True (1995) appearing as the Tin Woodman alongside Nathan Lane, Joel Grey, Natalie Cole, and Jewel as Dorothy. During this time, he also began to appear in US television shows.
In 1994, Daltrey celebrated his 50th birthday by performing a two-night spectacular at Carnegie Hall titled A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who, which is popularly also known as Daltrey Sings Townshend. The Who's music was arranged for orchestra by Michael Kamen, who conducted the Juilliard Orchestra for the event. Bob Ezrin, who produced Pink Floyd's The Wall album, among other famous albums, produced the live album. Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Eddie Vedder (who performed a special acoustic tribute), Sinéad O'Connor, Lou Reed, David Sanborn, Alice Cooper, Linda Perry, the Chieftains, and others performed as special guests. Michael Lindsay-Hogg directed the telecast, which was aired on satellite TV. The concert, at the time, was the fastest sell-out in the famed venue's history.The event was co-produced by Richard Flanzer, his manager at the time. The event was followed by a major tour financed by Daltrey and including John Entwistle on bass, Zak Starkey on drums, and Simon Townshend on guitar. Although the tour was considered an artistic success, it failed to make any profit due to the expense of providing extraordinary musicians and orchestras in every city to replicate the Carnegie Hall event. Significantly, the tour did attract attention to songs from the Who's rock opera Quadrophenia and gathered support for a staging and major tour of the rock opera in 1996–97.
In 1996, Pete Townshend was approached to produce Quadrophenia for the Prince's Trust concert at Hyde Park, London. He at first planned to perform the opera as a solo acoustic piece using parts of the film on the screens, but after receiving offers of financing decided on a full-out production. When he first contacted Daltrey to request a collaboration, Daltrey refused, but after some discussion, he agreed to help produce a one-off performance. The opera was performed with a large backing band, including John Entwistle on bass, Pete Townshend on acoustic guitar, and vocals, Zak Starkey on drums, John "Rabbit" Bundrick, and Jon Carin on keyboards, Simon Townshend on guitar, and special guests including David Gilmour, Ade Edmondson, Trevor McDonald, and Gary Glitter. A horn section and backing vocalists were added, along with other actors. On the night before the show, Daltrey was struck in the face by a microphone stand swung by Gary Glitter. The accident fractured his eye socket and caused considerable concern that he might not be able to perform safely, but Daltrey donned an eye-patch to cover the bruises and completed the show as scheduled. Afterward, Townshend decided to take the production on tour in 1996–97 as the Who.
After their Quadrophenia tour was successful, the band returned as the Who in a stripped-down, five-piece line-up for tours in 1999–2000. The band continued to work together, making a major impact at the Concert for New York City. After Entwistle's death in June 2002, both Daltrey and Townshend decided to continue with an already planned tour as the Who. Bass player Pino Palladino was chosen to fill Entwistle's place. The band also completed a brief tour in 2004. In 2006, they released their first studio album of new material in twenty-four years, Endless Wire, leading some fans and critics to say that the highly acclaimed artistic tension within the Who lay between the two principals Daltrey and Townshend. The band completed a world tour in 2006–07 to support this album.
In February 2010, Townshend and Daltrey, headlining as the Who, performed the half-time show at Super Bowl XLIV in front of 105.97 million viewers across the globe. In March 2010, Townshend and Daltrey, along with an extensive backing band, performed Quadrophenia at the Royal Albert Hall in London as a tenth anniversary charity benefit for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam sang the part of the Godfather, and Tom Meighan of Kasabian sang the part of Aceface, and Tom Norris, London Symphony Orchestra Co-Principal Second Violin, played violin for the production.
Daltrey's songs for the Who
Daltrey contributed a handful of songs to the band's catalogue during their early career:
"Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" (1965) – The Who's second single, co-written with Townshend.
"See My Way" (1966) – Daltrey's contribution to A Quick One.
"Early Morning Cold Taxi" (1968) – Outtake from The Who Sell Out (later appearing as a bonus track on deluxe editions), co-written with David "Cyrano" Langston.
"Here for More" (1970) – B-side to "The Seeker".
