My Generation
{{short description|1965 single by the Who}}
{{About|the song by the Who|the album by the Who|My Generation (album)||My Generation (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox song
| name = My Generation
| cover = My Generation.jpg
| alt =
| border = yes
| caption = Swedish picture sleeve
| type = single
| artist = the Who
| album = My Generation
| B-side = {{unbulleted list|"Shout and Shimmy" (UK)|"Out in the Street" (US)}}
| released = {{unbulleted list|29 October 1965 (UK)|20 November 1965 (US){{cite AV media notes|title= My Generation (Deluxe Edition) |others= The Who |year= 2002 |type= liner notes |id= 088 112 926-2 |publisher= MCA |access-date= 13 October 2024 |url= http://albumlinernotes.com/My_Generation__2002_.html}}}}
| recorded = 13 October 1965{{cite book|first= Roger |last= Daltrey |year= 2018 |title= Thanks a Lot Mr Kibblewhite: Roger Daltrey: My Story |publisher= Henry Holt and Company |page= 79 |isbn= 978-1-250-29603-0 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=E5ZJDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA79}}
| studio = IBC, London
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist|Rock{{cite web|first= Richie |last= Unterberger |author-link= Richie Unterberger |title= My Generation – Song Review |publisher= AllMusic |access-date= 28 August 2014 |url= https://www.allmusic.com/song/my-generation-mt0011347473}}|hard rock|proto-punk{{cite web|first= Anton |last= Spice |title= Proto-punk: 10 records that paved the way for '76 |website= The Vinyl Factory |date= 31 August 2016 |access-date= 28 August 2020 |url= https://thevinylfactory.com/features/proto-punk-10-records-that-paved-the-way-for-76/}}|{{nowrap|power pop{{cite book|first1= Jeff |last1= Kitts |first2= Brad |last2= Tolinski |author-link2= Brad Tolinski |year= 2002 |title= Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time: From the Pages of Guitar World Magazine |publisher= Hal Leonard Corporation |page= 21 |isbn= 0-634-04619-5 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Fg838EcECUwC&q=%22power+pop%22&pg=PT26}}}}}}
| length = 3:18
| label = {{unbulleted list|Brunswick 05944 (UK)
Decca 31877 (US)}}
| writer = Pete Townshend
| producer = Shel Talmy
| prev_title = Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
| prev_year = 1965
| year = 1965
| next_title = Substitute
| next_year = 1966
| misc = {{Audio sample
| type = single
| file = TheWhoMyGenerationSolo.ogg
}}
}}
"My Generation" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend. One of the band's most recognizable songs, it was placed number 11 by Rolling Stone on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004 and 2010, re-ranked number 232 in the 2021 edition. It became part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "historical, artistic and significant" value. It is considered one of the band's signature songs.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/readers-poll-the-whos-10-greatest-songs-10410/3-my-generation-232334/|title=The Who's 10 Greatest Songs|magazine=Rolling Stone |date=17 October 2012}}
"My Generation" was released as a single on 29 October 1965, reaching No. 2 in the United Kingdom (The Who's highest-charting single in their home country along with 1966's "I'm a Boy") and No. 74 in the United States. The song also appeared on The Who's 1965 debut album, My Generation (The Who Sings My Generation in the United States), and in greatly extended form on their live album Live at Leeds (1970).
Inspiration
Townshend reportedly wrote the song on a train and is said to have been inspired by the Queen Mother, who is alleged to have had Townshend's 1935 Packard hearse towed off a street in Belgravia because she was offended by the sight of it during her daily drive through the neighbourhood.{{cite web|title= Amazing Journey: The Life of Pete Townshend – Chapter 2 |url= http://www.townshendbio.com/Chap%202.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071202011326/http://www.townshendbio.com/Chap%202.htm |archive-date= 2 December 2007}} Townshend has also credited Mose Allison's "Young Man Blues" as the inspiration for the song, saying "Without Mose I wouldn't have written 'My Generation'."{{cite web|first= Paul |last= Bernays |title= Mose Allison – Director's Statement |date= 1 December 2005 |publisher= BBC Four |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/features/mose-bernays.shtml |archive-date= 25 February 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090225171901/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/features/mose-bernays.shtml}} Townshend told Rolling Stone in 1985 that "'My Generation' was very much about trying to find a place in society."{{cite magazine|title= My Generation – The Who |magazine= Rolling Stone |date= 9 December 2004 |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6595856/my_generation |archive-date= 9 April 2010 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100409085315/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6595856/my_generation}}
On a later interview for Good Morning America, in 1989, the band was discussing the upcoming 1989 tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Tommy, and Townshend talked about the famous line "I hope I die before I get old." He said that, for him, when he wrote the lyrics, "old" meant "very rich".
