The Sunday Round-Up: 13th-19th October (How The Who Recorded 'My Generation')

Plus, more music history tales featuring Ed Sullivan, Dolly Parton, The Four Tops, and A-Ha

How The Who Recorded ‘My Generation’ (on 13th October 1965)

‘My Generation’ was the lead single from The Who’s debut album of the same name.

The song was written by Pete Townshend who felt that ‘My Generation’, in its original incarnation, was ‘lightweight’. The Who’s co-manager, Chris Stamp, however, saw its potential…

‘I was surprised at Chris Stamp’s initial interest in ‘My Generation’. It was so lightweight. Kit [Lambert, the band’s other manager] couldn’t understand what he was talking about either.’¹ - Pete Townshend

Thankfully, Stamp managed to convince Lambert, Townshend, Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon, and John Entwistle that ‘My Generation’ was a song well worth getting behind.

Here, in the words of producer Shel Talmy, and the Who’s band members, are the behind the scenes tales of ‘My Generation’, described by the BBC as ‘the moment where The Who arrived as a rock band.’²

Pete Townshend:

‘The interesting thing about [‘My Generation’] is it was just another song, one I’d tossed off a couple of times. I’d had a version of it that was a little bit inspired by “Young Man Blues” by Mose Allison. And, very interestingly, when I spoke to Chrissie Hynde a few years back, she said that Ray Davies’ demo for “You Really Got Me” was very similar, a bit like a Mose Allison jazz song. And it was only when Dave Davies came in and started thrashing away with his distorted electric guitar that it became the record that we know. Well, interestingly enough, my first version – I did three – of “My Generation” was very much like that. [Sings first verse of “My Generation”] It was a real Mose Allison rip. Mose was a huge, huge crush of mine. I just loved him. I loved everything he did. I did exactly the same thing. We went into the studio with it and beefed it up with Shel Talmy, who produced “You Really Got Me.”’³

‘Well there is a story that it’s inspired by the Queen Mother having my Packard Hearse towed away from outside my house, but that’s not really what happened […] My Generation was inspired by the fact that I felt as artists we had to draw a line between all those people who had been involved in the second world war and all those people who were born right at the end of the war. Those people had sacrificed so much for us, but they weren’t able to give us anything. No guidance, no inspiration. Nothing really. We weren’t allowed to join the army, we weren’t allowed to speak, we were expected to shut up and enjoy the peace... And we decided not to do that.’⁴

‘‘My Generation’ was very much about trying to find a place in society […] I was very, very lost. The band was young then. It was believed that its career would be incredibly brief.’⁵

‘[The My Generation album recording sessions] were fucking brilliant from what I remember. Kit Lambert had taken us into a rehearsal room and we had played through all the songs on the album several times. We probably did a couple of sessions, which ran all day so that when we went in with Shel Talmy, we didn’t make any mistakes. He just rolled the tape and we played all the songs. Then he rolled the tape again and we did the overdubs and that was it; we were out. I think the whole album was recorded in about three hours. And the second overdub session took maybe about four hours. And that was simply because he was trying to work out what to do as overdubs. We just literally, like, played a gig.’⁶

Roger Daltrey:

‘I have got a stutter. I control it much better now but not in those days. When we were in the studio doing ‘My Generation’, Kit Lambert came up to me and said ‘STUTTER!’ I said ‘What?’ He said ‘Stutter the words – it makes it sound like you’re pilled’ And I said, ‘Oh… like I am!’ And that’s how it happened. It was always in there, it was always suggested with the ‘f-f-fade’ but the rest of it was improvised. But… it’s a fucking great record, it really is.’⁷

Why don’t you all f-fade away (Talkin’ ’bout my generation)

And don’t try to dig what we all s-s-say (Talkin’ ’bout my generation)

I’m not trying to cause a big s-s-sensation (Talkin’ ’bout my generation)

I’m just talkin’ ’bout my g-g-g-generation (Talkin’ ’bout my generation)

Keith Moon:

Asked in a Rolling Stone interview how the stuttering effect in ‘My Generation’ evolved, Moon said… ‘Pete had written out the words and gave them to Roger in the studio. He’d never seen them before, he was unfamiliar with the words, so when he read them through the first time, he stuttered. Kit was producing us then and when Roger stuttered, Kit said [Oxonian accent]: “We leave it in; leave in the stuttering.” When we realized what’d happened, it knocked us all sideways. And it happened simply because Roger couldn’t read the words.’⁸

John Entwistle:

‘To get the right effect I had to buy a Danelectro bass, because it had little thin strings that produce a very twangy sound.’⁹

Shel Talmy (Producer):

‘I knew immediately when we started doing [‘My Generation’] it was going to be a No. 1. It was one of those things that sounded like a natural to me. We were all sky high by the time we were finished, because it had everything.’¹⁰

