"Athena" | ||||
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Single by The Who | ||||
from the album It's Hard | ||||
B-side |
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Released | August 1982 | |||
Recorded | June 1982 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 3:46 | |||
Label | Polydor (UK) Warner Bros. (US) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Pete Townshend | |||
Producer(s) | Glyn Johns | |||
The Who singles chronology | ||||
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"Athena" (the working title being "Theresa") is a song written by Pete Townshend and recorded by The Who. It appears as the first track on the group's tenth album It's Hard , released in 1982. Written for actress Theresa Russell, the song was the first single from It's Hard. The single was a moderate success, entering US Billboard on 4 September, reaching No. 28 [1] and the UK Singles Charts on 2 October, reaching No. 40.
"Athena" was originally written by Pete Townshend after an encounter with the American actress Theresa Russell. [2] [3] [4] After seeing a Pink Floyd performance on their Wall Tour, with Russell and his friend, Bill Minkin, Townshend was rejected by the actress when he attempted to romance her. Townshend said of the incident:
The song was written after I had been to see The Wall with my friend Bill Minkin and the actress Theresa Russell who was about to marry the film director Nic Roeg with whom I hoped to work on a new version of Lifehouse . I got drunk as usual, but I had taken my first line of cocaine that very evening before meeting her and decided I was in love. When I came to do the vocal on the following day [Feb. 15, 1980] I was really out of my mind with frustration and grief because she didn't reciprocate. [2]
Under the working title "Theresa," the song's name was changed to "Athena." [2] Despite this alteration, Townshend still felt the song was too personal, claiming, "It was just too revealing." [3] Roger Daltrey, however, disliked the song for this change.
No, I never liked that song ["Athena"]. It's a great record. I think what happened with that song, it was originally called "Theresa" and then Pete was talking to me about Nick Roeg's girlfriend and how he fancied her, and that song was written about her - but then it changed into 'She's a bomb' and I think I've got a psychological problem with it. I listened to it on the record the other day, and it's a great record; there's so much energy on that thing but I still don't think there's a center to that song. The fact that he changed the title in that and didn't stick to what it was supposed to be lost its center to me.
A demo for the original "Theresa" was first recorded and presented to The Who by Pete Townshend during the Face Dances sessions. [5] However, the song was not used until It's Hard.
On "Athena" Roger Daltrey and Townshend share lead vocals. [6] John Entwistle also adds horns to the track. [3]
"Athena" was released as the first single from It's Hard, backed with "A Man Is a Man" in Britain and "It's Your Turn" in America. The single achieved moderate chart success, reaching number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100, but received good airplay on album-oriented rock and later classic rock radio formats. "Athena" also reached number 40 on the UK Singles Chart, making it both the band's last UK and US top 40 single. [3] The single also reached number five in Canada.
Billboard described it as a "comparatively lilting love song set to a fast but fluid track" and said it was "one of the Who's most melodic and warmhearted" songs. [7]
In addition to appearing on It's Hard, "Athena" also was released on both The Ultimate Collection and the deluxe edition of The Who Hits 50! compilation albums.
The Who only played "Athena" a total of ten times on the band's 1982 tour, and have not played the song again ever since.[ citation needed ]
On October 30, 2017, at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida, Roger Daltrey performed "Athena" live for the first time in 35 years. [8]
Empty Glass is the second solo studio album by English rock musician Pete Townshend, and his first composed of original material, released on 21 April 1980 by Atco Records.
It's Hard is the tenth studio album by English rock band the Who. Released in September 1982, it was the final to feature bassist John Entwistle, who died in 2002. It was also the second and final Who studio album with drummer Kenney Jones, as well as the last to be released on Warner Bros. Records in the US. It was released on Polydor Records in the UK, peaking at No. 11, and on Warner Bros. in the US where it peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The US rights to both this album and Face Dances subsequently reverted to the band, who then licensed them to MCA Records for reissue. The album achieved gold status by the RIAA in the US in November 1982. It was their last album for over two decades until Endless Wire in 2006.
Face Dances is the ninth studio album by English rock band the Who. It was released in 1981 by Warner Bros. in the United States and on Polydor in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Who studio albums with drummer Kenney Jones, who joined the band after Keith Moon's death three years earlier.
"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 “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 for "historical, artistic and significant" value. It is considered one of the band's signature songs.
Endless Wire is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 30 October 2006 in the UK through Polydor Records and the following day in the US by Universal Republic. It was their first new studio album of original material in 24 years following the release of It's Hard in 1982, as well as their first since the death of the bassist John Entwistle. It was originally due to be released in early 2005 under the working title WHO2.
