View source for My Generation

{{Short description|1965 single by the Who}}
{{About|the song by the Who|the album by the Who|My Generation (album)||My Generation (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox song
| name          = My Generation
| cover         = My Generation.jpg
| alt           = 
| border        = yes
| caption       = Swedish picture sleeve
| type          = single
| artist        = [[the Who]]
| album         = [[My Generation (album)|My Generation]]
| B-side        = {{Unbulleted list|"[[Shout and Shimmy]]" (UK)|"Out in the Street" (US)}}
| released      = {{unbulleted list|29 October 1965 (UK)|20 November 1965 (US)<ref name="Liner Notes">{{Cite AV media notes |title=My Generation (Deluxe Edition) |url=http://albumlinernotes.com/My_Generation__2002_.html |others=The Who |year=2002 |type=liner notes |id=088 112 926-2 |publisher=[[MCA Records|MCA]] |access-date=13 October 2024}}</ref>}}
| recorded      = 13 October 1965<ref name="Liner Notes"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Daltrey |first=Roger |year=2018 |title=Thanks a Lot Mr Kibblewhite: Roger Daltrey: My Story |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E5ZJDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA79 |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |page=79 |isbn=978-1-250-29603-0}}</ref>
| studio        = [[IBC Studios|IBC]], London
| venue         = 
| genre         = {{hlist|[[Rock music|Rock]]<ref>{{cite web|first= Richie |last=Unterberger |author-link=Richie Unterberger |title=My Generation – Song Review |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/my-generation-mt0011347473 |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=28 August 2014}}</ref>|[[hard rock]]<ref name="VH1"/>|[[proto-punk]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Spice |first=Anton |date=31 August 2016 |title=Proto-punk: 10 Records That Paved the Way for '76 |url=https://thevinylfactory.com/features/proto-punk-10-records-that-paved-the-way-for-76/ |website=[[The Vinyl Factory]] |access-date= 28 August 2020}}</ref>|{{nowrap|[[power pop]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kitts |first1=Jeff |last2=Tolinski |first2=Brad |author-link2=Brad Tolinski |year=2002 |title=Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time: From the Pages of Guitar World Magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fg838EcECUwC&q=%22power+pop%22&pg=PT26 |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |page= 21 |isbn=0-634-04619-5}}</ref>}}}}
| length        = 3:18
| label         = {{unbulleted list|[[Brunswick Records|Brunswick]] 05944 (UK)<br />[[Decca Records|Decca]] 31877 (US)}}
| writer        = [[Pete Townshend]]
| producer      = [[Shel Talmy]]
| prev_title    = [[Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere]]
| prev_year     = 1965
| year          = 1965
| next_title    = [[Substitute (The Who song)|Substitute]]
| next_year     = 1966
| misc          = {{Audio sample
 | type         = single
 | file         = TheWhoMyGenerationSolo.ogg
}}
}}

"'''My Generation'''" is a song by the English rock band [[The Who]], written by guitarist and primary songwriter [[Pete Townshend]]. One of the band's most recognizable songs, it was placed number 11 by ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' on its list of the "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]" in 2004 and 2010, re-ranked number 232 in the 2021 edition. It became part of [[The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll]] and is inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame Award|Grammy Hall of Fame]] for "historical, artistic and significant" value. It is considered one of the band's [[List of signature songs|signature songs]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/readers-poll-the-whos-10-greatest-songs-10410/3-my-generation-232334/|title=The Who's 10 Greatest Songs|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=17 October 2012}}</ref>

"My Generation" was released as a single on 29 October 1965, reaching No. 2 in the United Kingdom (The Who's highest-charting single in their home country along with 1966's "[[I'm a Boy]]") and No. 74 in the United States. The song also appeared on The Who's 1965 debut album, ''[[My Generation (album)|My Generation]]'' (''The Who Sings My Generation'' in the United States), and in greatly extended form on their live album ''[[Live at Leeds]]'' (1970).

==Inspiration==
Townshend reportedly wrote the song on a train and is said to have been inspired by the [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Mother]], who is alleged to have had Townshend's 1935 [[Packard]] [[hearse]] towed off a street in [[Belgravia]] because she was offended by the sight of it during her daily drive through the neighbourhood.<ref>{{cite web|title= Amazing Journey: The Life of Pete Townshend – Chapter 2 |url= http://www.townshendbio.com/Chap%202.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071202011326/http://www.townshendbio.com/Chap%202.htm |archive-date= 2 December 2007}}</ref> Townshend has also credited [[Mose Allison]]'s "[[Young Man Blues]]" as the inspiration for the song, saying "Without Mose I wouldn't have written 'My Generation'."<ref>{{cite web|first= Paul |last= Bernays |title= Mose Allison – Director's Statement |date= 1 December 2005 |publisher= [[BBC Four]] |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/features/mose-bernays.shtml |archive-date= 25 February 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090225171901/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/features/mose-bernays.shtml}}</ref> Townshend told ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' in 1985 that "'My Generation' was very much about trying to find a place in society."<ref>{{cite magazine|title= My Generation – The Who |magazine= [[Rolling Stone]] |date= 9 December 2004 |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6595856/my_generation |archive-date= 9 April 2010 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100409085315/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6595856/my_generation}}</ref>

