The Roger Daltrey song written for Stevie Nicks
Roger Daltrey has enjoyed a more fruitful career than most. As the frontman of The Who, his distinctive vocals have brought to life some of classic rock’s best-loved tracks, ranging from ‘My Generation’ to later cuts such as ‘Baba O’Riley’.
One of the definitive rock leads, Daltrey’s gruff and booming singing style proved to be widely influential and set a precedent for later vocalists such as David Lee Roth and Layne Staley. Most notably, it impacted Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, a man who possesses a voice as distinctive and, at points, comically passionate as The Who singer’s.
What most people forget is that alongside being one of the most notable frontmen of his generation – whose role in the group was as vital as Pete Townshend’s, John Entwistle’s or Keith Moon’s – Daltrey also enjoyed a successful solo career. Strangely, this aspect of his career has been largely forgotten, given that he scored a string of hits without his famous band.
Notably, Daltrey started his solo outing in 1973, when The Who had already enjoyed the peak of their success. His debut album was that year’s Daltrey, which kicked off a ten-album run, with his most recent offering being 2018’s As Long as I Have You. An intriguing body of work, one of his solo efforts is also fascinating as it was originally written for the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman Stevie Nicks.
‘Let Me Down Easy’ is from Daltrey’s sixth solo album, Under a Raging Moon. Released in 1985, the record is also notable for its title track, which is a tribute to The Who’s late drummer, Keith Moon, who passed away in 1978 at only 32. Written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, ‘Let Me Down Easy’ arrived as a single and reached number 11 on Billboard’s Top Rock Tracks chart. Bryan Adams even featured in the video.
Writing on his official website in 2014, Jim Vallance revealed that he and Adams originally wrote ‘Let Me Down Easy’ for Stevie Nicks in January 1984. He didn’t explain why they penned it or the reason why she didn’t end up signing it, yet his short comment did evoke the revolving doors nature of the music industry. He said: “Adams and I originally wrote ‘Let Me Down Easy’ for Stevie Nicks, but I don’t know if she ever heard the song. Regardless, I thought Roger did a superb job.”
Listen to ‘Let Me Down Easy’ below.