Daltrey also wrote a song titled "Crossroads Now" for the Who which grew out of an onstage jam session in 1999 after the song "My Generation." Another Daltrey song, entitled "Certified Rose", was rehearsed by the Who shortly before the death of John Entwistle. The band had planned on playing it (as well as Townshend's "Real Good Looking Boy") during their 2002 tour, but plans were halted after Entwistle's death. Although it was rumoured that a studio version was recorded during the Endless Wire sessions (and may have featured Entwistle's basslines from 2002), Townshend later stated that no such recording was made. A more recent recording of "Certified Rose" was finally released on Daltrey's 2018 album As Long As I Have You. While this version of the song was released as a Daltrey track, it features Townshend on guitar. "Early Morning Cold Taxi", is a song recorded during The Who Sell Out's recording sessions in 1967, and was released in 1994 on the Thirty Years of Maximum R&B box set, which is credited to Roger Daltrey and Who roadie Dave "Cyrano" Langston. Some sources report that the song was solely written by Langston. At the time Daltrey and Langston were planning to form a writing partnership, in which all songs written by either of them would be credited as Daltrey/Langston. The partnership produced only one other song—an unreleased demo titled "Blue Caravan." Langston went on to play guitar on John Entwistle's debut solo album, Smash Your Head Against the Wall, in 1971.
On 22 March 2018, Pete Townshend stated that a new Who album should feature original songs by Daltrey as well as him.
Solo career
Overview
Daltrey has released eight solo studio albums. The first was the self-titled Daltrey in 1973, the album was recorded during a hiatus time in the Who's touring schedule. The best-selling single from the album, "Giving It All Away", peaked at No. 5 in the UK and the album, which introduced Leo Sayer as a songwriter, made the Top 50 in the United States. The inner sleeve photography showed a trompe-l'œil in reference to the Narcissus myth, as Daltrey's reflection in the water differs from his real appearance. He also released a single in 1973, "Thinking" with "There is Love" as the B-side. The British release, with considerable airplay of "Giving It All Away" (first lines "I paid all my dues so I picked up my shoes, I got up and walked away") coincided with news reports of the Who being sued for unpaid damage to their hotel on a recent tour, including a TV set being thrown out of the window.
Daltrey's second solo album, Ride a Rock Horse, was released in 1975, and is his second most commercially successful solo album. Its cover was photographed by Daltrey's cousin Graham Hughes, which is remarkable for depicting the singer as a rampant centaur.
When Sayer launched his own career as a solo artist, Daltrey called on a widening group of friends to write for and perform on his albums. Paul McCartney contributed the new song "Giddy" to One of the Boys, where the band included Hank Marvin, Alvin Lee, and Mick Ronson. On this album cover, another visual trick is played with Daltrey's mirror image, with reference to René Magritte's famous painting Not to be Reproduced.
McVicar was billed as a soundtrack album for the film of the same name, in which Daltrey starred and also co-produced. It featured all the other members of the Who at the time (Townshend, Entwistle, and Kenney Jones). McVicar included two hit singles, "Free Me", and "Without Your Love", which is Daltrey's best-selling solo recording.
On release, Parting Should Be Painless received negative critical reviews, and was Daltrey's poorest selling studio album up to that point. The album was a concerted effort on Daltrey's part to vent his frustrations in the wake of the Who's breakup by assembling a set of roughly autobiographical songs. These included a track contributed by Bryan Ferry ("Going Strong"), and one contributed by Eurythmics ("Somebody Told Me"). Musically, according to Daltrey the album covered areas that he had wanted the Who to pursue.
The title track to Under a Raging Moon was a tribute to the former Who drummer Keith Moon, who died in 1978, at the premature age of 32. On his next album Rocks in the Head, Daltrey's voice ranges from a powerful bluesy growl à la Howlin' Wolf to the tender vocals shared with his daughter Willow on the ballad "Everything a Heart Could Ever Want". This was his first major effort as a songwriter for his own solo career.
In 1987 was released "Take Me Home"; the song is a cover of Cargo by French artist Axel Bauer. Daltrey's version is written by Axel Bauer, Nigel Hinton and himself.
In 1992, Daltrey appeared in the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, singing the hard rock Queen song "I Want It All", to pay homage to his friend Freddie Mercury, who died the previous year one day after a public announcement that he suffered from AIDS.