On a later interview for ''[[Good Morning America]]'', in 1989, the band was discussing the upcoming 1989 tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ''[[Tommy (The Who album)|Tommy]]'', and Townshend talked about the famous line "I hope I die before I get old." He said that, for him, when he wrote the lyrics, "old" meant "very rich".

==Composition==
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2019}}
The song's lyrics comprise a distilled statement of youthful rebellion. The's song's melody and composition is considered a forebear to [[punk rock]]. One of the most quoted—and patently rewritten—lines in rock history is "I hope I die before I get old," famously sneered by lead singer [[Roger Daltrey]].

Like much of the Who's earlier [[Mod (subculture)|mod]] output, the song showcases influences of American [[rhythm and blues]], most explicitly in the [[Call and response (music)|call and response]] form of the verses. Daltrey would sing a line, and the backing vocalists, [[Pete Townshend]] (low harmony) and [[John Entwistle]] (high harmony), would respond with the refrain "Talkin' 'bout my generation":

[[File:My Generation vocal melody with response.PNG|thumb|400px|right|"My Generation" vocal melody with call and response. {{audio|My Generation vocal melody with response.mid|Play}}]]

<blockquote><poem>
People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Just because we g-g-get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
</poem></blockquote>

The vocal melody of "My Generation" is an example of the [[shout-and-fall]] [[modal frame]]. This call and response is mirrored in the instrumental break with solo emphasis passing from Townshend's guitar to Entwistle's bass and back again several times.
[[File:John Lee Hooker two.jpg|thumb|Roger Daltrey's famous lyrical approach in "My Generation" was inspired by bluesman [[John Lee Hooker]]]]
Another salient aspect of "My Generation" is Daltrey's delivery: an angry and frustrated [[Stuttering|stutter]]. Various stories exist as to the reason for this distinct delivery. One is that the song began as a slow [[talking blues]] number without the stutter (in the 1970s it was sometimes performed as such, but with the stutter, as "My Generation Blues"), but after being inspired by [[John Lee Hooker]]'s "Stuttering Blues", Townshend reworked the song into its present form. Another reason is that it was suggested to Daltrey that he stutter<ref>{{cite magazine|title= The Who's 20 best songs, chosen by Roger Daltrey |magazine= [[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |page= 3 |date= 24 February 2015 |access-date= 25 May 2019 |url= https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/roger-daltrey-s-track-by-track-guide-to-the-who-s-greatest-hits-28335/3}}</ref> to sound like a British mod on [[Amphetamine|speed]] (amphetamines). It is also proposed, albeit less frequently, that the stutter was introduced to give the group a framework for implying an expletive in the lyrics: "Why don't you all fff ... fade away!" However, producer [[Shel Talmy]] insisted it was simply "one of those happy accidents" that he thought they should keep. Roger Daltrey has also commented that he had not rehearsed the song prior to the recording, was nervous, and he was unable to hear his own voice through the monitors. The stutter came about as he tried to fit the lyrics to the music, and Talmy decided it worked well enough to keep.<ref name="DayinMusic">{{cite web|title= My Generation – Why Don't You All F-Fade Away |website= This Day in Music |date= 17 August 2018 |access-date= 20 September 2021 |url= https://www.thisdayinmusic.com/liner-notes/the-who-my-generation/}}</ref> The BBC initially refused to play "My Generation" because it did not want to offend people who stutter, but it reversed its decision after the song became more popular.<ref>{{cite web|first= Jeremy |last= Allen |title= 8 songs banned by the BBC for the strangest of reasons |publisher= [[BBC Music]] |date= 26 October 2017 |access-date= 8 December 2019 |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/46f837da-9ffa-494d-94e7-c7ffb0781bea}}</ref>

