Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend (born 19 May 1945) is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career. His career with The Who spans more than forty years, during which time the band grew to be considered one of the most influential bands of the 60s and 70s, and, according to Eddie Vedder, "possibly the greatest live band ever." Townshend is the primary songwriter for The Who, having written well over one hundred songs for the band's eleven studio albums, including concept albums and the rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia, plus popular rock and roll radio staples like Who's Next, and dozens more that appeared as non-album singles, bonus tracks on reissues, and tracks on rarities compilations like Odds & Sods. He has also written over one hundred songs that have appeared on his solo albums, as well as radio jingles and television theme songs. Although known primarily as a guitarist, he also plays other instruments such as keyboards, banjo, accordion, synthesiser, bass guitar and drums, on his own solo albums, several Who albums, and as a guest contributor to a wide array of other artists' recordings. Townshend has never had formal lessons in any of the instruments he plays. Townshend has also been a contributor and author of newspaper and magazine articles, book reviews, essays, books, and scripts, as well as collaborating as a lyricist (and composer) for many other musical acts. Townshend was ranked #3 in Dave Marsh's list of Best Guitarists in The New Book of Rock Lists, #10 in Gibson.com's list of the top fifty guitarists, and #50 in Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list: 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Townshend was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Who in 1990. Description above from the Wikipedia article Pete Townshend, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Known For
Credits
- 2025 · Live Aid at 40: When Rock ’n’ Roll Took on the World as Self
- 2025 · The Session Man as Self
- 2023 · Have You Got It Yet? The Story of Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd as Self
- 2023 · The Who – With Orchestra Live At Wembley as
- 2022 · The Who Hits 50! Live as
- 2022 · The Who: One Band's Explosive Story as Self - The Who Member
- 2021 · Best of the 60s: The Story of Ready, Steady, Go! as Self (archive footage)
- 2020 · Mick Fleetwood and Friends: Celebrate the Music of Peter Green and the Early Years of Fleetwood Mac as Self
- 2019 · The Who: The Night That Changed Rock as Self
- 2019 · The Night That Changed Rock as
- 2019 · Woodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation as Self
- 2018 · Bad Reputation as Self
- 2017 · The Who: Tommy Live at The Royal Albert Hall as Himself – guitars, vocals
- 2017 · The Who: Live at the Isle of Wight 2004 Festival as Self
- 2016 · Pete Townshend's Deep End - Face The Face as Self
- 2016 · Night Flight: Born Again as Self
- 2015 · The Who: Live in Hyde Park as Himself - guitarist, vocals
- 2015 · Jean-Michel Jarre: A Journey into Sound as Self
- 2015 · It's Only Rock 'n' Roll: Rock 'n' Roll at the BBC as
- 2015 · Classic Quadrophenia as Self
- 2014 · Lennon or McCartney as Self
- 2014 · Play It Loud: The Story of Marshall as Self
- 2014 · Led Zeppelin Played Here as Self (archive footage)
- 2014 · Woodstock: Untold Stories Revisited as Self
- 2014 · The Who: Quadrophenia - Live in London as
- 2014 · The Who: Sensation—The Story of Tommy as Himself
- 2014 · The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self
- 2014 · Lambert & Stamp as Himself
- 2013 · The Who - The Making of Tommy as Himself
- 2013 · Quadrophenia: Can You See the Real Me? as Himself
- 2012 · 12-12-12 | The Concert for Sandy Relief as Self
- 2012 · The Who: Live in Texas '75 as Himself
- 2011 · Acoustic at the BBC as Self
- 2009 · Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Live - The Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as Self
- 2009 · Woodstock: Untold Stories as
- 2009 · Rachel Fuller presents: In the Attic with Pete Townshend & Friends as Self
- 2009 · The Who: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 as Himselft
- 2008 · The Who - At Kilburn 1977 as guitar
- 2008 · The Who - Live at the London Coliseum 1969 as Himself - guitars, vocals
- 2008 · Smashing Pumpkins: If All Goes Wrong as Himself
- 2008 · VH1 Rock Honors: The Who as Self
- 2008 · Beat Club: The 40th Anniversary Edition as
- 2007 · Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who as Self
- 2007 · The Who: Stockholm 7/6/2007 as
- 2006 · The Who: Quadrophenia Live With Special Guests