Still regarded in the late 1990s as one of the greatest rock bands of all time, the Who were bold innovators who changed the face of popular music forever. Having planted the seeds of heavy metal, art rock, punk, and electronica, the Who are almost without peer in their range of influence upon subsequent music. The Who boasted a dynamic singer and stage presence in Roger Daltrey, a powerful virtuoso bassist in John Entwistle, and one of the world's greatest drummers in the frenetic Keith Moon. But the guiding genius of the Who was guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend, who wrote and arranged each song, and recorded the guitar, bass, drums, and vocals onto a demo before presenting it to the band to learn and perform.

Born in West London in 1945, Townshend attended Ealing Art school, where he learned about Pop Art and the merging realms...