The Who: 40 most essential songs

The Who is one of a handful of classic rock acts that persevere in the 2020s but it hasn’t been an easy road for either Roger Daltrey or Pete Townshend, the band’s two surviving members. The past 60 years have been filled with loss and scandals that have been as instrumental as their many triumphs in creating the band’s pugnacious character.

As Roger Daltrey celebrates his 80th birthday, we are offered an opportunity to celebrate that long, complicated legacy with a list of forty essential tracks from the Who. Even at this length, it’s not possible to capture all of the band’s best moments; since this was written with Daltrey in mind, such Pete Townshend-fronted songs as “Eminence Front” are not here. Despite that handful of absences, the songs here do convey the richness of the Who’s catalog and the depth of their influence.

1. “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (1971)

The quintessential Who anti-protest anthem, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” finds Pete Townshend opting out of revolution, deciding that the new boss is the same as the old boss. He might be backing away from action but “Won’t Get Fooled Again” plays as a rallying cry, thanks to the Who’s vigorous yet clean attack: the rhythm section of Keith Moon and John Entwistle are as wild as ever, yet they’re somewhat controlled by playing along with the sequenced synthesized loop that runs through the song. At the center of the song stands Roger Daltrey, who delivers each of Townshend’s quips with rebellion, not resignation, culminating in a scream that’s one of the most potent in the history of rock & roll.