Daltrey was born in the Chiswick area of London, the same working class suburban neighbourhood that produced fellow Who members Pete Townshend and John Entwistle. He showed academic promise as a child in the English state school system, ranking at the top of his class on examinations that led to his enrollment at the Acton County Grammar School for boys. His parents, Harry and Irene, hoped he would eventually continue on to study at a university, but obeying the rules and learning from his teachers were not in the plans of the self-described "school rebel."
He made his first guitar from a block of wood and formed a band called, "The Detours." When his father bought him an Epiphone guitar in 1959, he became the lead guitarist for the band. Soon after, interested in nothing but rock and roll, he was expelled from school. He became a sheet metal worker during the day, while practising and performing nights with the band at weddings, pubs and men's clubs. At the time, the band included 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 Townshend to lead guitar.
Early on, Daltrey was the band's leader, earning a reputation for using his fists to exercise control when needed, despite his small stature. According to Townshend, Roger "ran things the way he wanted. If you argued with him, you usually got a bunch of fives." He generally selected the music they performed, including songs by The Beatles, various Motown artists, James Brown, and other rock standards. In 1964, he also helped decide on a new name for the group that had been suggested by Townshend's roommate, Richard Barnes — "The Who."
The Who
With the band's first record deal in early 1965, Townshend began writing original material and Daltrey's dominance of the band began to recede. (Their second single, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere was the only song on which Daltrey and Townshend collaborated.) 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 an incomparably powerful vocalist. His habit of swinging the microphone around by its cord on stage became a signature sign of his exuberance.
Daltrey's stuttering expression of youthful anger, frustration and arrogance in the band's breakthrough single, My Generation, captured the revolutionary feeling of the 1960s for many young people around the world and became the band's trademark. Later, his scream near the end of Won't Get Fooled Again became a defining moment for the band.
Yet, in the midst of the band's success, Daltrey repeatedly found himself fighting to keep the other members of The Who away from the drug and alcohol dependence that he believed would destroy them. He once flushed drummer Keith Moon's pills down the lavatory and, when Moon protested, knocked him down with one punch. Later, in October, 1973, with Townshend at a low point after struggling through the Lifehouse and Quadrophenia projects while Daltrey was experiencing some success with his solo projects and acting roles, tension between the two created more sparks. During a recording session (in an incident that Daltrey claimed was overblown), Townshend whacked the singer over the head with his guitar and Daltrey responded by knocking Townshend unconscious, again with a single blow. With each of The Who's milestone achievements, Tommy, Who's Next, and Quadrophenia, Daltrey was the face and voice of the band as they defined themselves as the ultimate rebels in a generation of change. When Tommy appeared as a feature film in 1975, Daltrey played the lead role and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture".
Solo music career
Roger Daltrey's first solo album, Daltrey
While he has always considered The Who his primary ambition in life, Daltrey has released eight solo albums. 1973's Daltrey was not the first solo release by a member of The Who, following albums by both John Entwistle and Pete Townshend. The top single off the album, "Giving It All Away," reached number five in the UK and the album, which introduced Leo Sayer as a songwriter, made the Top 50 in the United States. The emotional range displayed in Daltrey proved that the singer was capable of operating outside the context of The Who and of expressing his own moods, not just Townshend's.
When Sayer launched his own career as an artist, Daltrey called on a widening group of friends to write for and perform on his albums. Paul McCartney contributed the new song "Giddy" to "One of The Boys", where the band included Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee and Mick Ronson.
McVicar was billed as a soundtrack album for the film of the same name, which Daltrey co-produced and starred in. But since it featured all the other members of The Who — Townshend, Entwistle and Kenny Jones — it could almost have passed as a Who album. McVicar included two hit singles, Free Me and Without Your Love and was Daltrey's best-selling solo recording.
The title track to Under a Raging Moon was a tribute to Who drummer Keith Moon, who died in 1978. Each of the album's tracks, including "Let Me Down Easy" by Bryan Adams, expresses the frustration of growing older as only a man who sang "Hope I die before I get old" can. On Rocks in the Head, Daltrey is credited (along with Gerard McMahon) for co-writing seven of the eleven tracks.
