Back before the Who became a "hard" rock (though still melodic) band, around the time of "Tommy", when albums became concept albums and singles became what non-serious AM radio bands released, the Who were definitely a singles band. They took pride in their singles, and released a string of sublime classics aimed at the singles buyer. "My Generation, "The Kids Are Alright," "Substitute" right through the top ten "I Can See For Miles." For many Who fans, myself included, this was the most beloved period of the band.. Like many bands in the pre-"Rubber Soul/Pet Sounds" era albums were still packed with "filler" which surrounded their latest 45s. This all changed for the Who with the great "Who Sell Out" release, their last album before Tommy and an early peak for the band.
Perhaps the poppiest and most radio friendly of the Who's singles was "Happy Jack" a Townsend tune from December 1966. It reached number 3 in the British charts and number 24 in the good ol' USA making it their first top 40 release here. It combined Beach Boys type harmonies with the mod rhythms and Keith Moon driven energy of great Who tunes from this era.
Some wikitrivia about Happy Jack:
This song features Roger Daltrey on lead vocals with John Entwistle singing the first verse (it's one of the only songs composed by Pete Townshend to feature John Entwistle on lead vocals). At the tail end of "Happy Jack", Townshend can be heard shouting "I saw you!", and it is said that he was noticing drummer Keith Moon trying to join in surreptitiously to add his voice to the recording, something the rest of the band disliked.
According to some sources, Townshend reported the song is about a man who slept on the beach near where Townshend vacationed as a child. Children on the beach would laugh at the man and once buried him in the sand. However, the man never seemed to mind and only smiled in response.
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