Daltrey celebrated his 50th birthday in 1994 by performing at Carnegie Hall in two shows (23 and 24 February), later issued on CD and video called A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who, sometimes called Daltrey Sings Townshend, accompanied by the Juilliard Orchestra, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Irish dancers and other special guests. The success of these two shows led to a US tour by the same name, featuring Pete Townshend's brother Simon on lead guitar with Phil Spalding taking bass duties for the first half of each show, and John Entwistle playing for the second half. An Australian leg was considered but eventually scrapped.
Daltrey took on a number of other solo projects, including a tour with the British Rock Symphony in 1998, and the Night of the Proms in 2005. Daltrey also worked with the Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp, raising money for many charities during the final concert. In 2005, Daltrey had a short weekly series on BBC Radio 2, presenting a personal choice of rock 'n' roll favourites.
Daltrey embarked on a solo tour of the US and Canada on 10 October 2009, officially called the "Use It or Lose It" tour with a new touring band he called "No Plan B" on the Alan Titchmarsh Show. The band included Simon Townshend on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, Frank Simes on lead guitar, Jon Button on bass guitar, Loren Gold on keyboards, and Scott Devours on drums. Eddie Vedder made a guest appearance at the Seattle show on 12 October. In 2010, Daltrey and No Plan B appeared for several dates with Eric Clapton, including Summerfest at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band also scheduled additional dates in 2010 without Clapton.
In 2011, the band performed the rock opera Tommy and other songs at a warm-up show in Bournemouth at the O2 Academy 19 March in preparation for a show scheduled at the Royal Albert Hall to benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust on 24 March. Pete Townshend played and sang as a guest at the TCT show. Later in 2011, the band scheduled the "Tommy Reborn" tour of the UK and Europe, followed by a tour of the US and Canada. Additional dates were booked in Europe and Australia for 2012. Downloads from the tour were made available through the Internet.
As of 2013, Daltrey is talking about making a new solo album because "the Who don't do enough gigs for me. If I stop singing at the age I am now, my voice will be gone within two years. So I've got to keep it going. It's like a car engine you've got to keep running."
In 2015, Daltrey recorded a cover version of Pete Townshend's song "Let My Love Open the Door" for Teen Cancer America adverts. In February 2016, a full version was released, with all of the proceeds going to TCA.
On 15 March 2018 Daltrey announced the forthcoming release, on 1 June, of his new solo studio album As Long as I Have You, produced by Dave Eringa, his first one in 26 years. He appeared on BBC One's The Graham Norton Show, on 13 April 2018, to promote the single taken from the album.
On 27 March 2018 a Who Facebook post announced that Daltrey plus members of The Who band should appear as guest artists for one of the Bayside Summer Nights in San Diego, California on August 15, 2018, performing some Who hits, Who rarities and some solo hits.
Non-Who songs written by Daltrey
Daltrey first co-wrote songs for his solo albums beginning with 1977's One of the Boys, including "The Prisoner", "Satin and Lace" and "Doing It All Again." On his 1985 solo album, Under a Raging Moon, Daltrey is credited as co-writer on four songs. On the 1987 solo album, Can't Wait to See the Movie, Daltrey is credited as co-writer of the tracks "Balance on Wires" and "Take Me Home." On 1992's Rocks in the Head, Daltrey is credited (along with Gerard McMahon) for co-writing seven of its eleven tracks. For his 2005 compilation album Moonlighting: The Anthology, Daltrey co-wrote the song "A Second Out" with Steve McEwan, which featured Daltrey's vocals backed by McEwan on acoustic guitar. Daltrey's songwriting for other projects has included the 1975 soundtrack for Lisztomania. He also co-wrote "Child O Mine" with Gerard McMahon, which featured on the soundtrack for The Banger Sisters, and on the TV show Witchblade.
An avid fan of Premier League football club Arsenal F.C., in 2006 Daltrey wrote and performed a specially commissioned song, "Highbury Highs", for the Highbury Farewell ceremony following the final football match on 7 May at Highbury, with Arsenal playing Wigan Athletic. Daltrey's performance was part of Arsenal's celebration of the previous 93 years at Highbury, as the club prepared for their move to the Emirates Stadium, the following season.
Collaborations
In 1984, Daltrey appeared on "Bad Attitude", the title track of an album by Meat Loaf, sharing the lead vocal. In the same year, Daltrey provided backing vocals on Barry Gibb's song "Fine Line". The following year, he appeared in Barbra Streisand's music video for her single "Emotion", playing Streisand's emotionally uninterested husband.
