At their peak, The Who were among the most hungry, dynamic groups to arise from the great '60's wave of British Rock / Pop music.
The Who definitively qualify in the handful (along with The Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead) of "Any Given Night" bands - whose music in concert at a particular performance would leave memories for a lifetime.
The group originally formed in 1964 as The High Numbers - in Shepherd's Bush, London - following in the wave of the Beatles overwhelming success. They soon changed their name to The Who, signing with Pye Records in the UK and Decca (a branch of the British label) in America.
Boosted in part by such " Pirate Radio" stations as Radio Caroline - broadcasting from ships off the British coast - The Who first broke through with "I Can't Explain" (1/1965), the first of a series of Top 10 singles.
Their first 2 albums - "My Generation" (1965) and "a Quick One" (1966) - reached the top 5 in the UK. "The Who Sell Out" (1967) was a magnificently arranged satire of / tribute to British commercialism and social customs.
In the US, The Who first hit the Top 40 with "Happy Jack" (1967) and the Top 10 with "I Can See for Miles" - later that year. They reached greater fame with memorable appearances at Monterey Pop (1967) and - before over 500,000 - at Woodstock (1969) .
Their rock opera - "Tommy" (1969) - was the first in a series of albums reaching the Top 10 in the US. Their next 2 albums - "Live at Leeds" (1970) and "Who"s Next" (1971) - are among their most enduring.
Several other popular albums followed, but the loss of percussionist Keith Moon (1978) meant that life - and the music - could never be the same.
In live performances, The Who stood out : Pete Townshend was an electrifying master of the guitar, Roger Daltrey's lead vocals were always stirring, Keith Moon thundered in all forms and levels of percussion and John Entwistle contributed a lively, steady bass.
Admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1990) - their first year of eligibility - The Who have also been honoured with Lifetime Awards from The British Phonographic Industry (1988) and The Grammy Foundation (2001). Surviving members Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey were recipients at the 31st Kennedy Centre Honours (2008) .
The remaining half of The Who - even with an accompanying background band - did not even come close to being a shadow of the fiery, provocative, rebellious iconoclasts they had been in their '60's prime when they put on an uninspired and very limited Super Bowl Halftime show (2/2010). Their choice of songs - even considering time limitations - and their overall musical energy level was flat and timid. Flashing lights and other pyrotechnics could not disguise the overall absence of meaningful creative impulse in their set.