‘When recording [The Who], the first thing I did was use about a dozen mics on Moonie [Keith Moon]. At the time, this was a new idea that no one was doing in England. People said I couldn’t use multiple mics because they would phase each other out. I just replied that we’d have to wait and see. [laughter] Ironically, about a month later everyone was using 12 mics to record drums. For guitar, I used a lot of isolation to try to capture feedback. So, on [Pete] Townshend’s guitar, I used three different mics – one long distance, one close, and one ambient – and combined them all, because we were only working with 3-track [tape decks] of course, and what came out, came out.’¹¹

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60 years on from its recording, ‘My Generation’ has become part of the cultural zeitgeist. It has been inducted into both the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It is a single not just significant for its ability to capture the mood of a generation but also for its groundbreaking punk sound. As Mojo writes, it was ‘[p]unk before punk, it helped empower a generation, and made possible many exciting things to come.’¹²

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The Round-Up (13th-19th October)

13th October 1974: Ed Sullivan died

Legendary American television host, Ed Sullivan, died aged 73 from esophageal cancer on 13th October 1974.

In their obituary, the LA Times described Sullivan as a ‘pioneer TV host and columnist […] whose ‘really big show’ reigned on Sunday night television for more than two decades’¹³

The Ed Sullivan Show debuted in June 1948. It was a variety show that became home to groundbreaking artists from music, comedy, novelty, politics, sports and more with iconic performances from the likes of The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Supremes, the Temptations, The Jackson 5, and The Doors.

73 million people tuned in to see The Beatles’ first live performance on US soil while Elvis’ debut on the show was watched by a huge 82% share of the country’s television viewing audience.

As the host of one of US television’s most popular shows, Ed Sullivan also had the opportunity to introduce and champion acts who might not otherwise reach such a large audience. As his website states, ‘[o]ne of the most important contributions Ed Sullivan will be remembered for is how he bucked the system and embraced African-American performers giving them their first television breaks. He supported talent with a passion, regardless of race, introducing an audience to timeless legends like Nat “King” Cole, Harry Belafonte, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ella Fitzgerald and dozens more.’¹⁴

The Ed Sullivan Show hosted 10,000 performances over a 23 year run.

He was a broadcasting pioneer. Critic David Bianculli puts it best…

‘Before MTV, Sullivan presented rock acts. Before Bravo, he presented jazz and classical music and theater. Before the Comedy Channel and The Tonight Show, Sullivan discovered, anointed and popularized young comedians. Before there were 500 channels, before there was cable, Ed Sullivan was where the choice was. From the start, he was indeed ‘the Toast of the Town’.’¹⁵

15th October 1973: Dolly Parton released ‘Jolene’

Famously written about the time a red-headed bank clerk flirted with her husband, Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ resonated with audiences across the globe with Parton later reflecting ‘[w]ith ‘Jolene,’ I remember hearing so many people say, ‘That’s such a humble song. It’s a true song […] For a woman to say, ‘I can’t compete with you. I’m not as beautiful as you, I’m never going to be that beautiful. Your beauty is beyond compare, but I don’t have all that going for me.’ It was unusual at the time in songwriting […] People thought it was a very honest, open, and humble kind of song about the subject. Nobody had been writing about affairs from that side of it—to go to the person who was trying to steal your man.’¹⁶

‘Jolene’ became Parton’s first charting hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also her first single to chart in the UK, coming in at no.7.

According to a 2019 interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Parton revealed ‘Jolene’ was also, in part, inspired by a chance encounter with a young fan…

‘And I remember this little red-headed girl, green eyes, prettiest little thing and I said, ‘well what’s your name?’ And she said ‘Jolene.’ And I said, ‘well I love that name.’ All the way back to the bus I’m going Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, so I wouldn’t forget the name.’¹⁷

15th October 1966: the Four Tops started a 2-week run at no.1 on the US Singles Chart with ‘Reach Out (I’ll Be There)’

‘Reach Out (I’ll Be There)’ was the Four Tops’ first global hit, reaching the top 10 in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the UK.

It was a no.1 in the US, the vocal quartet’s second US chart-topper after 1965’s ‘I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)’.

