The Who | Why Dont You All FFFade Away

Rockapedia | 5th Apr, 2023

In 1965 The Who arrived at IBC Studios to finish their much-delayed L. P. A few months before the session Pete had been angered by Queen Mother.

Her Majesty gave an order to have his hearse towed from outside his flat because it reminded the royal of her late husband. My Generation was Townsends response.

The Who, 1965

The first demo Pete played to the band was slow, in the style of Bo-Diddley. Daltrey and Kit Lambert were not sure about what they were hearing. The second demo had key changes along with call and response, but the track wasnt working.

When it came to the recording session for My Generation the arrangement had not been agreed leaving Keith Moon to kick into action.

Keith decided to living things by kicking off the track with an explosion of drums.

Moons drumming took Daltrey by surprise as he did his best to fit the lyrics to the music.

So he was off, on the on-beat, full of aggression. I tried to follow him and I stuttered on the first line. Next take, I corrected it, but Kit Lambert popped out and said, Keep it, Keep that in - Roger Daltrey (My Story)

Pete had a long ffff in the demo he had played to the band earlier - why dont you fffffade away, however it wasnt a stutter until Lamberts suggestion to keep it in.

And so, a combination of Townsends early demo and a studio mistake led to the iconic vocal line.

The BBC initially refused to play My Generation because it did not want to offend people who stutter, but it reversed its decision after the song became popular.