On 20 April 1992, Daltrey appeared as one of the featured guest singers at the Freddie Mercury Tribute at Wembley Stadium singing Queen's "I Want it All" with the opening of "Pinball Wizard" --- Also backing Queen on this track was Black Sabbath's lead guitarist Tony Iommi --- which made a historic Band that Included Queen/the Who/Sabbath for the first time ever.
In 1992, he appeared on the Chieftains' Grammy Award-winning album, An Irish Evening: Live at the Grand Opera House. He also released an album with the Boys Choir of Harlem in 1998 with selections from A Christmas Carol. Also in 1998, Daltrey performed two songs with the Jim Byrnes Blues Band at the Los Angeles Highlander Convention. He borrowed a guitar to play for the songs, after reassuring the owner that he would not break it. Daltrey taught the then-15-year-old Drake Bell how to play the guitar in 2001, after starring together in Chasing Destiny. Bell later starred in Drake & Josh and has released three studio albums.
In 2001, Daltrey provided backing vocals for the title track of the Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros album Global a Go-Go. In 2003, he provided backing vocals for thrash-metal band Anthrax on the song "Taking the Music Back" from their ninth album We've Come for You All. The collaboration came about through Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian's girlfriend, Pearl Aday, daughter of Meat Loaf, whose mother was a friend of Daltrey and his wife.
In 2005, Daltrey collaborated with English pop band McFly to sing his hit song "My Generation". Also in 2005, Daltrey joined B.B. King to record Never Make Your Move Too Soon for King's 80th birthday album, B.B. King & Friends: 80.
On 14 and 15 December 2007, he appeared with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York and Izod Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, performing "Behind Blue Eyes", "Pinball Wizard" and "See Me, Feel Me."
On 12 January 2009, Daltrey headlined a one-off concert along with Babyshambles at the O2 Academy Bristol for Teenage Cancer Trust. On 5 July 2009, he joined the Jam's lead singer, Paul Weller on stage at Hop Farm Festival in Kent for an encore of "Magic Bus". In 2011, Daltrey recorded a duet on the song "Ma seule amour" with French singer and composer Laurent Voulzy for his album Lys and Love.
In 2011, Daltrey, along with Steven Tyler and Roger Taylor, joined the advisory board of Edge Music Network. The company is innovative in their approach to connecting fans and their favourite bands.
In November 2014, while staying at the Mar Hall Hotel in Bishopton, Renfrewshire – ahead of the Who's gig at The SSE Hydro – Daltrey joined the band Milestone for an impromptu rendition of "I Can't Explain". The band were playing at a wedding reception in the hotel.
Rock persona and legacy
When Colin Dawson left the Detours, Daltrey took over as their lead singer, giving up his guitar. The band as a whole acknowledged Entwistle and Moon's innovation and talent on their instruments, and Pete Townshend had begun writing their hit songs, but Daltrey struggled to find a voice to present their new music. His expression carried Townshend's material well enough in recordings, and at the time his live persona suited the small club scene where the Who made their beginnings. However, this presentation lacked the confidence of later years, and he was arguably still a singer seeking a voice.
The Who first toured North America in 1967, appearing at the Monterey Pop Festival, and Daltrey brought back new experiences in dealing with larger venues and stages. 1968 proved to be a pivotal year with Townshend's movement beyond the quick three-minute single towards his goal of writing a rock opera. Beginning with "A Quick One, While He's Away", a nine-minute mini-opera, Daltrey's performance in the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus showed him with a new confidence in dealing with Townshend's material. In 1969, the Who's first major rock opera Tommy was released, and Daltrey found a voice for the lead character that carried the Who to worldwide stardom at such music venues as Woodstock and the Isle of Wight Festival, and in opera houses around the world during the next two years. Townshend later remarked in the film Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who, that with Tommy, and with Daltrey's adaptation to portraying the character on-stage, the singer evolved from what was essentially a tight, tough guy to one who outstretched his arms, bared his body to the audiences, and began to truly engage them. "With this change, the band was at last complete", he summed up. "It was a marriage", Townshend emphasised, "but it was a good marriage. Those were glorious years". Daltrey confirmed this, saying, he felt at last accepted, displaying a newly energetic role and sound during live performances.