‘Reach Out (I’ll Be There)’ was written by Motown songwriting trio, Holland-Dozier-Holland. Lamont Dozier said his aim was to write ‘a journey of emotions with sustained tension, like a bolero. To get this across, I alternated the keys, from a minor, Russian feel in the verse to a major, gospel feel in the chorus.’¹⁸

It was up to the Four Tops’ lead singer, Levi Stubbs, to deliver this feeling in his vocals. The Four Tops’ Duke Fakir remembers…

‘We were all in the studio one day when [Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland] said they wanted to try something experimental. They had this thumping backing track played by the Funk Brothers – it had an amazing drum beat created by timpani mallets hitting a tambourine. The sound was fabulous, but then Eddie said they wanted Levi Stubbs to do Bob Dylan-type singing over it…

Levi was uncomfortable at first. He said: “I’m a singer. I don’t talk or shout.” But we worked on it for a couple of hours, recording it in pieces, talking part after talking part. The lyrics were ostensibly about a guy telling his girl he’ll be there for her in her darkest moments. To me, it felt like a chant, almost religious – a song of hope for the world…

Eddie realised that when Levi hit the top of his vocal range, it sounded like someone hurting, so he made him sing right up there. Levi complained, but we knew he loved it. Every time they thought he was at the top, he would reach a little further until you could hear the tears in his voice. The line “Just look over your shoulder” was something he threw in spontaneously. Levi was very creative like that, always adding something extra from the heart.’¹⁹

19th October 1985: A-Ha went to no.1 on the US Singles Chart with ‘Take On Me’

‘Take On Me’ was A-Ha’s second single release from the synth pop band’s debut album, Hunting High and Low (1985). It was also their first hit outside of Norway, reaching no.1 in six countries.

According to A-Ha’s singer, Morten Harket, the song started life as a riff written on guitarist Paul Waaktaar Savoy’s ‘crappy old nylon-stringed guitar.’²⁰

He went on…

‘We wrote the rest together. It reminded me of an advert for chewing gum that went: “Juicy Fruit is a packet full of sunshine.” That influenced the verse melody. Paul had the idea of really using my vocal range in the chorus, having notes rising in octaves like Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra. As for hitting that last high note, you either have wings or you don’t – the voice is not in the throat, it’s in the blood. It’s what you envisage, what you believe. People think the chorus is the hard part in Take on Me, but they’re wrong. The hard part was making the verses bounce…

It was released three times and kept flopping. Things weren’t well managed in the early days. But Jeff Ayeroff at Warners liked it and put up the team for the video, which was what got things really moving. It was a steady climb, getting to No 2 in the UK and No 1 in America in 1985. It was what we’d been waiting for and expecting to happen. It was meant to be. Since then, the song and video have been played to death around the world. It has its own career. It lives its own life.’²¹

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Some music-related quotes from musicians born this week:

Paul Simon (born 13th October 1941)

‘Music is forever. Music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die.’

Ashanti (born 13th October 1980)

‘I have always been able to write on the spot. It is a talent that I guess comes naturally.’

Usher (born 14th October 1978)

‘My idea of artistry has always been try everything until you find out what works.’

Richard Carpenter, The Carpenters (born 15th October 1946)

‘The Carpenters didn’t just hit, they exploded.’

John Mayer (born 16th October 1977)

‘Who I am as a guitarist is defined by my failure to become Jimi Hendrix.’

Eminem (born 17th October 1972)

‘The writing process, the way I go about it is I do whatever the beat feels like, whatever the beat is telling me to do. Usually when the beat comes on, I think of a hook or the subject I want to rap about almost instantly. Within four, eight bars of it playing I’m just like, ‘Oh, OK. This is what I wanna do.’’

Chuck Berry (born 18th October 1926)

‘Music should be made to make people forget their problems, if only for a short while.’

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/the-who-my-generation/

1.

2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/sevenages/events/blues-based-rock/the-who-release-my-generation/

3. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/the-whos-pete-townshend-on-raiding-vaults-for-my-generation-box-set-124688/

4. https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/the-who/pete-townshend-my-generation-not-queen-mother/

5. https://web.archive.org/web/20100409085315/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6595856/my_generation

6. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/the-whos-pete-townshend-on-raiding-vaults-for-my-generation-box-set-124688/

7. https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/roger-daltrey-s-track-by-track-guide-to-the-who-s-greatest-hits-28335/3/

8. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/keith-moon-bites-back-the-who-drummers-rolling-stone-interview-174268/

9. https://www.loudersound.com/features/if-someone-tries-to-start-a-fight-with-you-put-them-down-as-fast-and-nastily-as-you-possibly-can-the-wild-life-of-the-whos-combustion-engine-john-entwistle

10. https://ultimateclassicrock.com/the-who-my-generation/

11. https://tapeop.com/interviews/165/shel-talmy

12. https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/stories/the-who-my-generation/

13. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-ed-sullivan-obit-1/31640639/

14. https://www.edsullivan.com/about-ed-sullivan/

15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Sullivan

16. https://americansongwriter.com/dolly-parton-discusses-why-jolene-popular-theres-always-someone-more-beautiful-than-you/

17. https://www.southernliving.com/dolly-parton-story-behind-song-jolene-11690795

18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reach_Out_I%27ll_Be_There

19. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/apr/07/how-we-made-reach-out-four-tops

20. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/sep/15/a-ha-how-we-made-take-on-me

21. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/sep/15/a-ha-how-we-made-take-on-me