One of rock and roll's true Renaissance men was born today in London in 1944. Roger Daltrey has done it all and has done it all at the highest levels. He is a brawler, an actor, a singer, a writer and he even handmade his first guitar as a teenager. Not bad for a metal shop worker that was kicked out of high school.

Daltrey got started in music at the age of 15 as a guitar player in a skiffle group (think jug band) called The Detours. This band would evolve into a mod group with the later additions of John Entwistle, Keith Moon and Pete Townshend. They changed their name to The Who, changed it again to The High Numbers and then back to The Who. In 1964, The High Numbers released a single to very little acclaim. In 1965, The Who released their first single, "I Can't Explain", which reached #93 on the U.S. singles chart and #8 in the U.K. This humble beginning in the U.S. was the calm before the storm.

It can be argued that The Who was the singular vanguard of rock music through the 1960s and 1970s, even moreso than their contemporaries the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. The Who is the only English band to play both The Monterey Pops Festival in 1967 and Woodstock in 1969. They invented the rock opera, pioneered the guitar smash, and Daltrey became the prototype for frontmen to emulate. They also found time to record over 15 top 40 singles and eight consecutive top 10 albums.

While Daltrey wasn't busy being a rock god he launched a successful solo and acting career, starring in films, television and on stage. Just to cover all his bases he published a book of short stories in 1996. If there is a more well-rounded, more universally revered rockstar I don't know who it is.

More on The Who:

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http://www.elevenwarriors.com/forum/anything-else/2016/06/71736/john-ent...

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