.

The Who at Work on Replacing 'Tommy' Show

A film, an album, and a road show in the planning stages

Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Pete Townshend and Keith Moon of The Who.
Gijsbert Hanekroot/Getty
January 21, 1971

During the first few months of the new year the Who plan to hide away for several months in the Young Vic Theater to work on a project that involves a film, an album and a road show to replace Tommy. The project is Pete Townshend's baby: "I've written a loose three-part story to musically recreate, in a cameo form, vibrations from the ground up, developing through a symphonic thing to a full white noise, an everything of sound. The group's lives are being taken as the blueprint for an experiment. All available data will be taken, totally analyzed and fed through computers and converted into synthesized sound, then enacted by the group in live performances. If we achieve anything it'll go into the film. If we don't . . . then it'll be good science fiction."

This story is from the January 21st, 1971 issue of Rolling Stone.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

prev
Music Main Next

blog comments powered by Disqus
Daily Newsletter

Get the latest RS news in your inbox.

Sign up to receive the Rolling Stone newsletter and special offers from RS and its
marketing partners.

X

We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy.

Song Stories

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette | 1973

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."

More Song Stories entries »