“Really influenced my sound”: The guitarist Pete Townshend preferred over Elvis
Every now and then, a musician comes along who changes your view, not just of music, but of life itself. For a generation of kids growing up during the 1950s, Elvis Presley was that person. Defining the first wave of rock ‘n’ roll, Presley’s distinctive tones and iconic image inspired countless future artists to follow the trail of rock. Nevertheless, some people – like The Who guitarist Pete Townshend – saw through the sheen of Presley’s image and was not all that impressed with the music underneath.
Townshend’s songwriting came to represent Britain’s angry post-war adolescence during the 1960s, pioneering short, sharp rock and roll songs that appealed to the youth. Particularly in their early days, The Who were synonymous with the budding modernist subculture, a scene which celebrated jazz, R&B, and blues music alongside Italian suits and scooters. No self-respecting mod would be caught dead listening to old-school rockabilly artists like Gene Vincent or Elvis Presley, even if it was those early rock sounds that had first inspired Townshend to pursue music.
Despite nostalgia-fueled fantasies, Britain in the 1950s was rarely a joyous place to be. Struggling to recover from the devastating effects of World War Two, the country – by and large – was very poor and very hungry. For many kids during that time, the only glimmer of hope came in the exciting new music arriving from across the Atlantic. As a child, Townshend had been gripped by the sounds of Bill Haley and ‘Rock Around the Clock’, setting him on the path that would eventually see him lead The Who.
You might expect that when Elvis Presley established himself only a few months later, Townshend was similarly impressed by his groundbreaking nature. Conversely, the songwriter once shared, “I never liked Elvis very much, or his band. I thought his band was pretty shitty,” he told Sound International in 1980. “I used to think The Jordanaires were awful. And I didn’t like Scotty Moore.”
Moore, in particular, was often viewed as a pioneer of rock and roll guitar, laying the foundations that countless future rock guitarists would build upon. Indeed, when you listen to the early material of The Who, Townshend’s blistering playing style and onstage antics certainly bear some resemblance to the controlled chaos of Scotty Moore’s work. Seemingly, though, Townshend was not keen on early rock guitar in general.
“I did like Jimmy Burton, who played with Rick Nelson,” Townshend said, citing one of the early rock guitarists that he did enjoy, “He was a big influence.” On the whole, though, The Who songwriter adopted much more from the worlds of R&B, blues, and jazz, in keeping with his modernist leanings. “The guy who really influenced the sound I ended up with was John Lee Hooker,” he shared.
Hooker was one of the 20th-century’s most important blues artists, electrifying the timeless sounds of Delta blues with effortless cool. “He really impressed me,” Townshend said of the Mississippi-born songwriter. “Although I was listening to a lot of jazz and playing jazz at the time, I preferred him.” The improvisational nature of much of Hooker’s playing style certainly aligned the guitarist with elements of jazz, but his unique blues style meant that he largely transcended barriers of genre.
Although it is difficult to imagine any rock musician—let alone one as accomplished as Townshend—actively disliking Elvis Presley, The Who’s incorporation of blues and R&B styles helped them create such a distinctive and timeless sound. Had Townshend adored Elvis like everybody else, the rock world might never have been exposed to his wonderfully anarchic playing style.
