The Who is another of the rock bands that emerged into the music scene after The British Invasion, originally formed in 1964 in London, England with a constant lineup including Pete Townshend (guitar), Roger Daltrey (vocals), John Entwistle (bass), and Keith Moon (drums). Only the death of Moon in 1978 introduced a change after former Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones took his place.
The Who pioneered instrument destruction on stage that eventually would become a tradition for a large number of rock and pop bands. The band also obtained immediate notoriety after songs such as "My Generation", a single that broke into the mainstream in 1965.
The band hit the Billboard chart in 1967 with the song "I Can See For Miles" peaking at number 9 in the USA and number 10 in the UK. In 1969, a new album would also innovate musical genres with the addition of rock operas, a term coined by Pete Townshend after an informal gathering with friends in 1966 that derived in several small works until "Tommy".
The Who released the album "Tommy" in 1969, which has not only a support tour, but eventually was taken to stage in theatre and released as a movie film in 1975 and later their rock-opera album "Quadrophenia" (1973) would also be taken to the silver screen.
The band continued climbing international fame through their albums, including "Live at Leeds" (1970), "Who's Next" (1971), and "Who Are You" (1978), which was the last album in which Keith Moon played before dying due to a drug overdose.
The Who was one of the bands on stage at the famous 1969 Woodstock Festival and earned numerous awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005, being the band that won the first annual Freddy Mercury Lifetime Achievement in Live Music Award in 2006.
After developing some side and solo projects, The Who were together again in 1989, and later between 1996 and 1997, before Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshed decided to continue with the band in 1999, staying active until the present day.
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