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"The Kids Are Alright" | ||||
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Single by the Who | ||||
from the album My Generation | ||||
B-side |
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Released | July 1966 (US) 12 August 1966 (UK) | |||
Recorded | 13 October 1965 | |||
Studio | IBC, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Pete Townshend | |||
Producer(s) | Shel Talmy | |||
The Who singles chronology | ||||
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"The Kids Are Alright" is a song written by Pete Townshend and recorded by the English rock band the Who. It appears as the seventh track on their debut album My Generation (1965).
"The Kids Are Alright" was not released as a single until more than six months after it first appeared on the LP, first in the United States, and in the United Kingdom the following month. While not a huge hit at the time (reaching number 41 in the UK and number 85 in the US), the song, along with the album "My Generation", became anthems for the band and the Mod subculture of England in the 1960s. It later became the name of the documentary for the band in 1979. The song was edited for release in the U.S. and this version has become much more common than the original full-length U.K. version. The edit of the song features a substantially shortened instrumental break. A promotional film for the song was shot in Hyde Park in July or August 1966. In addition to appearing on My Generation, the beginning of the song can be heard on Quadrophenia , after the song "Helpless Dancer" has faded out.
The song uses a standard I-IV-V chord progression in the key of D while the chorus uses a ii-V-IV-I chord progression.[ citation needed ]
In present-day live performances, The Who add a long extra section to the end of "The Kids Are Alright", with partly improvised lyrics discussing the lessons learned since the song's composition. A version of this can be heard on Live at the Royal Albert Hall , recorded in 2000, in which Townshend assesses:
"When I wrote this song I was nothing but a kid, trying to work out right and wrong through all the things I did. I was kind of practising with my life. I was kind of taking chances in a marriage with my wife. I took some stuff and I drank some booze. There was almost nothing that I didn't try to use. And somehow I'm alright." [5]
After John Entwistle's death in 2002, the extra lyrics occasionally made reference to him, and his love of old red wine, which later inspired their song "Old Red Wine", a tribute to Entwistle.
During 2006 the song was listed at number 34 in Pitchfork's list of the 200 greatest songs of the 1960s. [6]
The song has been covered by bands such as The Pleasers (their third single in 1978), The Queers, Goldfinger, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Dropkick Murphys, Hi-Standard, Green Day, Pearl Jam, The Raveonettes, Patti Smith, The Kids, and Belle & Sebastian who closed their set with it at the Bowlie Weekender in 1999. In 2008, Billy Bob Thornton's band The Boxmasters recorded a version of the song as the closing number on the second disc of their album The Boxmasters. The song was also recorded for a covers album by Matthew Sweet and Bangles' Susanna Hoffs. Keith Moon, the drummer of The Who, also recorded a cover of this song for his 1975 solo album Two Sides of the Moon . In 2016, the song was covered in the Nickelodeon television show School of Rock.
This song is referenced in the title of the song "The Kids Aren't Alright" by the Offspring, the unrelated Fall Out Boy song of the same title, "The Kids are Alt-Right" by Bad Religion, "The Kids Are Insane" by Urge Overkill, "The Kids Are All Wrong" by Lagwagon, "All the Kids Are Right" by Local H, Awolnation's "THISKIDSNOTALRIGHT" and "The Kids" by The Parlor Mob, in which the main chorus line is 'No the kids ain't alright', as well as the songs "Kids" by Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue and "The Kids Are Alright" by Chloe x Halle featured on their album of the same name. The title of the song was also used in the film The Kids Are All Right and for episode titles of the US television shows That 70's Show and Supernatural , as well as the Ballers Season 4 episode "The Kids Are Aight". It was also punned and featured in The Simpsons episode "The Kids Are All Fight". It was also used in the Final Fantasy VII novel The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story, the novel having various references to The Who.
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century, their contributions to rock music include the development of the Marshall stack, large public address systems, the use of synthesizers, Entwistle's and Moon's influential playing styles, Townshend's feedback and power chord guitar technique, and the development of the rock opera. They are cited as an influence by many hard rock, punk, power pop and mod bands. The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
Who's Next is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 2 August 1971, by Track Records in the United Kingdom and Decca Records in the United States. It developed from the aborted Lifehouse project, a multi-media rock opera conceived by the group's guitarist Pete Townshend as a follow-up to the band's 1969 album Tommy. The project was cancelled owing to its complexity and to conflicts with Kit Lambert, the band's manager, but the group salvaged some of the songs, without the connecting story elements, to release as their next album. Eight of the nine songs on Who's Next were from Lifehouse, with the lone exception being the John Entwistle-penned "My Wife". Ultimately, the remaining Lifehouse tracks would all be released on other albums throughout the next decade.
A Quick One is the second studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 9 December 1966. In the United States, where the song "Happy Jack" was a top 40 hit, the album was released in April 1967 under the title Happy Jack with a slightly altered track listing.
