The Who’s 20 best songs of all time, according to Roger Daltrey
As the lead vocalist for one of the most iconic bands of the 20th century, it’s inevitable that you’ll face the recurring question: what is the best song you’ve ever been a part of? This is a dilemma that has followed countless rock stars, with some embracing the chance to discuss it while others shy away from singling out a particular track. When Roger Daltrey of The Who was confronted with this question, he opted to sidestep naming a definitive favourite.
It is extremely difficult to whittle down an entire catalogue to one definitive track. So, never one to be confined to a convention, Daltrey decided to shout out 20 of the best tunes by The Who that he loves most.
This list offers a fascinating glimpse into the songs most cherished by one of the band’s key members, as well as a near-perfect playlist for fans of The Who. While it may not definitively represent the 20 best songs the band ever created, as shared with Uncut, it does include some surprises. For instance, one track on the list, ‘Magic Bus’, was famously disliked by bassist John Entwistle. “I really hated playing ‘Magic Bus’,” he said. “’Magic Bus’ was sometimes like eight minutes of A. Certain recordings, it actually sounds like I fall asleep.”
‘Magic Bus’ may well be one of the band’s more memorable for Entwistle, but Daltrey couldn’t remember much when asked: “D’you know I can’t even remember recording ‘Magic Bus’. I must have been stoned on something! I don’t have a lot to say about that song, but it’s strange, the fans love it because it’s a Bo Diddley riff, and that always worked. But I know John did find it very tedious.”
That’s without even considering Pete Townshend, Daltrey’s partner in the group but a lifelong adversary. In fact, there’s likely one song on this list that he absolutely detests, and it just so happens to be one of the band’s most beloved: ‘Pinball Wizard’. Townshend famously said of the tune: “I knocked it off. I thought, ‘Oh, my God this is awful, the most clumsy piece of writing I’ve ever done. Oh my God, I’m embarrassed. This sounds like a Music Hall song. I scribbled it out and all the verses were the same length and there was no kind of middle eight. It was going to be a complete dud, but I carried on.”
Written for their rock opera Tommy, Daltrey says the song speaks most highly of the group’s producer Kit Lambert: “Kit’s production on ‘Pinball Wizard’ is absolutely tremendous. The whole montage of sounds he got in emulating the pinball machine is extraordinary. I don’t think he got enough recognition for his work on that. Not necessarily the sound he got – because most of the time making Tommy we were out of our boxes, God knows what we were doing – but the actual arrangements and the ideas, the harmonies and the structures.”
‘I Can’t Explain’ is another bonafide banger on the list, with Daltrey noting that the song was really an expression of the rock and roll spirit: “He said: “Well, it’s that thing – ‘I got a feeling inside, I can’t explain’ – it’s rock’n’roll. The more we try to explain it, the more we crawl up our own arses and disappear! I was very proud of that record. That was us, y’know – it was an original song by Pete, and it captured that energy and that testosterone that we had in those days. It still does.”
Another classic song that was always destined to be on the collection was the seminal anthem, ‘My Generation’. It was a single that launched the band’s career and confirmed them as generational ambassadors. Daltrey said of the song in his conversation with Uncut: “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.”
A lesser-known song is ‘Happy Jack’, which was also released in 1966 but came with a completely different sound. While Daltrey called it a “German oompah song,” he praised Keith Moon’s fantastic drumming: “But listen to Moon on that track – in those days he was so distinctive. Even from the very first night, he played with us. We got Keith, this kid we didn’t know out of the audience, on the drums, and it was like this fucking jet engine starting. I was like, ‘What the fuck’s THIS?!’ It was such instant chemistry. Really, we couldn’t have had any other drummer. He was incredible.”
Some fan favourites include ‘Who Are You’, ‘Substitute’, and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’, alongside lesser-known tracks like ‘Squeeze Box’, ‘Dogs’, and ‘Let’s See Again’, all coming together to form a truly inspirational collection. It’s a funny reminder that these songs were created by a band seemingly in constant conflict. Daltrey’s selections reflect his personal favourites from The Who, but there’s a good chance they wouldn’t align with the preferences of the other members.
The 20 best songs by The Who according to Roger Daltrey:
- ‘I Can’t Explain’
- ‘Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere’
- ‘Pinball Wizard’
- ‘The Seeker’
- ‘My Generation’
- ‘Substitute’
- ‘I’m A Boy’
- ‘Happy Jack’
- ‘Pictures of Lily’
- ‘I Can See For Miles’
- ‘Dogs’
- ‘Magic Bus’
- ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’
- ‘Let’s See Action’
- ‘Join Together’
- ‘Relay’
- ‘5.15’
- ‘Squeeze Box’
- ‘Who Are You’
- ‘You Better, You Bet’
