Queen Honors Who's Daltrey

Roger Daltrey, frontman of the Who, was among six Brits named Commanders of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II on Friday.

Sixty-year-old Daltrey, who has been with the Who for more than four decades, is also a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, which helps teens gain access to age-appropriate cancer treatment. Thus far, the singer has raised more than $3.5 million for the group by organizing concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall.

Other recipients of the CBE include British-born U.S. astronaut Michael Foale, the first Englishman to walk in space in 1995; children's book illustrator Quentin Blake (Roald Dahl's The BFG); actress Anna Massey (Peeping Tom, The Importance of Being Earnest; and pianist John Lil. Six were also named Officers of the Order of the British Empire, including Simon McBurney, director of the Theatre de Complicite, and actor Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom, The Full Monty).

Daltrey and legendary Who songwriter and guitarist Pete Townshend are currently at work on a new album, under the name Who2.

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Song Stories

“Is It True”

Brenda Lee | 1964

As the British Invasion reached its peak in 1964, Brenda Lee went from Nashville to London to record one of her hardest-rocking hits, her perky vocal backed by a stuttering, squalling guitar. That guitar was played by session musician Jimmy Page, yet to skyrocket to fame with first the Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin. "She said to me, 'I've come here to make a record with the British sound,'" remembered producer Mickie Most. "She felt she wouldn't get the same sound in Nashville because they're only just catching up on the British beat group sound of about six months ago."

More Song Stories entries »

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