The "cursed" song of The Who, which Roger Daltrey carefully eschews
Every great group has its "hateful" songs. So, for example, the iconic foursome The Beatles had more than one such song in their arsenal! But if the Beatles disliked some of their tracks because of their weak sound or "silly" lyrical content (according to the participants themselves), in the case of The Who it's more serious than that.
The British rock band's eighth studio album "Who Are You?" was the last one to be recorded by Keith Moon. Unfortunately, the legendary drummer passed away just a few weeks after the record was released. During the recording of the album there was a lot going on with the band. "devilry."The sessions were even postponed: Roger Daltrey had a throat operation, Pete Townsend broke his arm, while session keyboardist John Douglas "Rabbit" Bandrick broke his arm after falling out of a cab at the studio door... Then the band changed studios, there were problems with equipment and even scandals, which came to a hand-to-hand fight!
But Keith Moon suffered the most during this period: the drummer was sinking deeper and deeper into the alcohol abuseI lost the ability to play the drums properly because of it! It was a disaster for the band.
"He really wasn't able to play," John Entwisle recalled.
And the worst thing Moon did was sing "Music Must Change":
"There was no way he could learn that song. I was literally getting up and conducting! It looked like a schoolboy didn't do his homework..."
It was this song, according to Roger Daltrey, that became the dark spot in the band's repertoire.
Why Roger Daltrey Hates Music Must Change
When it comes to the set list for a concert, the set The Who seems limitless! However, one song Roger Daltrey flatly refuses to perform. And the legendary vocalist has his own reason...
At the end of the day Keith Moon was in terrible shape: he--one of the legendary pioneering drummers--could not learn another song for himself. His condition was so sad that Moon's loved ones worried and suffered greatly as they watched him fading away a young musician in the prime of his life. His boundless passion for alcohol had a negative impact on his skills and his relationship with the members of The Who: Townsend even threatened to fire Moon if he didn't stop drinking and pull himself together. And it was his comrade who was the most worried about him Roger Daltrey. Looking at his friend walking toward certain death, Daltrey felt helpless...
Song "Music Must Change" Reminds the vocalist once again terrible events of those days, which made Roger want to forget the song once and for all. This track was never given to Moon: in spite of all his efforts, the band had to hire session musician to play the drums on the final recording. It was a decision Daltrey regrets to this day.
A song that instills fear
The Who immediately included this track in their set, but after a concert in the U.K. in 2002, Daltrey had no doubts: "Music Must Change" is better gather dust on a shelf. Later in his interview he spoke about the negative feelings that this composition arouses in him:
"There's a song on 'Who Are You' that I'll never do again in my life - it's 'Music Must Change. Keith couldn't understand it the whole time we played it in the studio. It was hard for him to play that track - he couldn't do it.
Tried everything with Moon to help him learn the track, including one extremely non-traditional method. But that didn't help either. Daltrey continues:
"He just couldn't do it. We even insisted that he buy squeaky shoes: stepping on the sidewalk, his squeaky gait had to match the rhythm. But he still couldn't play it! Anyway, Keith isn't on that record on the record, and shortly after we made that record, he died."
For Daltrey, this song is reminder about that painful time. He still regrets that the group hired another drummer - he's sure it was humiliating for Moon to watch. But in 2002 something happened that finally made Daltrey hate Music Must Change:
"We rehearsed this track for a long time. It was our last gig with John (Antwill). We hadn't played 'Music Must Change' for a long time, and then we decided. We were supposed to go on tour in the United States. And soon after, John was gone..."
According to Daltrey, Music Must Change lies the curse. And it is for this reason that the remaining members of The Who refused to perform this "cursed" song.