The instrumental elements of the song are fast and aggressive. Significantly, "My Generation" also featured one of the first bass solos in rock history.<ref>{{cite book|first= Per Elias |last= Drabløs |year= 2016 |title= The Quest for the Melodic Electric Bass: From Jamerson to Spenner |publisher= [[Routledge]] |page= 40 |isbn= 978-1-4724-3482-1 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ODKrCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA40}}</ref> This was played by Entwistle on his [[Fender Jazz Bass]],<ref>{{cite web|title= Jazz bass (serial no. L89716) |publisher= [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |access-date= 20 September 2021 |url= https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/753541}}</ref> rather than the [[Danelectro]] bass he wanted to use; after buying three Danelectros with rare thin strings that kept breaking easily (and were not available separately), a frustrated Entwistle used his Fender strung with nylon tapewound strings and was forced to simplify the solo. The song's [[Coda (music)|coda]] features drumming from [[Keith Moon]], as well, whereupon the song breaks down in spurts of guitar feedback from Townshend's [[Rickenbacker]], rather than fading out or ending cleanly on the [[Tonic (music)|tonic]]. There are two guitar parts. The basic instrumental track (as reflected on the instrumental version on the My Generation Deluxe edition) followed by Townshend's overdubs including the furious feedback on the coda. Similarly to [[the Kinks]]'s "[[You Really Got Me]]" (also produced by Shel Talmy), the song [[Modulation (music)|modulates]] from its opening key of G up to C via the keys of A and B{{music|flat}}. Townshend's guitars were tuned down a whole step for the recording.

For the band the song was the basis for an extended medley or improvisation, going on as long as fifteen minutes, as evinced by the version appearing on ''[[Live at Leeds]]''. Live recordings from 1969 to 1970 include snippets of music from ''[[Tommy (The Who album)|Tommy]]'' as well as parts of what would become "Naked Eye".

Townshend's demo version of the song (together with a demo of "[[Pinball Wizard]]") appeared on a [[flexi disc]] included in the original edition of the book ''The Who: Maximum R&B'' by Richard Barnes.<ref>{{cite book|first= Richard |last= Barnes |year= 1982 |title= The Who: Maximum R&B |publisher= Plexus Publishing |location= Medford, New Jersey, USA |page= 168 |isbn= 978-0-85965-351-0}}</ref>

The Who re-recorded the song for the ''[[Ready Steady Who]]'' EP in 1966; ultimately it was not included, and remained unissued until the 1995 remaster of ''[[A Quick One]]''. The main difference between this version and the original is that it is heavily abridged and instead of the hail of [[Audio feedback|feedback]] which closes the original, the band play a chaotic rendition of [[Edward Elgar]]'s "[[Land of Hope and Glory]]". In the album's liner notes the song is thus credited to both Pete Townshend and Elgar.

==Personnel==
Personnel per Pete Townshend.<ref name="Townshend">{{cite book|first= Pete |last= Townshend |year= 2012 |title= Who I Am: A Memoir |publisher= [[HarperCollins]] Publishers |location= New York |page= 85}}</ref>
*[[Roger Daltrey]] – lead vocals
*[[Pete Townshend]] – electric guitar, backing vocals
*[[John Entwistle]] – bass guitar, backing vocals
*[[Keith Moon]] – drums

==Reception==
[[File:My Generation - ad 1965.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' advertisement, November 20, 1965]] 
In 2012, ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]'' ranked the song number six on their list of the 20 greatest The Who songs,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/best-songs/the-20-best-songs-by-the-who|title=The 20 Best Songs by The Who|first=Brian|last=Tremml|work=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|date=7 November 2012|access-date=20 March 2023}}</ref> and in 2022, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked the song number three on their list of the 50 greatest The Who songs.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-whos-50-greatest-songs-81794/|title=The Who's 50 Greatest Songs|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=30 June 2022|access-date=20 March 2023}}</ref> ''Rolling Stone'' named the song the eleventh greatest song on its [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|500 Greatest Songs of All Time]] list in 2004 and 2011,<ref name="RS">{{cite magazine |title=The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (1–500) |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/1 |url-status=dead |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061023195417/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/1 |archive-date=23 October 2006}}</ref> re-ranked to number 232 in the 2021 edition.  In 2009, [[VH1]] named it the thirty-seventh Greatest Hard Rock Song.<ref name="VH1">{{cite web|first= Andrew |last= Winistorfer |title= VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs list only slightly less annoying than their hip-hop list |work= Prefix Magazine |date= 5 January 2009 |access-date= 28 August 2014 |url= http://www.prefixmag.com/news/vh1s-100-greatest-hard-rock-songs-list-only-slight/24504/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910030052/http://www.prefixmag.com/news/vh1s-100-greatest-hard-rock-songs-list-only-slight/24504/ |archive-date=10 September 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It is also part of [[The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll]]<ref>{{cite web|title= Experience The Music: One Hit Wonders and The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll |publisher= [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] |url= https://www.rockhall.com/exhibits/one-hit-wonders-songs-that-shaped-rock-and-roll/ |archive-date= 4 June 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160604160549/https://www.rockhall.com/exhibits/one-hit-wonders-songs-that-shaped-rock-and-roll/}}</ref> and is inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame Award|Grammy Hall of Fame]] for "historical, artistic and significant" value.<ref name="DayinMusic"/>

