Pete Townshend: When Giants Walked the Earth

Winter finally settled in and got comfortable in the early mornings in January 1965. Nothing amazing happened that day by the schoolyards or on the bare branches that bounced to the weight of the small blue jays. The cold sun beat down to wipe away the dew that the grass held tight until the world woke up again and started it’s day. Even though it wasn’t ever physically seen until years later, on this winter day, The Who had arrived.

Rock N’ Roll music settled in much like those cold January days. But by 1965, it was clear that it was here to stay. One year earlier, The Beatles walked on stage to perform on the Ed Sullivan Show and in only a handful of minutes changed the course of music history for the next fifty years. In only a few moments, these four boys from Liverpool proved that this music was not wanted, it was needed. It was needed by every single girl passing out from screaming so loud because they were in love with Paul McCartney. It was needed for every rebellious teenager who didn’t care what looks you gave him for his long hair. It was needed for an entire decade and generation to have a voice. There was a world wide knock, and Ed Sullivan was the man who opened up his front door to let it in.

Even though bands that had these catchy melodies matched with an electric guitar were floating around for years before The Beatles TV…