Daltrey celebrated his fiftieth birthday in 1994 by performing at Carnegie Hall in a show called, "Daltrey Sings Townshend," accompanied by The Juilliard Orchestra, Townshend, Entwistle, Irish dancers and a group of folk musicians. Later he had a short weekly series on BBC Radio 2, presenting a personal choice of rock'n'roll.
One Man Band
Roger Daltrey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
you have to leap across the street.
You can lose your life under a taxi cab,
you gotta have eyes in your feet.
You find a nice soft corner and you sit right down,
pick up your guitar and play.
Then the police come and says move along,
I'm a one man band
nobody cares or understands.
Is there anybody out there who could lend a hand.
To my one man band.
For three days now I haven't eaten at all
my my I must be getting so thin.
Soon my cap won't be large enough
to drop a half a crown in.
So hey there mister don't you look so sad
don't look so ill at ease.
I can play you any song you chose
to cheer up the life you lead.
Oh I'm a one man band
nobody sees nor understands.
Is there anybody out there who could lend a hand
to my one man band.
And oh oh oh look at the rain falling
oh oh oh look at the rain
Nobody hears the minstrel boy, as he sings his tale of woe.
Nobody sees him disappear,
and nobody sees him go.
So hey there mister don't look so sad,
don't feel so ill at ease.
I can play you any song you chose,
to cheer up the life you lead.
Oh I'm a one man band
nobody sees nor understands.
Is there anybody out there who could lend me a hand,
to my one man band.
Oh I'm a one man band
nobody cares nor understands.
Is there anybody here who could lend a hand,
to my one man band
I'm a one man band
I'm a one man band
Ooo one man band
Ooo I'm a one man band
Oh I'm a one man band
Ooo one man band
The lyrics to Roger Daltrey's song "One Man Band" tell the story of a struggling street musician in London. The opening lines describe the hazards of playing music in Ladbrook Grove, where pedestrians have to "leap across the street" to avoid being hit by passing taxis. This sets the tone for the difficulties that the singer encounters as he tries to make a living as a performer.
The second verse focuses on the police, who are depicted as an obstacle to the musician's livelihood. He finds a "nice soft corner" to play his guitar, but the police come along and tell him to move on, forcing him to wander the streets in search of a new spot. The chorus emphasizes the solitary nature of the singer's existence, as he is a "one man band" who is largely ignored by the world around him.
The third verse adds a note of desperation to the story, as the musician has gone three days without eating and is growing dangerously thin. He can no longer fit a half-crown (a British coin worth two shillings and sixpence) into his cap, indicating that he is receiving little in the way of financial support from his audience. The final verse again turns to the idea of the musician as a source of comfort for others, offering to play any song that might "cheer up the life you lead."
Overall, the song presents a poignant portrait of the struggles faced by street musicians, and the isolation and alienation that can come with being an artist in difficult circumstances.
Line by Line Meaning
Everybody knows down ladbrook grove,
you have to leap across the street.
Crossing the street in Ladbrook Grove can be dangerous and requires careful attention.
You can lose your life under a taxi cab,
you gotta have eyes in your feet.
Not paying attention while crossing the street can be deadly, so it's important to be alert and aware of your surroundings.
You find a nice soft corner and you sit right down,
pick up your guitar and play.
Then the police come and says move along,
so you move along all day.
As a street musician, finding a good spot to play can be a challenge when the police are constantly telling you to move along.
I'm a one man band
nobody cares or understands.
Is there anybody out there who could lend a hand.
To my one man band.
Being a street musician can be lonely and it feels like nobody cares about or appreciates your music, so you're searching for someone to help and support you.
For three days now I haven't eaten at all
my my I must be getting so thin.
Soon my cap won't be large enough
to drop a half a crown in.
As a struggling musician, not having enough money to eat is a real concern and can lead to physical deterioration over time.
So hey there mister don't you look so sad
don't look so ill at ease.
I can play you any song you chose
to cheer up the life you lead.
Despite his own struggles, the musician is still trying to help everyone else feel better and brighter through his music.
Oh I'm a one man band
nobody sees nor understands.
Is there anybody out there who could lend a hand
to my one man band.
Once again, the musician expresses his loneliness and desire for support and understanding from others.
Oh oh oh look at the rain falling
oh oh oh look at the rain
This line is difficult to interpret on its own but could be a reference to the unpredictability and hardship of life as a street musician.
Nobody hears the minstrel boy, as he sings his tale of woe.
Nobody sees him disappear,
and nobody sees him go.
Despite his efforts to make people happy through his music, the musician still feels invisible and overlooked by those around him.
So hey there mister don't look so sad,
don't feel so ill at ease.
I can play you any song you chose,
to cheer up the life you lead.
Once again, the musician tries to lift someone else's spirits even though he himself is struggling.
Oh I'm a one man band
nobody sees nor understands.
Is there anybody out there who could lend me a hand,
to my one man band.
The musician reiterates the desire for understanding and support from others in this line.
Oh I'm a one man band
nobody cares nor understands.
Is there anybody here who could lend a hand,
to my one man band
Finally, the musician expresses his feelings of isolation and hopelessness in a world where nobody seems to care or appreciate his music.
I'm a one man band
I'm a one man band
Ooo one man band
Ooo I'm a one man band
Oh I'm a one man band
Ooo one man band
This is the musician's way of affirming his identity as a solo musician even though he is struggling on his own.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID COURTNEY, LEO SAYER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Forrest George
Everybody knows down Ladbroke Grove
You have to leap across the street
You can lose your life under a taxi cab
You gotta have eyes in your feet
You find a nice soft corner and you sit right down
Pick up your guitar and play
Then the police come and says move along
So you move along all day
I'm a one man band
Nobody cares or understands
Is there anybody out there who could lend a hand
To my one man band?
For three days now I haven't eaten at all
My my I must be getting so thin
Soon my cap won't be large enough
To drop a half a crown in
So hey there mister don't you look so sad
Don't look so ill at ease
I can play you any song you chose
To cheer up the life you lead
Oh I'm a one man band
Nobody sees nor understands
Is there anybody out there who could lend a hand
To my one man band?
And oh, oh, oh look at the rain falling
Oh, oh, oh look at the rain
Nobody hears the minstrel boy, as he sings his tale of woe
Nobody sees him disappear
And nobody sees him go
So hey there mister don't look so sad
Don't feel so ill at ease
I can play you any song you chose
To cheer up the life you lead
Oh I'm a one man band
Nobody sees nor understands
Is there anybody out there who could lend me a hand
To my one man band?
Oh I'm a one man band
Nobody cares nor understands
Is there anybody here who could lend a hand
To my one man band?
I'm a one man band
I'm a one man band
Ooo one man band
Ooo I'm a one man band
Oh I'm a one man band
Ooo one man band
Andrew Lines JAH
Daltrey never had a version - HE PERFORMED SAYER ' s COMPOSED VERSION ! ! !
The ORIGINAL IS THAT WHICH IS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ( And / Or ... COMPOSED ! ! ! )
Leo Sayer's version will always be THE ORIGINAL ! ! !
Here ... Watch ...
No Compo : Watch video link below ...
Mr Sayer :)
Watch and listen ...
Album version : https://youtu.be/Ikof-8FZwgg
Live : Brilliant : Leo Sayer is an artist , Roger Daltrey was a musician / Vocalist at best : A very Big Difference !
Sayer Brilliance : https://youtu.be/S2o2kdd_Veo
pinkfreud62
I fell in love with the Who after I saw the movie Tommy in the theaters. I was just 12 at the time, but I bought all their LPs and the solo ones, too. Always takes me back to simpler and more happy times.
Joe Sycamore
Hard to say who did this better; Roger's voice is incredible but Leo's voice was passionate. A rare occurrence when two versions are equally good
James Morrison
For me, Leo's is more emotional, so truer to the service of the song
RJ Nuzzi
Great first Roger Daltrey solo LP. Out of print... don't know why!?! The most beautiful cover photo, also used in Ken Russell's 'Tommy' film; Sally Simpson's wallpaper... Daltrey, great singer, long live!
Chris Sawyer
no! How I going to replace my cassette, when it gets chewedm, Now!
helenaquarian
Try eBay!
Amy Killgallon
It’s a beloved part of my vinyl collection
Joe Sycamore
@Amy Killgallon Mine too
alanac777
Well what can I say, this is AC and Roger Daltrey totally rocks out! They dont make music like this anymore, never get sick of it! The tape has been in my car for 3 1/2 years and everytime I get it I just let it play.
Andrew Dean
Thought they stopped putting tape decks in cars 30 years ago. I love cassettes but love my recent purchase of a Akai 4000ds open reel to reel machine.