Daltrey has long been known as one of the most charismatic of rock's frontmen. According to Pete Townshend, "He almost invented the pseudo-messianic role taken up later by Jim Morrison and Robert Plant." His persona has earned him a position as one of the "gods of rock and roll" He developed a trademark move of swinging and throwing his microphone through a complex sequence, matching these sequences with the tempo of the song that was being played at the moment, although Daltrey reduced the athleticism of his performances in later years.
Musical equipment
Daltrey hand-built his first guitar from a piece of plywood, and also built guitars for the band in the early days when they had little money to buy equipment. As lead guitarist for the Detours, Daltrey played a 1961 Epiphone Wilshire solidbody electric guitar which he later sold to Pete Townshend on an easy payment plan. After he took over vocals for the band in the 1960s, and during the 1970s, Daltrey rarely played guitar on stage; however, he played a Martin acoustic guitar for appearances to promote his solo album Daltrey. He began playing guitar with the Who again during the band's tours in the 1980s, and used a Fender Esquire to play a second guitar part for the song "Eminence Front" on the Who's 1982, 1989 and later tours. During the 1989 tour, he played a Gibson Chet Atkins SST guitar for the song "Hey Joe". During the Who's 1996–97 Quadrophenia tour, Daltrey played a Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar.
After 1999, it became more common for Daltrey to play guitar during both the Who and solo shows. He played a Versoul Buxom 6 handmade acoustic guitar on the Who's 2002 tour. Daltrey owns a Gibson Everly Brothers Flattop acoustic guitar which he played on the Who and solo tours in the late first decade of the 21st century. On his 2009 tour, Daltrey played Pete Townshend's "Blue, Red and Grey" on an Ashbury cutaway tenor EQ ukulele.
Daltrey is among those who first brought the harmonica into popular music. Although the mouth harps that Daltrey uses have varied over the years, brands he has used include Hohner and Lee Oskar harmonicas. Daltrey plays using the blues harp (2nd position) or cross harp technique which originated in blues music.
Daltrey uses Shure microphones with cords that are taped to reinforce the connection and avoid cutting his hands when he swings and catches the microphone. He commonly uses a standard Shure SM58, but has also used Shure SM78 (in 1981), Shure model 565D Unisphere 1, and Shure model 548 Unidyne IV. Daltrey also uses a hybrid monitoring system with one in-ear monitor supplemented by floor wedges. -
- Who lead singer Roger Daltrey forged a parallel solo career beginning in 1973, when the group had begun to fall apart in the aftermath of Quadrophenia. Born March 1, 1944 in London, Daltrey grew up in the same Shepherd's Bush neighborhood as future Who bandmates Pete Townshend and John Entwistle, performing with them as the Detours as early as his late teen years. Over time, Daltrey developed into one of rock's most powerful lead vocalists, a position to which he staked his claim on the Who's 1971 masterpiece Who's Next; his on-stage persona was one of macho swagger, accompanied by such antics as twirling his microphone like a lasso.
Daltrey first traveled the solo route in 1973 with an album titled simply Daltrey, featuring mostly material penned by a then-unknown Leo Sayer that served as a departure from the Who's signature hard rock sound. The Who reconvened for The Who by Numbers in 1975, a year that saw Daltrey release his second solo album, Ride a Rock Horse, and appear in Ken Russell's films Lisztomania (as composer Franz Liszt) and an adaptation of Tommy (in the title role). While the Who went on hiatus for several years, Daltrey released One of the Boys in 1977 and appeared in the 1978 film The Legacy. During the Who's post-Keith Moon era, Daltrey co-produced and starred in the film McVicar, a biography of train robber John McVicar; members of the Who appeared on its soundtrack, which essentially served as a full-fledged Daltrey album and found him bridging the gap between hard rock and the pop songs of his earlier solo work. After the Who officially disbanded in 1983, Daltrey's solo albums became uniformly hard-rocking affairs, most notable among them 1985's Under a Raging Moon. In addition to the Who's 1989 reunion tour, Daltrey continued to act in occasional television and film roles, as well as releasing the solo album Rocks in the Head in 1992.