Composition
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2019}}
The song's lyrics comprise a distilled statement of youthful rebellion. The's song's melody and composition is considered a forebear to punk rock. One of the most quoted—and patently rewritten—lines in rock history is "I hope I die before I get old," famously sneered by lead singer Roger Daltrey.
Like much of The Who's earlier Mod output, the song showcases influences of American rhythm and blues, most explicitly in the call and response form of the verses. Daltrey would sing a line, and the backing vocalists, Pete Townshend (low harmony) and John Entwistle (high harmony), would respond with the refrain "Talkin' 'bout my generation":
File:My Generation vocal melody with response.PNG
People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Just because we g-g-get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
The vocal melody of "My Generation" is an example of the shout-and-fall modal frame. This call and response is mirrored in the instrumental break with solo emphasis passing from Townshend's guitar to Entwistle's bass and back again several times.
File:John Lee Hooker two.jpg]]
Another salient aspect of "My Generation" is Daltrey's delivery: an angry and frustrated stutter. Various stories exist as to the reason for this distinct delivery. One is that the song began as a slow talking blues number without the stutter (in the 1970s it was sometimes performed as such, but with the stutter, as "My Generation Blues"), but after being inspired by John Lee Hooker's "Stuttering Blues", Townshend reworked the song into its present form. Another reason is that it was suggested to Daltrey that he stutter{{cite magazine|title= The Who's 20 best songs, chosen by Roger Daltrey |magazine= Uncut |page= 3 |date= 24 February 2015 |access-date= 25 May 2019 |url= https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/roger-daltrey-s-track-by-track-guide-to-the-who-s-greatest-hits-28335/3}} to sound like a British mod on speed (amphetamines). It is also proposed, albeit less frequently, that the stutter was introduced to give the group a framework for implying an expletive in the lyrics: "Why don't you all fff ... fade away!" However, producer Shel Talmy insisted it was simply "one of those happy accidents" that he thought they should keep. Roger Daltrey has also commented that he had not rehearsed the song prior to the recording, was nervous, and he was unable to hear his own voice through the monitors. The stutter came about as he tried to fit the lyrics to the music, and Talmy decided it worked well enough to keep.{{cite web|title= My Generation – Why Don't You All F-Fade Away |website= This Day in Music |date= 17 August 2018 |access-date= 20 September 2021 |url= https://www.thisdayinmusic.com/liner-notes/the-who-my-generation/}} The BBC initially refused to play "My Generation" because it did not want to offend people who stutter, but it reversed its decision after the song became more popular.{{cite web|first= Jeremy |last= Allen |title= 8 songs banned by the BBC for the strangest of reasons |publisher= BBC Music |date= 26 October 2017 |access-date= 8 December 2019 |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/46f837da-9ffa-494d-94e7-c7ffb0781bea}}
The instrumental elements of the song are fast and aggressive. Significantly, "My Generation" also featured one of the first bass solos in rock history.{{cite book|first= Per Elias |last= Drabløs |year= 2016 |title= The Quest for the Melodic Electric Bass: From Jamerson to Spenner |publisher= Routledge |page= 40 |isbn= 978-1-4724-3482-1 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ODKrCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA40}} This was played by Entwistle on his Fender Jazz Bass,{{cite web|title= Jazz bass (serial no. L89716) |publisher= Metropolitan Museum of Art |access-date= 20 September 2021 |url= https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/753541}} rather than the Danelectro bass he wanted to use; after buying three Danelectros with rare thin strings that kept breaking easily (and were not available separately), a frustrated Entwistle used his Fender strung with nylon tapewound strings and was forced to simplify the solo. The song's coda features drumming from Keith Moon, as well, whereupon the song breaks down in spurts of guitar feedback from Townshend's Rickenbacker, rather than fading out or ending cleanly on the tonic. There are two guitar parts. The basic instrumental track (as reflected on the instrumental version on the My Generation Deluxe edition) followed by Townshend's overdubs including the furious feedback on the coda. Similarly to The Kinks's "You Really Got Me" (also produced by Shel Talmy), the song modulates from its opening key of G up to C via the keys of A and B{{music|flat}}. Townshend's guitars were tuned down a whole step for the recording.
For the band the song was the basis for an extended medley or improvisation, going on as long as fifteen minutes, as evinced by the version appearing on Live at Leeds. Live recordings from 1969 to 1970 include snippets of music from Tommy as well as parts of what would become "Naked Eye".
Townshend's demo version of the song (together with a demo of "Pinball Wizard") appeared on a flexi disc included in the original edition of the book The Who: Maximum R&B by Richard Barnes.{{cite book|first= Richard |last= Barnes |year= 1982 |title= The Who: Maximum R&B |publisher= Plexus Publishing |location= Medford, New Jersey, USA |page= 168 |isbn= 978-0-85965-351-0}}
The Who re-recorded the song for the Ready Steady Who EP in 1966; ultimately it was not included, and remained unissued until the 1995 remaster of A Quick One. The main difference between this version and the original is that it is heavily abridged and instead of the hail of feedback which closes the original, the band play a chaotic rendition of Edward Elgar's "Land of Hope and Glory". In the album's liner notes the song is thus credited to both Pete Townshend and Elgar.
