Pete Townshend Interview on Jimi Hendrix (1973)

Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (/ˈtaʊnzənd/; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.[2][3] Due to his aggressive playing style and innovative songwriting techniques, Townshend's works with the Who and in other projects have earned him critical acclaim.

Townshend has written more than 100 songs for 12 of the Who's studio albums. These include concept albums, the rock operas Tommy (1969) and Quadrophenia (1973), plus popular rock radio staples such as Who's Next (1971); as well as dozens more that appeared as non-album singles, bonus tracks on reissues, and tracks on rarities compilation albums such as Odds & Sods (1974). He has also written more than 100 songs that have appeared on his solo albums, as well as radio jingles and television theme songs.

While known primarily as a guitarist, Townshend also plays keyboards, banjo, accordion, harmonica, ukulele, mandolin, violin, synthesiser, bass guitar, and drums; he is self-taught on all of these instruments and plays on his own solo albums, several Who albums, and as a guest contributor to an array of other artists' recordings. Townshend has also contributed to and authored many newspaper and magazine articles, book reviews, essays, books, and scripts, and he has collaborated as a lyricist and composer for many other musical acts.

In 1983, Townshend received the Brit Award for Lifetime Achievement and in 1990 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Who. Townshend was ranked No. 3 in Dave Marsh's 1994 list of Best Guitarists in The New Book of Rock Lists.[4] In 2001, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as a member of the Who; and in 2008 he received Kennedy Center Honors. He was ranked No. 10 in Gibson.com's 2011 list of the top 50 guitarists,[5] and No. 10 in Rolling Stone's updated 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.[6] He and Roger Daltrey received The George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement at UCLA on 21 May 2016.[7][8]

Early life and education
Townshend was born in Chiswick, West London, at the Chiswick Hospital, Netheravon Road, in the UK. He came from a musical family: his father, Cliff Townshend, was a professional alto saxophonist in the Royal Air Force's dance band the Squadronaires and his mother, Betty (née Dennis), was a singer with the Sydney Torch and Les Douglass Orchestras.[9] The Townshends had a volatile marriage, as both drank heavily and possessed fiery tempers. Cliff Townshend was often away from his family touring with his band while Betty carried on affairs with other men. The two split when Townshend was a toddler and he was sent to live with his maternal grandmother Emma Dennis, whom Pete later described as "clinically insane". The two-year separation ended when Cliff and Betty purchased a house together on Woodgrange Avenue in middle-class Acton, and the young Pete was happily reunited with his parents.[10] His neighbourhood was one-third Polish, and a devout Jewish family upstairs shared their housing with them and cooking with them—many of his father's closest friends were Jewish.[11]

Townshend says he did not have many friends growing up, so he spent much of his boyhood reading adventure novels like Gulliver's Travels and Treasure Island.[12] He enjoyed his family's frequent excursions to the seaside and the Isle of Man. It was on one of these trips in the summer of 1956 that he repeatedly watched the 1956 film Rock Around the Clock, sparking his fascination with American rock and roll.[13] Not long thereafter, he went to see Bill Haley perform in London, Townshend's first concert.[14] At the time, he did not see himself pursuing a career as a professional musician; instead, he wanted to become a journalist.[15]

Upon passing the eleven-plus exam, Townshend was enrolled at Acton County Grammar School.[16] At Acton County, he was frequently bullied because he had a large nose, an experience that profoundly affected him.[17] His grandmother Emma purchased his first guitar for Christmas in 1956, an inexpensive Spanish model.[18] Though his father taught him a couple of chords, Townshend was largely self-taught on the instrument and never learned to read music.[19] Townshend and school friend John Entwistle formed a short-lived trad jazz group, the Confederates, featuring Townshend on banjo and Entwistle on horns.[20] The Confederates played gigs at the Congo Club, a youth club run by the Acton Congregational Church, and covered Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, and Lonnie Donegan.[21] However, both became influenced by the increasing popularity of rock 'n' roll, with Townshend particularly admiring Cliff Richard's debut single, "Move It".