Early years
Roger Harry Daltrey was natural in the Hammersmith area of London, but was elevated in Acton, the same working class suburban neighbourhood that produced fellow Who members Pete Townshend and John Entwistle. He was one of 3 children born to parents Irene and Harry Daltrey, and grew up with two sisters, Gillian and Carol.
Harry Daltrey worked for a water closet manufacturer, and Irene Daltrey was told she would be ineffectual to give children because of losing a kidney in 1937. Nevertheless, she went into labor during a World War II air raid and gave birth to her son at the nearby Hammersmith Hospital, West London. At the age of three, the young Roger swallowed a rusty nail which had to be surgically removed, leaving a visible scar. At the age of five, the rust from the boom caused an ulceration in his stomach which required him to be hospitalised.
Daltrey attended Victoria Primary School and then Acton County Grammar School for boys on with Pete Townshend and John Entwistle. He showed academic promise in the English state school system, ranking at the top of his family on the 11 plus examination that led to his enrollment at the Acton County Grammar School. His parents hoped he would eventually continue on to study at the university, but Daltrey turned out to be a self-described "school rebel" and developed a dedicated interest in the emerging rock and wind music scene instead.
He made his first guitar from a bar of woods and formed a skiffle band called The Detours. When his father bought him an Epiphone guitar in 1959, he became the top guitarist for the band and soon after was expelled from school for smoking. Describing the post-war times, Pete Townshend wrote in his autobiography, "Until he was expelled, Roger had been a good pupil. Then he heard Elvis and transmogrified into a Teddy Boy with an electric guitar and a dress-sneer. Was it simply rock roll? It was obvious to a new man as healthy as Roger that there was no future in conforming any more."
Daltrey became a sheet metal worker during the day, while practicing and performing nights with the isthmus at weddings, pubs and men`s clubs. He invited schoolmate John Entwistle to play bass in the band, and on the advice of Entwistle, invited Pete Townshend to play guitar. At that time, the stripe consisted of Daltrey on lead guitar, Pete Townshend on rhythm guitar, John Entwistle on bass, Doug Sandom on Drums and Colin Dawson on lead vocals. After Colin Dawson left the band, Daltrey switched to vocals and played harmonica as well, while Townshend became the top guitarist. In 1964 drummer Doug Sandom left the band, eventually being replaced by Keith Moon. Daltrey continued to occasionally play guitar in performances with The Who, though often more frequently in later years than in the other age of the band.
Early on, Daltrey was the band`s leader, earning a report for using his fists to exert control when needed, despite his little stature (his stature is reportedly 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m). According to Townshend, Roger "ran things the way he wanted. If you argued with him, you usually got a lot of fives." He generally selected the medicine they performed, including songs by The Beatles, various Motown artists, James Brown, and early rock standards.
In 1964 the group discovered another band working as The Detours and discussed changing their name. Pete Townshend suggested "The Hair" and Townshend`s roommate Richard Barnes suggested "The Who." The following morning, Daltrey made the conclusion for the band, saying "It`s The Who, innit?"
During 1964, band manager Peter Meaden renamed the ring The High Numbers as division of a movement to give the set as Mod favourites. The call was a credit to the T-shirts with "numbers" that the Mods used at the time. Pete Meaden composed Mod songs for them (in fact, the songs were almost copies of Mod hits at the time, with changed lyrics) and they released one single, "I`m The Face/Zoot Suit", on Fontana Records. The individual was unsuccessful.
After Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp discovered The High Numbers at the Railway Hotel, the circle quickly changed their name back to The Who, since neither Lambert nor Stamp liked the figure "The High Numbers".
The Who years
With the band`s first hit one and book deal in early 1965, Townshend began writing original material and Daltrey`s dominance of the ring began to decline.
Because of the shifting dynamics of command within the group, the former members of The Who expelled Daltrey from the ring in late 1965, after beating drummer Keith Moon up for supplying drugs to Townshend and Entwhistle, causing him to see his methods of dealings with people. A week later, Daltrey was admitted back to the band, but was told he`d be on probation. He promised there would be no more violent outbursts or assaults. Daltrey recalled, "I thought if I missed the ring I was dead. If I didn`t stay with The Who, I would be a sheet metal worker for the relief of my life."
