Who Are You - The Who (1978) 6/29/21

Today's "Great Song of the '70s" is just as popular today as it was when it was first released back in 1978--thanks to its repeated use in every episode of "The Masked Singer" (Not to mention its extensive use on "CSI").

"Who Are You?" by The Who has quite a story behind it. Pete Townshend wrote the song about a very strange day he once had in London.

It started with a long, tedious meeting with The Who's record label (Polydor/MCA). When the meeting was over, they handed him a huge royalty check, which he cashed, went to a bar and got completely wasted.

At that point, Paul Cook and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols wandered into the bar and told Pete how much they appreciated The Who for paving the way for punk music.

In his inebriated condition, Pete took it to mean that he had sold out to the "rock" establishment, which upset him greatly. He drank some more, left the bar, and passed out in a random doorway.

A passing policeman recognized him, and in an attempt to be kind, told Pete he could avoid spending the night in jail for public drunkenness if he could get up and safely walk away.

Pete's reply? "Who the F*** are you?"

The original version of the song includes that EXACT lyric twice, but even though the F-Bomb has always been pretty much forbidden on the radio in most English-speaking countries, it still received enough airplay to become a hit.

Chart-wise, it reached #18 in the UK, #14 in the US and #7 in Canada.

True, some stations played a sanitized version ("Who the Hell Are You?") and some even edited or bleeped it, but for the most part, the version you'll hear on today's classic rock radio stations includes the F-Bombs. (Note: Today's link includes at least one of them.)

Trivia: This was the last "Who Hit" that Keith Moon drummed on before his untimely death from an overdose at age 32.

"Who Are You," by The Who: A "Great Song" in 1978, and still a "Great Song" today!