Baba O'Riley - The Who (`1971) 6/27/22

What today's "Great Song of 1971" song was originally:

1: A song from a rock opera that was never finished. 2: A song that was released only in selected European countries, and charted only in The Netherlands. 3: A song whose working title was "Teenage Wasteland." 4: A song that was over 30 minutes long.

What today's "Great Song of 1971" is NOW:

1:No.159 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" 2:One of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs That Shaped Rock & Roll. 3: A staple at Pearl Jam concerts that is ranked #8 in a Rolling Stone readers poll naming the best live covers of all time. 4: The Theme Song for the long-running TV Series "CSI New York." 5: A The song used by the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers during player introductions at every home game.

"Baba O'Riley" by the Who was written by Pete Townshend for his "Lifehouse Project," which was intended to be his next rock opera following "Tommy."

When the project was scrapped, several of the songs were moved to the album "Who's Next," and "Baba O'Riley" became the lead-off cut.

Trivia #1: "Lifehouse" was intended to be about a Scottish farmer who moves his family to London.

Trivia #2: " The words "Teenage Wasteland" appear several times in the final edited album cut. Pete says it refers to what Woodstock looked like from the stage.

As far as being a "non-charting" "Great Song" is concerned, "Baba O'Riley" was an immediate favorite on album and classic rock stations, who were not really chart generators back then.

All things considered, I think the case is easily made for "Baba O'Riley" by The Who: Its "Great Song of 1971," and of all time!

The Who:

Pearl Jam: