We all know that The Who was Pete Townshend’s baby. He wrote the vast majority of the band’s music and carried the albums’ narratives and concepts. However, Roger Daltrey also deserves some credit for his contributions to the band. A lot of credit, actually. He’s been the band’s lead singer for decades and lent a unique energy to the English rock band’s biggest hits. Let’s look at a few examples of Roger Daltrey’s best songs with The Who!
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1. “The Real Me”
This song from the 1973 album Quadrophenia came quite a while after Daltrey already established himself as a certified rock god. Luckily, he didn’t decide to take it easy and coast. “The Real Me” showcases not only the cohesiveness of the album’s themes and music, but also showcases Daltrey’s absolutely insane vocals.
2. “5.15”
This track, like “The Real Me”, is an important aspect of Quadrophenia’s overall concept. It’s excellent writing on Townshend’s part. That being said, Daltrey’s vocals are supercharged on this track. His voice even managed to drown out the otherwise dominating horns.
3. “Love Reign O’er Me”
Yet another hit from Quadrophenia, “Love Reign O’er Me” closes out the album and is an excellent example of how much power Daltrey could put into his voice. He jumps through quite a few vocal hoops towards the end of the song and ends this masterpiece of an album beautifully.
4. “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
We couldn’t have a list of Roger Daltrey’s best songs with The Who without mentioning “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. This song from the 1971 album Who’s Next is one of the band’s most well-known hits. There are a number of things worth highlighting in this song, from the killer drums to the never-ending synth loop. But it’s Daltrey’s famous scream that makes the song as legendary as it is today. There’s little else to say about it: Just listen to it, if you haven’t.
5. “Baba O’Riley”
Along with “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, “Baba O’Riley” is one of The Who’s most well-known songs. The 1971 track was a huge hit upon its release. We can thank Daltrey’s looping bridge for the fact that the song is often wrongfully referred to as “Teenage Wasteland”. It’s an addicting track that still has major listening power today.
6. “Behind Blue Eyes”
“Behind Blue Eyes” is one of The Who’s best ballads. The structure of the song is fascinating, as is Daltrey’s voice. The track starts off with Daltrey’s soft, reflective, and introspective vocals against the sound of an acoustic guitar. Then, the climax kicks in, and Daltrey’s voice is like a steel-toed boot kicking down a door. A classic.
Photo by Samir Hussein
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