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Rock Operas & Theatrical Works

Hair (1967)

Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In

(#1, 1969; Fifth Dimension)

excerpts from the film version (released in 1979), starring John Savage, Treat Williams, & Beverly D'Angelo

• "Aquarius" **
• "Sodomy" (sexuality)
• "My Donna"
• "Manchester England"
• "I'm Black" (race issues)
• "I Got Life (social issues)
• "Hair" & "LBJ/LSD" (drugs) **
  • also "Hashish" earlier in the show
• "Central Park Swim" (sexuality) / "War is Ridiculous" (anti-war)
• "Good Morning Starshine"
• "Let the Sunshine"

The Who

• the band began in the late 50s as the Detours
  • included Pete Townshend, John Entwhistle, and Roger Daltry
• 1965 - while performing, Townsend inadvertantly broke guitar neck against ceiling, lost his temper & smashed it to pieces … Keith Moon spontaneously busted up his drum set

• 1st album, The Who Sings My Generation, is released in 1965
• July 1, 1965 - "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" - on Ready, Steady, Go!
  • comments about Mod dress

• August 3, 1965 - "I Can't Explain" - Shindig! (broadcast Oct. 2) (commentary)

• 1965-66 - 4 Top 10 singles in Britain, including ...

My Generation (commentary)

Top 10 in 1965

• stuttering vocal
• antiestablishment image ("mods")
• December 19, 1966 - "Happy Jack" ... Britain's answer to The Monkees?!!
  • The Who were to perform in a variety series called Sound and Picture City set to premiere on the BBC (this video is a promo for that show), but it never materialized

• September 15, 1967 - performed "My Generation" on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

• 1967 - 2nd album, Happy Jack, fell 10 minutes short of a full album, so they added the "miniopera" with a storyline & characters entitled "A Quick One While He's Away"
  • video is from the Rolling Stone's Rock and Roll Circus

A Quick One While He's Away

• 6/67 - US breakthrough at the Monterey Pop Festival
  • had to negotiate with Jimi Hendrix about who would follow whom ... given both bands' well-deserved reputations for on-stage antics

The Who performing at the Monterey Pop Festival
(from L-R: unknown dancer, Townshend, Daltry, & Moon)

Roger Daltrey

Pete Townshend

Tommy

• 1969 - released Tommy (number 4 in 1969), a 90-minute "rock opera," primarily composed by Townshend with some material by Moon & Entwhistle; story of a deaf, dumb, & blind boy who becomes a pinball "wizard"

Pinball Wizard

Pinball Wizard - cover version by Elton John

see their performance at Woodstock

• 1975 - Tommy (nominated for an Oscar for Best Score Adaptation) was released as a star-studded film starring Roger Daltrey as Tommy, including the following excerpts ...
  • "Prologue / Captain Walker, It's a Boy"
    • Ann-Margaret was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar
  • "Eyesight to the Blind" - with Eric Clapton
  • "The Acid Queen" - with Tina Turner
  • "Sparks"
  • "Pinball Wizard" - with Elton John
  • "I'm Free"
  • "We're Not Gonna Take It / Listening to You"

• Townsend was anxious to follow-up on Tommy's success and began working on science fiction-themed story (Lifehouse); though abandoned, several songs for that project were included on Who's Next (1971), containing ...
  • "Baba O'Reilly" (Moon's & Townsend's destructive tendencies; WARNING: explicit imagery)
  • "Won't Get Fooled Again" ** (the guitar as "a weapon")

• 1973 - released 2nd "rock opera" - Quadrophenia, a study of the conflict between Mods & Rockers and psychological turmoil in the youth generation, including the following excerpts:
  • Beating Up Sebastian / Split Personality
  • On the Road
  • We Are the Mods / Police Arrive **
  • Everything's Backwards / Train Ride
  • "Love Reign O'er Me" **
  • Bellboy / Taking the Bike
    • Sting (frontman for The Police) plays the role of Ace Face

• 5/9/78 - "Who Are You" - promotional video

• 5/25/78 - performance at Shepperton Film Studios before an audience of 500 invited guests
  • "Baba O'Riley" -
  • "Won't Get Fooled Again"

• 7/7/78 - Moon died of a drug overdose of Heminevrin (sedative), a drug prescribed to prevent seizures induced by alcohol withdrawal
  • his reputation as the "madman of rock" was well-deserved … he was once paralyzed for days because he ingested elephant tranquilizer!!
• 12/3/79 - 11 people killed in the crush of fans waiting to get into Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium

• Townshend went on a year-long alcohol, cocaine, & heroin binge
  • actually fell asleep on stage during a performance in 1981!!
• 1982 - band officially broke up, but have regrouped for several performances since
• Townshend has had a fairly successful solo career … recently revived Tommy
• 1989 - The Who reunites for a tour

Jesus Christ Superstar (1971)

excerpts from the film version (released in 1973):

• "Overture / Heaven on Their Minds" (Carl Anderson as Judas) (Judas begins singing about 1/2 way through)
• "The Temple / My Temple Should Be" (Ted Neely as Jesus) (Jesus arrives about 1/4 way through)
• "I Don't Know How to Love Him" (#6, 1971; Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdelene)
• "Gethsemane" (Ted Neely as Jesus)
• "King Herod's Song"
• "Trial Before Pilot / Superstar"

Other Rock Operas & Musicals

• Godspell (1971)
• Bernstein's Mass (1971) exhibits rock influence; lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell)
• Grease (1972) - longest-running Broadway musical prior to Cats
• The Wiz (1975)
• Dreamgirls (1981)
• Spring Awakening (2006); nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won 8, including "Best Musical." This broke the record of 6 Tony Awards held previously by "Death of a Salesman" and "History Boys."

  "The Bitch of Living" [video]

  "Totally Fucked"

  cast performance at 2007 Tony Awards [video]

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