It seems hard to believe that such a legendary, influential band as The Who failed to score a number one single in the UK. The anthemic "My Generation", which became the title track of their debut album, stopped in second place, failing to climb that final rung to the very top.
I'll never forget the album review a critic did in the 80s for a Who album. It started off "Hope I die before I get old." TOO LATE!
I just looked up the Who in Top Pop Singles 1955-2002. Not only did they never hit #1 in the US, they only had one top ten song in their career. I Can See For Miles peaked at #9. My Generation was a flop in the Billboard charts floundering at #74. They just were not a singles band I guess.
They had plenty of singles in the UK charts. 22 Top 40 singles in all, of which 13 reached the Top 10, but none going higher than 2. Oddly enough, "I Can See For Miles" peaked at 10 in the UK, it went one better on your side of the pond.
Strangely enough regarding the lyrics of "My Generation", the two members who did die before they got old were Keith Moon (at 32) and John Entwistle (at 57). Pete Townshend (who wrote the song) and Roger Daltrey (who sang it) are both still alive and now in their 70s.
they scored a lot of # one singles on my charts.
Lol:)
