Pictures Of Lily

Possibly the oddest (along with I'm A Boy) of the many odd singles released by The Who.  About a young man who becomes enamored of pictures stuck on his bedroom wall by his dad and is disappointed to find the young woman is long dead, Pictures of Lilly, released in the UK on this date in 1967 was another hit for the band, reaching the Top Five.  Released two months later in the US, it was yet another flop in that market.

Pictures of Lily was the eight single by the band, all of which reached the UK Top Ten.  It was their seventh failed single in the US, only the previous release, Happy Jack, achieving chart success.

It's likely that the Lily referenced in the lyrics is the actress Lillie Langtry, mistress of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), who died in 1929.
(Lillie Langtry from wikipedia)

I used to wake up in the morning
I used to feel so bad
I got so sick of having sleepless nights
I went and told my dad

He said, "son now here's some little something"
And stuck them on my wall
And now my nights ain't quite so lonely
In fact I, I don't feel bad at all
I don't feel so bad at all

Pictures of Lily made my life so wonderful
Pictures of Lily helped me sleep at night
Pictures of Lily solved my childhood problems
Pictures of Lily helped me feel alright

Pictures of Lily
Lily, oh Lily
Lily, oh Lily
Pictures of Lily

And then one day things weren't quite so fine
I fell in love with Lily
I asked my dad where Lily I could find
He said, "son, now don't be silly"

"She's been dead since 1929"
Oh, how I cried that night
If only I'd been born in Lily's time
It would have been alright

Pictures of Lily made my life so wonderful
Pictures of Lily helped me sleep at night
For me and Lily are together in my dreams
And I ask you, hey mister, have you ever seen
Pictures of Lily?

 
 

Here are the boys goofing through a lip-synced version of the song on British TV:

Happy Jack

On this date in 1966, The Who released their 7th single in the UK, where it quickly rose to #3 on the charts.  Yet another smash hit in their home country.  In March 1967, Happy Jack was issued in the United States, becoming their first American single to receive substantial airplay.  According to Billboard, it peaked at #24, reaching #13 on Cashbox, and on WABC in New York, which I listened to, managed to briefly enter the Top 10.

In Live At Leeds, Pete Townshend mentioned that it was also the band's biggest hit in Germany, speculating it was because of the oompah rhythm.

To me, what has always stood out about Happy Jack, is Keith Moon's drumming.  It's the first, and maybe the only, hit single with the drum as the lead instrument.  Also featured is John Entwhistle's fat bass.

I'm A Boy

For prior Who singles  . . .

50 years ago today, The Who released I'm A Boy, their 6th single.  It was to be their most successful releases to date, hitting #2 or #1 on the British charts.  Like their previous singles, it was a flop in the U.S.   It's also one of their funniest lyrics:

One girl was called Jean Marie
Another little girl was called Felicity
Another little girl was Sally Joy
The other was me, and I'm a boy.

My name is Bill, and I'm a head case
They practice making up on my face
Yeah, I feel lucky if I get trousers to wear
Spend evenings taking hairpins from my hair

I'm a boy, I'm a boy
But my ma won't admit it
I'm a boy, I'm a boy
But if I say I am, I get it

Put your frock on, Jean Marie
Plait your hair, Felicity
Paint your nails, little Sally Joy
Put this wig on, little boy

I'm a boy, I'm a boy
But my ma won't admit it
I'm a boy, I'm a boy
But if I say I am, I get it

I wanna play cricket on the green
Ride my bike across the street
Cut myself and see my blood
I wanna come home all covered in mud

One thing I've never been able to clarify is why The Kids Are Alright was released only two weeks prior to I'm A Boy.  Some histories of The Who don't even refer to the release of The Kids, so the mystery remains (at least for me).

The Kids Are Alright

For prior Who Singles

Today is the 50th anniversary of the UK release of The Kids Are Alright, the 5th single by The Who.  Unlike their first 4 singles (I Can't Explain, Anyway Anyhow Anywhere, My Generation and Substitute) which were Top Ten hits in the UK and flops in the US, The Who's new release was a flop in both countries, only reaching #41 on the British charts, even though a few years later it would become one of the band's best known songs and, is today, considered one of their classic tunes.   The video below is pretty terrible as The Who are just miming playing.
In the 1990s, The Offspring, had a big hit with a take off on this song, called The Kids Aren't Alright.

Substitute

The Who Singles

Today is the 50th anniversary of the UK release of Substitute, the 4th single from The Who.  Like its predecessors, I Can't Explain, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere and My Generation, Substitute was a hit in the UK, rising to #5 on the charts and a flop in the United States, which still wasn't ready for the aggressive, hard-hitting sound of The Who.

And it wasn't just the sound that was aggressive:

Substitute your lies for facts
I can see right through your plastic mac
I look all white, but my dad was black
My fine looking suit is really made out of sack

Substitute me for him
Substitute my coke for gin
Substitute you for my mum
At least I'll get my washing done

The song went on to become one of the staples of The Who's live act.

My Generation

The Who Singles 

It'd been more than five months since the release of The Who's second single, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere but it was worth the wait.  Released in the U.K. on October 29, 1965 My Generation was a revolution in rock:

The lyric: "Hope I die before I get old"

The stuttering vocal

Three key changes

That insane feedback/drum thing at the end

The bass solo by John Entwistle: still the best 50 years later

My Generation reached #2 on the British charts but failed to chart in the United States.  The first time THC heard it was sometime in 1967.


Here is Pete Townsend talking about Entwistle in a recent interview.  It's Townsend, one of the most blunt and intelligent people in rock, so it's worth listening to the whole thing.  At the 9 minute mark he talks about the challenge of "filling the air" when The Who play live now that Entwistle is gone (he died in 2002) and at ten minutes talks a bit about the My Generation bass solo.  He explains just how revolutionary Entwistle's approach to the bass was and that it was at the live shows and live recordings you could most clearly hear the difference.

And finally THC will throw in someone's excellent cover of Entwistle's bass part from 1973's The Real Me off the Quadrophrenia album.

Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere

A new THC series on the 50th anniversary of the release of each of the early singles of The Who, all but one of which flopped in the United States.

We've already missed the first, I Can't Explain, released on January 15, 1965 and which reached #8 on the U.K. charts (for more on that song see Louie Louie Turns 50).

Their second single, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere came out on May 21, 1965 and made it to #10.  Pete Townsend has always said this record much more accurately reflected The Who's live sound than did I Can't Explain.  It's more raucous and has more of that attitude The Who became known for.  Here are the boys bashing their way through it.The tattered remnants of The Who are just beginning The Who Hits 50 Tour.