Regular TAH readers know that I\u2019m a music fan. And they also know that Jonn tolerates my occasional ]off-topic ramble on the subject.<\/p>\n
Well, brace yourselves \u2013 here comes another such ramble. You\u2019ve been warned. (smile)<\/p>\n
. . .<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no secret that popular music went through a massive change in the 1960s. The impetus for much of that change came from Britain \u2013 the famed \u201cBritish Invasion\u201d.<\/p>\n
Many bands and individuals were part of that change. Most lost popularity or broke up shortly thereafter. Few had real \u201cstaying power\u201d into the 1970s and 1980s; I\u2019ve written here previously about one band that continued to grow and change with the times.<\/p>\n
Yet there was a second band from Britain from this era that did the same. And for a while, they rivaled the Stones and others as a draw.<\/p>\n
The Who.<\/p>\n
The Who\u2019s early work can best be described (with one exception) as catchy, formula pop tunes \u2013 though some of them did explore serious subjects. I mean, really: give a listen to \u201cI Can\u2019t Explain\u201d, \u201cHappy Jack\u201d and \u201cPictures of Lilly\u201d. Pure pop pablum, though the latter did address a somewhat more controversial than most. The exception in their early work was \u201cMy Generation\u201d; it captured the mood of British early-1960s youth perhaps better than most tunes of the era.<\/p>\n
Like the Stones, the Who also grew up musically . But unlike the Stones \u2013 whose growing-up was over a period of about a year, and appears to have been due to personal difficulties and the possibility of jail \u2013 IMO you can pinpoint when the Who changed from being yet another group playing \u201ccute pop\u201d into a bona fide musical force. That happened in October, at the end of 1967\u2019s \u201cSummer of Love\u201d:<\/p>\n