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"Baba O'Riley" is a song by English rock band the Who, written by guitarist and principal songwriter Pete Townshend. It is the opening track to the Who's fifth studio album, Who's Next (1971). In Europe, it was released as a single in October 1971, coupled with " My Wife ".
The album opened with "Baba O'Riley", featuring piano and synthesizer-processed Lowrey organ by Townshend. The song's title pays homage to Townshend's guru, Meher Baba, and minimalist composer Terry Riley, and it is informally known as "Teenage Wasteland", in reference to a line in the lyrics. [34]
"My Wife" is arguably John Entwistle's highlight on Who's Next being that he takes on the lead vocals, bass guitar, piano, and horn section. [3] [4] Unusually, this song does not feature a guitar solo, which is most likely because Entwistle could only "write on bass guitar or in my head, just transfer it to manuscript paper, or piano," [5] and did not play the guitar.
"Won't Get Fooled Again" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend. It was released as a single in June 1971, reaching the top 10 in the UK, while the full eight-and-a-half-minute version appears as the final track on the band's 1971 album Who's Next, released that August.
The synthesizer intro to "Baba O'Riley" was programmed based on Meher Baba's vital stats, [152] and the track featured a violin solo by Dave Arbus. [153] The album was a critical and commercial success, and has been certified 3× platinum by the RIAA . [ 154 ]
[5] The lyrics project optimism and contentment and the themes of the song include the peaceful joy of physical love, the power of nature and the need to live for the moment, indeed to share love rather than "keep" it. [3] [5] For example, the lyrics include: [1] [5] Rain is coming down But I know the clouds will pass... Lay down beside me
The shorter 7-inch version omits all the samples except for the "Baba O'Riley" keyboard and the "Sweet Pea" drums. "Rush" was a number-one hit on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for four weeks in 1991, becoming the chart's most successful hit of 1991, and it also topped the Australian and New Zealand singles charts.
It became a commercial smash, reaching number one in the UK, and spawned two successful hit singles, "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again", that featured pioneering use of the synthesizer. [60] "Baba O'Riley" in particular was written as Townshend's ode to his two heroes at the time, Meher Baba and composer Terry Riley. [61]