Personnel
Personnel per Pete Townshend.{{cite book|first= Pete |last= Townshend |year= 2012 |title= Who I Am: A Memoir |publisher= HarperCollins Publishers |location= New York |page= 85}}
- Roger Daltrey – lead vocals
- Pete Townshend – electric guitar, backing vocals
- John Entwistle – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Keith Moon – drums
Reception
File:My Generation - ad 1965.jpg advertisement, November 20, 1965]]
In 2012, Paste ranked the song number six on their list of the 20 greatest The Who songs,{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/best-songs/the-20-best-songs-by-the-who|title=The 20 Best Songs by The Who|first=Brian|last=Tremml|work=Paste|date=7 November 2012|access-date=20 March 2023}} and in 2022, Rolling Stone ranked the song number three on their list of the 50 greatest The Who songs.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-whos-50-greatest-songs-81794/|title=The Who's 50 Greatest Songs|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=30 June 2022|access-date=20 March 2023}} Rolling Stone named the song the eleventh greatest song on its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list in 2004 and 2011,{{cite magazine |title=The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (1–500) |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/1 |url-status=dead |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061023195417/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/1 |archive-date=23 October 2006}} re-ranked to number 232 in the 2021 edition. In 2009, VH1 named it the thirty-seventh Greatest Hard Rock Song.{{cite web|first= Andrew |last= Winistorfer |title= VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs list only slightly less annoying than their hip-hop list |work= Prefix Magazine |date= 5 January 2009 |access-date= 28 August 2014 |url= http://www.prefixmag.com/news/vh1s-100-greatest-hard-rock-songs-list-only-slight/24504/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910030052/http://www.prefixmag.com/news/vh1s-100-greatest-hard-rock-songs-list-only-slight/24504/ |archive-date=10 September 2012 |url-status=dead}} It is also part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll{{cite web|title= Experience The Music: One Hit Wonders and The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll |publisher= Rock and Roll Hall of Fame |url= https://www.rockhall.com/exhibits/one-hit-wonders-songs-that-shaped-rock-and-roll/ |archive-date= 4 June 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160604160549/https://www.rockhall.com/exhibits/one-hit-wonders-songs-that-shaped-rock-and-roll/}} and is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "historical, artistic and significant" value.
The song has been said by NME to have "encapsulated the angst of being a teenager", and has been characterized as a "nod to the Mod counterculture".{{cite magazine|title= 100 Best Songs of the 1960s > 26: The Who – My Generation |magazine= NME |url= https://www.nme.com/list/100-best-songs-of-the-1960s/263950/article/264037 |archive-date= 26 February 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150226201927/http://www.nme.com/list/100-best-songs-of-the-1960s/263950/article/264037}} NME journalist Larry Bartleet in 2015 rated the Who's recording ten points out of ten.{{cite magazine|first= Larry |last= Bartleet |title= The Who's 'My Generation' Album at 50 – The Best and Worst Covers of Its Era-Defining Single, Starring Oasis, Green Day and More |magazine= NME |date= 3 December 2015 |access-date= 16 November 2020 |url= https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/the-whos-my-generation-album-at-50-the-best-and-worst-covers-of-its-era-defining-single-starring-oas-12345}} Cash Box described it as a "rollicking, blues-drenched handclapper which sez that today's kids have more rights than their elders think."{{cite magazine|title= Record Reviews > Pick of the Week |magazine= Cash Box |volume= XXVII |issue= 18 |page= 14 |date= 20 November 1965 |access-date= 12 January 2022 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1965/CB-1965-11-20.pdf}} Record World said that "The young generation will find that this generates good times."{{cite magazine|title=Singles Reviews|magazine=Record World|date=20 November 1965|page=6|access-date=2023-07-19|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/65/RW-1965-11-20.pdf}}
Chart performance
The song was released as a single on 29 October 1965, reaching No. 2 in the UK, The Who's highest-charting single in their home country{{cite web|title= Who |publisher= Official Charts Company |access-date= 28 August 2014 |url= http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/11649/WHO/}} and No. 74 in America.
=Charts=
| class="wikitable"
!Chart (1988) !Peak |
| Australia (Kent Music Report)
|align="center"|88 |
=Certifications=
{{certification Table Top}}
{{certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United Kingdom|artist=Who|title=My Generation|award=Platinum|certyear=2025|relyear=2004|id=4461-1463-1|access-date=23 April 2025}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{The Who singles}}
{{My Generation (album)}}
{{Stuttering}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Brunswick Records singles
Category:Decca Records singles
Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Category:Song recordings produced by Shel Talmy
Category:Songs written by Pete Townshend
Category:Songs about teenagers