![]() ![]() ![]() single in "Giving it All Away," while the album itself broke into the Top 50 in the United States. Daltrey's first record outside of the Who camp came with 1973's Daltrey, which featured lyrics written largely by the then-unknown Leo Sayer. In doing so, he helped to mint the "rock god" persona that found purchase in later singing idols like Jim Morrison and Robert Plant, as well as the many frontmen who drew inspiration from them.By the early 1970s, the Who's widespread popularity spurred its individual members to begin exploring their own music as solo acts. The following year, he debuted a more powerful, aggressive singing voice on "A Quick One While He's Away," the Who's nine-minute mini-opera, which he matched with a stage presence that frequently found him bare-chested, giving grand gestures while wielding his microphone on an extended cord like a bullwhip. The Who's tour of North America in 1967, which included their star-making appearance at the Monterey International Pop Festival, introduced Daltrey to the rigors of playing large venues, where his voice would be drowned out by not only his bandmates' intense volume, but also the cavernous acoustics of music halls and outdoor festival stages. He had mastered the R&B and soul covers that made up the Detours and early Who set lists, but Townshend's original compositions, which bristled with kinetic energy on both a lyrical and instrumental level, left little room for smooth harmonies or modest deliveries. Upon realizing that his only other means of supporting himself had come as a sheet metal worker during his early days with the Detours, he recanted, and settled comfortably into his role as the voice for Townshend's odes to teenaged anger and anxiety.Initially, Daltrey was uncomfortable in his role as frontman for the Who. In 1965, Daltrey was briefly ejected from the Who after assaulting Moon for providing drugs to Townshend and Entwhistle. The group quickly gained a reputation for their explosive live performances, which were frequently capped by Townshend and Moon destroying their instruments, as well as gritty, R&B-driven songs like their first single, "I Can't Explain," "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" and "Substitute." During this period, the band's leadership shifted away from Daltrey to Townshend, primarily due to the latter's songwriting ability, but also because Daltrey's preferred method of decision-making was to physically abuse his bandmates into siding with his opinion. ![]() The Detours briefly changed their moniker to the High Numbers, a decision prompted by their then-manager, Peter Meaden, to appeal to the Mod movement.The High Numbers released one single, "Zoot Suit/I'm the Face," which failed to generate any chart placement, before abandoning both Meaden and their new name in favor of filmmakers-turned-record producers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, who prompted their final name change to the Who. Keith Moon, a manic young drummer for another local act called the Beachcombers, eventually replaced Sandom, while Dawson's departure promoted Daltrey to lead vocals. Daltrey soon recruited Entwhistle and Townshend for the group, which initially included drummer Doug Sandom and singer Colin Dawson. In the late 1950s, he joined a skiffle group, the Detours, which soon became regulars on the pub and working men's club circuits. But like so many of his fellow musicians, the discovery of Elvis Presley and rock-n-roll in general turned his attention away from academics. All three attended Actor County Grammar School for Boys, where Daltrey showed an aptitude for studies. Born in the Hammersmith neighborhood of London, England, Roger Harry Daltrey was one of three children by Harry and Irene Daltrey, who raised him and his two sisters in the district of Acton, where future bandmates Pete Townshend and John Entwhistle also lived. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |