Baba O'Riley
"Baba O'Riley" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend. It is the opening track to their fifth album Who's Next (1971) and was issued in Europe as a single in October 1971, coupled with "My Wife". Lead vocalist Roger Daltrey sings most of the song, with Townshend singing the middle eight: "Don't cry/ don't raise your eye/ it's only teenage wasteland".
| "Baba O'Riley" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by the Who | ||||
| from the album Who's Next | ||||
| B-side | "My Wife" | |||
| Released | October 1971 | |||
| Recorded | May 1971 | |||
| Studio | Olympic, London | |||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 5:00 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Pete Townshend | |||
| Producer(s) | The Who | |||
| The Who singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio | ||||
| "Baba O'Riley" on YouTube | ||||
Widely regarded as one of the Who's finest songs and as one of the greatest rock songs of all time, "Baba O'Riley" appears in Time magazine's "All-Time 100 Songs" list, Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
"Baba O'Riley" also features on the live albums Who's Last, Live from Royal Albert Hall, Live from Toronto, and Greatest Hits Live. The original recording's violin solo is played on harmonica by Daltrey when performed live.