Not sure how many people will appreciate but I just googled The Who to look up something about a song, But Google did the normal thing and “AI returned” the basic info with pictures.
It said.
Pete Townsend- Guitar: Keith Moon-Drums: Roger Daltrey-Harmonica…
I can only assume that mirrors the opinion of the band(and fans) in general.
Yes, Daltrey was the lead vocalist. And band politics lead Daltrey to arrogantly believe that he was the band leader. And he gave an ultimatum that if they didn’t declare him leader and do everything the way he wanted, he would walk. And the rest of the band just said “Good Riddance” the door is that way.
It was shoved into his face that if there was to be band, then Townsend was going to be leader.
And it is funny as hell that either a programmer, or that the general reaction to his failed play for coup has played out so badly for him that his best AI recognized contribution was as “Harmonica”
…which lasted for a week, 60 years ago, and they promptly reversed course when “My Generation” made #2 in the charts.
I’m not sure why you think the Google AI is making a deep reference to the band’s interpersonal struggles rather than just struggling to assemble words in an order that it has been programmed to understand will satisfy its programmer, and completely forgetting that the group had a bassist in the process.
ETA: For cryin’ out loud, it didn’t even spell “Townshend” correctly. How is software that can’t even speak confused by the existence of silent letters?
Well, all the band members were over the top, except for John Entwhistle. I saw The Who in concert a few times, and while Daltrey was spinning his microphone like a western lasso, Townshend was windmilling his guitar, and Moon was going crazy on drums (when he wasn’t blowing up hotel room toilets), Entwhistle just stood there, off to one side, playing his bass. He was easy to forget.
So I Will make a single multipart statement and walk away.
1, Much of the “The Who” Think that Daltrey made an ass of himself claiming to be the leader.
2. Time showed that Townshend was actually the band leader as the band itself made clear.
2.z The influence of the fandom has put enough stuff online to make the AI to think that his best contribution was as “Harmonica”
But please, Keeping tilting against the windmills , If it fulfills you. Reddit is a good place to find a fight on any subject.
I bid you a good day sir.
Doubtful, IMO. The simpler explanation is that the AI was trying to assign the most-commonly-played instrument to each of them (and somehow wasn’t classifying “vocalist” as an instrument), and came up with “harmonica,” as it was an instrument which Daltry played on some of their recordings.
Much of “The Who”? Are you referring to the other band members? Because they certainly seem to have gotten over it. Are you referring to the fans? Because most of them/us either forgot about a brief squabble or never knew about it.
In the 1000 mile history of the band, it’s just a speed bump at mile 3.
And this “The Who” fan still thinks Daltrey’s an ass, but I’m never going to meet him, so I guess I can get over it.
(I’m not sure if the put down “Piss off, big nose” is real, and comes from Daltrey trying to be the band leader, or is just a random fight, but I remember it. “Titanium-throated Megastud” also makes me roll my eyes.)
(and the sloppy drummer blowing shit up is funny, as long as it isn’t your shit he’s blowing up. But, since “morality ain’t measured in a room he wrecked”, I guess it’s OK?)
Pete’s memoir should crush any view that he wasn’t the leader, once he finally got over his crippling insecurity and asserted himself. Roger’s memoir, written a few years later, gives his side to much of what Pete wrote, but makes it clear that he lost every major battle after the early days.
Well, half of them are dead. The remainder is Pete, Roger, and their employees, and Pete & Roger are old men who have long since gotten over the squabbles they had when they were teenagers. If I’m gonna be mad at Daltrey about anything it’s gonna be his being pro-Brexit.
I think that was the Live at Albert Hall concert from 2000.
No, not joking. Pete is the creative genius, the windmilling, axe-smashing guitar hero, but Roger is the one who has kept the flame alive through thick and thin.
The Who has always been an ensemble act. It was a perfect storm of talent - Roger’s macho man style and aggressive vocals, Pete’s songwriting and unique way of essentially playing rhythm guitar as a lead instrument, John’s one-of-a-kind bass chops and dark sense of humor, and Keith Moon’s manic undisciplined drumming - that made them a huge success. Even with Keith and John having departed this world, Pete and Roger wouldn’t be able to do what they do without the stellar lineup of musicians they have backing them in concert (hell, at this point Zak Starkey has been their drummer for longer than Keith Moon was). Arguing over which of the two of them was the “leader” of the group is silly, and to get back to the OP’s point, there’s pretty much no chance that the Google AI was trying to make a comment about Roger’s role in the band based on an incident from their early days that you’d have to be a hardcore fan of the group to even know about.