My Generation is the debut studio album by English rock band the Who, released on 3 December 1965 by Brunswick Records in the United Kingdom, and Festival Records in Australia. In the United States, it was released on 25 April 1966 by Decca Records as The Who Sings My Generation, with a different cover and a slightly altered track listing. Besides the members of the Who, being Roger Daltrey (vocals), Pete Townshend (guitar), John Entwistle (bass) and Keith Moon (drums), the album features contributions by session musician Nicky Hopkins (piano).
Live at Leeds is the first live album by the English rock band the Who, recorded at the University of Leeds Refectory on 14 February 1970 and released on 11 May 1970, by Decca and MCA in the United States and by Track and Polydor in the United Kingdom. It is the band's only live album that was recorded with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon.
"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.
Odds & Sods is an album of studio outtakes by British rock band the Who. It was released by Track Records in the UK on September 28, 1974, and by Track/MCA in the US on October 12, 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.
"Won't Get Fooled Again" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend. It was released as a single in June 1971, reaching the top 10 in the UK, while the full eight-and-a-half-minute version appears as the final track on the band's 1971 album Who's Next, released that August. In the US, the single entered Billboard on 17 July, reaching No. 15.
"I Can't Explain" is a song by English rock band the Who, written by Pete Townshend and produced by Shel Talmy. It 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.
Then and Now is a 2004 greatest hits compilation album by The Who released internationally by Polydor Records and by Geffen Records in the United States. It features 18 Who classics and two new tracks—"Real Good Looking Boy" and "Old Red Wine"—which were the first Who originals since "Dig" from Pete Townshend's 1989 album The Iron Man. "Real Good Looking Boy" is a tribute to Elvis Presley, and "Old Red Wine" is a tribute to former band member John Entwistle, who died in 2002. The album was re-released in 2007 and replaced "Old Red Wine" with "It's Not Enough" from the 2006 album Endless Wire and "Summertime Blues" was replaced by "Baba O'Riley".
"My Wife" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written and sung by bass guitarist John Entwistle. It was originally released in 1971 on Who's Next and later as the B-side of the single "Baba O'Riley" on 6 November 1971 in Europe by Polydor Records.
"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 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and has become one of the band's signature tunes at their live shows. The piano on the track is played by Rod Argent.
"Magic Bus" is a song recorded by British rock band the Who. It was written by their guitarist Pete Townshend during the time that their debut album My Generation was being recorded in 1965. However, it was not recorded until 1968, when it was released as a single on 27 July 1968 in the United States and Canada, followed by its release in the United Kingdom on 11 October 1968. It has become one of the band's most popular songs and has been a concert staple, although when released, the record only reached number 26 in the UK and number 25 in the United States. The song was included on their 1968 album Magic Bus: The Who on Tour.
The Kids Are Alright is a soundtrack album by the British rock band the Who, a companion to the band's documentary film of the same name. As a compilation album, it serves as a retrospective look at the band's biggest hits throughout their career to the point it was released. Most of the tracks are live recordings, rather than the original studio versions.
Blues to the Bush is a live album by The Who recorded at the House of Blues in Chicago on 12 and 13 November 1999, and at the Empire Theatre, Shepherd's Bush on 22 and 23 December 1999. It was sold exclusively from the now defunct MusicMaker.com, though it can still be found on torrent sites and second hand markets such as EBay.
The Kids Are Alright is a 1979 rockumentary film about the English rock band the Who, including live performances, promotional films and interviews from 1964 to 1978. It notably features the band's last performance with long-term drummer Keith Moon, filmed at Shepperton Studios in May 1978, three months before his death.
Who's Better, Who's Best: This Is the Very Best of the Who is a 1988 compilation album by the Who. A compilation of videos also titled Who's Better, Who's Best was released in 1988 as well.
"I Don't Mind" is a rhythm and blues song written by James Brown and performed by Brown and the Famous Flames. Released as a single in 1961, it reached number four in the R&B Billboard charts and number 47 in the Pop Billboard charts. Brown and the Flames also performed it on their 1963 album Live at the Apollo
"The Ox" is an instrumental piece by English rock band the Who. It was on their debut studio album My Generation (1965). The tune was improvised by Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Keith Moon and keyboardist Nicky Hopkins. This track appears as the B-side of "The Kids Are Alright" on the single's UK release. The tune was also on the compilation album Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (1994). A jingle based on this tune was released as "Top Gear" on both reissues of The Who Sell Out (1967). It is the oldest known recorded track by the Who. The title is a nickname given to Entwistle by the band, because of his strong constitution and seeming ability to "Eat, drink or do more than the rest of them."
"The Good's Gone" is a song by English rock band the Who, written by their guitarist Pete Townshend. Initially recorded and sequenced as the third track of their debut My Generation in December 1965, it was released as the B-side to "La-La-La-Lies" in November 1966. Heavily inspired by Ray Davies song "See My Friends", Townshend wrote the track with blues in mind.
The Who's oft-referenced mod anthem was also an early textbook for later power-pop purveyors...