Odds & Sods is an album of studio outtakes by British rock band the Who. It was released by Track Records in the UK and Track/MCA in the US in October 1974. Ten of the recordings on the original eleven-song album were previously unreleased. The album reached No. 10 on the UK charts and No. 15 in the US.
"I Can't Explain" is a song by English rock band the Who, written by Pete Townshend, and produced by Shel Talmy. The song was released as a single in the United States on 19 December 1964 by Decca and on 15 January 1965 in the United Kingdom by Brunswick. It was the band's second single release and first under the Who name.
"5:15" is a song written by Pete Townshend of British rock band The Who. Part of the band's second rock opera, Quadrophenia (1973), the song was also released as a single and reached No. 20 on the UK Singles Chart, while the 1979 re-release reached No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Who Are You" is the title track on the Who's 1978 album, Who Are You, the last album released by the group before Keith Moon's death in September 1978. It was written by Pete Townshend and released as a double-A-sided single with the John Entwistle composition "Had Enough", also featured on the album. The song was one of the band's biggest hits in North America, peaking at number 7 in Canada and at number 14 in the United States, and has become one of the band's signature tunes at their live shows. The piano on the track is played by Rod Argent.
"Eminence Front" is a song by the Who, written and sung by lead guitarist Pete Townshend. It appears as the sixth track on the group's tenth studio album It's Hard (1982). The single entered Billboard Hot 100 on 25 December 1982, reaching number 68.
"You Better You Bet" is a song by British rock band the Who, appearing as the first track on their 1981 album Face Dances. It is sung by frontman Roger Daltrey with backing vocals from Pete Townshend and bassist John Entwistle.
Daltrey is the debut solo studio album by the English rock singer Roger Daltrey, lead vocalist of the Who. It was released on 20 April 1973 by Track Records in the United Kingdom and MCA Records in the United States. Daltrey was the third member of the group to make a solo album. The bulk of the record was written by David Courtney and Leo Sayer. It took six weeks to record during January and February 1973. Sessions took place at Daltrey's Barn Studio, Burwash, East Sussex, where the backing tracks were laid down; vocals, overdubs, and mixing was completed at the Beatles' Apple Studios at 3 Savile Row, and at Nova Sound Studios.
"I'm Free" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by the Who on the album Tommy. The song has since been released as a single, becoming one of the best known tracks from Tommy.
"Squeeze Box" is a song by the Who from their album The Who by Numbers. Written by Pete Townshend, the lyrics are couched in sexual double entendres. Unlike many of the band's other hits, the song features country-like elements, as heard in Townshend's banjo picking.
"The Seeker" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by English rock band the Who. First released as a non-album single in March 1970, it is included on their 1971 compilation album Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy and other compilations.
"Long Live Rock" is a 1979 single by The Who, written by Pete Townshend and recorded in 1972. A different version of the song was performed by Billy Fury's character in the film That'll Be the Day.
"Join Together" is a song by British rock band the Who, first released as a non-album single in June 1972. The song has since been performed live multiple times and has appeared on numerous compilation albums.
"Relay" is a song written by Pete Townshend, the guitarist of the Who, for the band's aborted Lifehouse project. The song was also released as a moderately successful single in 1972. It was also the last non-album single by the Who until "Real Good Looking Boy", 32 years later.
"It's Hard" is a song written by Pete Townshend that featured on British rock band The Who's tenth album, It's Hard, of which it was the title track. It was released as the third and final vinyl single from the album in 1983, backed with the John Entwistle written song "Dangerous", but failed to chart, although it reached number 39 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. This would become the last Who single of new material until "Real Good Looking Boy" in 2004, and the last album single by them until "Black Widow's Eyes", two years later.
The Who Hits 50! is a compilation of singles by the English rock band the Who, released in 2014 by Polydor Records. The two-disc set contains every single released by the band in the United Kingdom, with the exceptions of: "A Legal Matter" and "La-La-La-Lies" from 1966; and "Long Live Rock" and the remake of "I'm One" from 1979. At the same time it also contains every single by the band released in the United States throughout their career, with the exceptions of: "The Real Me" from 1974; the reissue of "Substitute" from 1976; and "Long Live Rock" from 1979. A condensed single-disc standard edition appeared as well, both versions in conjunction with the band's 50th anniversary and associated tour of the same name. The album is notable for containing singles generally not included on other compilation albums, such as the band's Rolling Stones cover "The Last Time" done as an act of solidarity while Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were facing jail time, along with other lesser-known singles "Dogs" and "Call Me Lightning".