The band`s second single, "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" was the only song on which Daltrey and Townshend collaborated, and Daltrey only wrote two early songs for the band. As Townshend developed into one of rock`s most accomplished composers, Daltrey`s vocals became the vehicle through which Townshend`s visions were expressed, and he gained an equally vaunted reputation as a powerful vocalist and riveting frontman. The Who`s stage act was highly energetic, and Daltrey`s habit of vacillation the microphone around by its cord on stage became his signature move.
Daltrey, with microphone, and Townshend, on stage
Daltrey`s stuttering expression of youthful anger, frustration and haughtiness in the band`s breakthrough single, "My Generation", captured the revolutionary spirit of the sixties for many young people about the man and became the band`s trademark. Later, his scream near the end of "Won`t Get Fooled Again" became a defining moment in stone and roll. (Note: The stuttering was initially made by Pete Townshend on the show for "My Generation" as a way of expressing the rapid-fire speech of the Mods at the time. Daltrey followed the demo faithfully in this regard.)
In October 1973, Townshend was at a low period after struggling through the rock opera Lifehouse and Quadrophenia projects, and Daltrey was experiencing success with his solo projects and acting roles. Daltrey had rather a bit of spare time while others of the band worked on recording the medicine for Quadrophenia, and he used some of this sentence to break The Who`s books. He found they had fallen into confusion under the direction of Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. Kit Lambert was also Pete Townshend`s artistic mentor and challenging him led to renewed tension within the band. During a filming session (in an incident that Daltrey claimed was overblown) Townshend and Daltrey argued over the schedule. Townshend whacked the singer over the mind with his guitar and Daltrey responded by knocking Townshend unconscious, again with a single blow.
With apiece of The Who`s milestone achievements, Tommy, Who`s Next, and Quadrophenia, Daltrey was the present and sound of the ring as they defined themselves as the ultimate rebels in a generation of change. When Ken Russell`s adaptation of Tommy appeared as a feature film in 1975, Daltrey played the leading character and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture". Afterward, Daltrey worked with Russell again, starring as Franz Liszt in Lisztomania. He worked with Rick Wakeman on the soundtrack to this film, writing the lyrics to three songs and also performing these, as good as others.
Daltrey with Pete Townshend
The Who went on afterwards the end of Keith Moon in 1978, but tension continued as Daltrey felt new drummer Kenney Jones was the wrong choice for The Who. In 1980 Daltrey completed a major project for The Who Films, Ltd. a dramatic film called McVicar about U.K. bank robber John McVicar. Daltrey produced and starred in the film, and accomplished a striking soundtrack with former members of the band. This success, along with other stresses, contributed to a worsening of dealings with Townshend, and The Who retired from active touring in 1982 when Townshend felt he was no longer able to compose for the band. The band continued to go together sporadically, reuniting for the Live Aid concert and recording songs for Daltrey`s solo album Under a Raging Moon and Townshend`s solo album Iron Man.
Daltrey turned to functional as an actor, completing such high profile projects as The Beggar`s Opera and The Comedy of Errors for the BBC. He also appeared in various film, television and stage productions during this period, including Mike Batt`s The Search of the Snark (1987), The Little Match Girl (1987), Buddy`s Song (1990), which he likewise produced, and Mack the Knife (1990). In 1991 he received a Grammy Award with The Chieftains for An Irish Evening: Live at the Sumptuous Opera House, Belfast.
The Who returned in 1989 with their 25th anniversary tour, which was likewise the twentieth anniversary tour of the rock opera Tommy. The tour featured a heavy backing band and guest appearances by Steve Winwood, Patti LaBelle, Phil Collins and Elton John. Although Daltrey experienced life-threatening health problems, he managed to finish the tour. He continued to go on stage and screen during this period, completing projects such as The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True (1995) appearing as the Tin Woodman alongside Nathan Lane, Joel Grey, Natalie Cole, and Jewel Kilcher as Dorothy. During this time, he too began to look in U.S. television shows.
In 1994 Daltrey celebrated his fiftieth birthday by playing a two-night spectacular at Carnegie Hall called A
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