To celebrate turning 50, Daltrey played two nights at Carnegie Hall in 1994 and the recordings were issued later that year as A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and the Who, with a companion DVD surfacing in 1998. In 1999 he performed alongside artists such as Darlene Love and Zak Starkey at a Royal Albert Hall show by an act billed as the British Rock Symphony. Fueled by a full orchestra and gospel choir, the set list consisted of classic material originally performed by the Who and their contemporaries. A related studio album followed, as did wider European and U.S. tours, before a live DVD appeared in 2000. Daltrey returned to the Albert Hall in November 2000 for the inaugural Teenage Cancer Trust benefit show. He became a patron of the charity, overseeing a run of yearly star-studded events at the venue that lasted well into the next decade.
In May 2006 he performed "Highbury Highs," a song especially written for a ceremony to mark Arsenal's final football game at the Highbury Stadium in North London. By 2009 he was touring the U.S. once again with a lineup that included Pete Townshend's brother Simon, and Daltrey retained this band for a 2011 Teenage Cancer Trust performance of Tommy. In November 2013, a mere six months after his friend and former Dr. Feelgood guitarist Wilko Johnson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Daltrey accompanied him on sessions for an album entitled Going Back Home. Featuring reinterpretations of material from throughout Johnson's career, the record was launched with a gig at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in February 2014. He continued his charity efforts by recording a cover of Townshend's "Let My Love Open the Door," of which all sales proceeds benefited Teen Cancer America.
In the midst of a 2014-2016 anniversary tour with the Who, Daltrey recorded his next album, which arrived in 2018. As Long as I Have You (Polydor) featured Townshend on guitar, Mick Talbot on keys, and Sean Genockey on guitar. In addition to new songs, the set also included covers of songs by Nick Cave, Stevie Wonder, Stephen Stills, and more. -
- Known nowadays for his acting roles as well as his vocals as frontman for The WHO, ROGER DALTREY (born 1st March, 1944, Hammersmith in London) has unified both careers since his title role of the pinball wizard in Ken Russell’s 1975 film adaptation of his group’s `Tommy’ opus. While the band’s main songwriter PETE TOWNSHEND exhibited his showman antics by way of “windmill”-arm guitar style, the muscled DALTREY found his stage niche through his lasso microphone projectile; it was not a good idea to stand too close to either of them; JOHN “The Ox” ENTWISTLE was squeezed somewhere in between the pair and the destructive sticksman KEITH MOON.
While all but the latter had kick-started their extracurricular solo careers, Roger’s finally got underway in 1973 via Top 10 set DALTREY. Almost unique, the singer hadn’t really taken to the songwriting aspect of stardom, and this record was no exception, as Dave Courtney and rising star LEO SAYER took the majority of the workload; 60s icon and co-producer ADAM FAITH delivered a few (`Way Of The World’ and `You And Me’) alongside Dave. Opening with `One Man Band’ (a UK Top 10 hit for SAYER in ’74), and major UK charters `Giving It All Away’ and `Thinking’, it had plenty to offer WHO fans willing to try a bit of pop-rock diversions.
With either Russ Ballard or Paul Korda to rely on in the writing department (PHILLIP GOODHAIT-TAIT contributed `Oceans Away’ and a cover of RUFUS THOMAS’ `Walking The Dog’ were a few exceptions), RIDE A ROCK HORSE (1975) would be left in the stalls critical-wise, although it did hit the Top 30 on both sides of the Atlantic.
While Ken Russell had cast him as Franz Liszt in his much-lambasted, 1975 high camp re-invention of the classical composer’s life (`Lizstomania’), in which the WHO frontman also contributed some vocals to RICK WAKEMAN’s score, DALTREY would find solace in his main role of the “deaf, dumb and blind” kid in `Tommy’ alongside thespians Oliver Reed and the delicious Ann-Margret.
Turning again to GOODHAND-TAIT (on `Parade’ and `Leon’) and Korda (`Written On The Wind’), while utilising ballads from COLIN BLUNSTONE (`Single Man’s Dilemma’), Andy Pratt (`Avenging Angel’), PAUL McCARTNEY (`Giddy’), MURRAY HEAD (`Say It Ain’t So, Joe’), Steve Swindells on a couple and STEVE GIBBONS for the title track, ONE OF THE BOYS (1977) was a slight return to form; esteemed session alumni ranged from guitarists CLAPTON, MICK RONSON, ANDY FAIRWEATHER-LOW, ALVIN LEE, Jimmy McCulloch, HANK MARVIN to bassist ENTWISTLE and keyboard wizard ROD ARGENT.