The song has been said by ''[[NME]]'' to have "encapsulated the angst of being a teenager", and has been characterized as a "nod to the [[Mod (subculture)|Mod counterculture]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|title= 100 Best Songs of the 1960s > 26: The Who – My Generation |magazine= [[NME]] |url= https://www.nme.com/list/100-best-songs-of-the-1960s/263950/article/264037 |archive-date= 26 February 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150226201927/http://www.nme.com/list/100-best-songs-of-the-1960s/263950/article/264037}}</ref> ''NME'' journalist Larry Bartleet in 2015 rated the Who's recording ten points out of ten.<ref>{{cite magazine|first= Larry |last= Bartleet |title= The Who's 'My Generation' Album at 50 – The Best and Worst Covers of Its Era-Defining Single, Starring Oasis, Green Day and More |magazine= NME |date= 3 December 2015 |access-date= 16 November 2020 |url= https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/the-whos-my-generation-album-at-50-the-best-and-worst-covers-of-its-era-defining-single-starring-oas-12345}}</ref> ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' described it as a "rollicking, [[blues]]-drenched handclapper which sez [sic] that today's kids have more rights than their elders think."<ref>{{cite magazine|title= Record Reviews > Pick of the Week |magazine= Cash Box |volume= XXVII |issue= 18 |page= 14 |date= 20 November 1965 |access-date= 12 January 2022 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1965/CB-1965-11-20.pdf}}</ref> ''[[Record World]]'' said that "The young generation will find that this generates good times."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Singles Reviews|magazine=Record World|date=20 November 1965|page=6|access-date=2023-07-19|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/65/RW-1965-11-20.pdf}}</ref>

==Chart performance==
The song was released as a single on 29 October 1965, reaching No. 2 in the UK, The Who's highest-charting single in their home country<ref>{{cite web|title= Who |publisher= [[Official Charts Company]] |access-date= 28 August 2014 |url= http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/11649/WHO/}}</ref> and No. 74 in America.<ref name="awards"/>

===Charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1965–1966)
!Peak<br/>position
|-
|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name="AUS">{{cite web|title= Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989 |publisher= Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien |access-date= 28 August 2014 |url= http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=21533&pages=}}</ref>
|align="center"|2
|-
{{single chart|Austria|9|artist=The Who|song=My Generation|access-date=28 August 2014}}
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|3|chartid=5647|access-date=2 July 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Germany|6|artist=The Who|song=My Generation|songid=29276|year=1966|access-date=15 March 2019}}
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|7|song=My Generation|access-date=2 July 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Dutch40|5|year=1966|week=4|access-date=28 August 2014}}
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|7|artist=The Who|song=My Generation|access-date=28 August 2014}}
|-
{{single chart|UK|2|date=19651127|access-date=2 July 2013}}
|-
|US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]<ref name="awards">{{cite web|title= The Who – Awards |publisher= [[AllMusic]] |access-date= 2 July 2013 |url= https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-who-mn0000577627/awards}}</ref>
|align="center"|74
|-
|US ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' Top 100<ref>{{cite magazine|title= CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending DECEMBER 18, 1965 |magazine= [[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]] |url= http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/60s_files/19651218.html |archive-date= 5 October 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121005023757/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/60s_files/19651218.html}}</ref>
|align="center"|99
|}

{|class="wikitable"
!Chart (1988)
!Peak<br>position
|-
|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name="AUS"/>
|align="center"|88
|}

===Certifications===
{{certification Table Top}}
{{certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United Kingdom|artist=Who|title=My Generation|award=Platinum|certyear=2025|relyear=2004|id=4461-1463-1|access-date=23 April 2025}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

==See also==
*[[Counterculture of the 1960s]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{The Who singles}}
{{My Generation (album)}}
{{Stuttering}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1965 songs]]
[[Category:1965 singles]]
[[Category:Brunswick Records singles]]
[[Category:Decca Records singles]]
[[Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients]]
[[Category:Protest songs]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Shel Talmy]]
[[Category:Songs written by Pete Townshend]]
[[Category:Songs about teenagers]]
[[Category:The Who songs]]
[[Category:Songs banned by the BBC]]
[[Category:Stuttering in popular culture]]