The following year saw DALTREY appearing in Richard Marquand’s second division chiller, `The Legacy’, a year sadly (1978) that was tinged with sadness when the enigmatic MOON let go his mortal coil.
Refreshed and ready to work again, Roger landed one of his most accomplished screen roles in McVICAR (1980), a bio-pic of the reformed gangster which saw him both acting and handling the “solo” soundtrack (backed up by the remaining members of The WHO plus Kenney Jones and John “Rabbit” Bundrick). DALTREY’s pet prison-flick was a more adventurous proposition, the most ambitious solo venture of his career in fact. Unlike most of his 70s material, it also sounded like The WHO, albeit a WHO on the verge of redundancy. Fascinated by McVicar’s life story, the singer had bought the rights to the man’s book, co-produced the movie, took the lead role and performed most of the soundtrack (Dennis Waterman, anyone?). He’d also drafted in former ARGENT guitarist/freelance song-slinger Russ Ballard (again!), War Of The Worlds mastermind Jeff Wayne, and one-time Andrew Loog Oldham songwriting protégé Billy Nichols, as well as the likes of Herbie Flowers and drummer Dave Mattacks. Fresh from dusting off RAINBOW’s rock-out classic `Since You Been Gone’, Ballard struggled to match that standard here, coming up with the sub-RUTS bass-rocker, `My Time Is Gonna Come’ and `Free Me’, a horn-charted chug which edged into the UK Top 40. DALTREY at least gives it the kind of iron-lunged intensity which his role demanded, but his passion is better directed on the bluesier Nichols-penned numbers: `Waiting For A Friend’ (ironically the only single which failed to chart), and the ballsy, valedictory title tune. As a proxy final fling, though, DALTREY and Co would perhaps have done better to bow out with McVicar than `Face Dances’ or `It’s Hard’.
Following The WHO’s split in 1983, DALTREY continued on his solo sojourn of sorts, releasing three sets in relatively quick succession:- PARTING SHOULD BE PAINLESS (1984), UNDER THE RAGING MOON (1985) and CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THE MOVIE (1987). While fans found it frustrating that Roger was taking steps down to the basement of rock’n’roll, the second of these at least produced a bit of depth via songs from TOWNSHEND (`After The Fire’ – a minor hit), BRYAN ADAMS (`Let Me Down Easy’) and Geoff Downes-John Parr’s title track.
Roger duly concentrated on acting with roles in various minor movies, including `Mack The Knife’ (1989), `Buddy’s Song’ (1991) – as father of popstar Chesney Hawkes, `Teen Agent’ (1991), `Lightning Jack’ (1994) and `Chasing Destiny’ (2000). Always ready and willing to return to The WHO at the drop of a stage prop (as the ups and downs of The WHO continued unabated), there was one further set by the singer, ROCKS IN THE HEAD (1992). Self-penned by himself and Gerard McMahon, his 90s direction was again mainstream, although harder-edged than his downscale 80s efforts; from `Who’s Gonna Walk On Water’ to its finale `Unforgettable Opera’, DALTREY was at least trying to get back on the right track. Slightly confusing but a real live document nevertheless, A CELEBRATION: THE MUSIC OF PETE TOWNSHEND & THE WHO (1994) was down to Roger and a celebrity guest list (ENTWISTLE, TOWNSHEND himself, The CHIEFTAINS and Linda Perry of the 4 NON BLONDES) and an orchestra on re-treads of symphonic rock songs from `Tommy’, `Who’s Next’ and `Quadrophenia’.
Like that other ageing rebel JOHN LYDON, Roger subsequently took to adventurous, hands-on presentation of ostensibly educational TV shows like Extreme History, while he continues to run a trout farm in Dorset. He’s since reactivated The WHO as a studio outfit with Pete, releasing the back-to-form and high-charting `Endless Wire’ in 2006.
Helping out an old friend when it was thought the battling WILKO JOHNSON only had a matter of months to live, DALTREY was back at the mic for the collaborative UK Top 3 set, `Going Back Home’. For connoisseurs of 70s pub rock fashioned on hard-edged blues, both Roger and his Canvey Island buddy excelled on eleven rousing numbers. -
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Half the effort, twice the effect - 1984
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