“The KIds Are Alright” was not a huge hit at the time (it only reached #85 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #41 in their native UK) but it’s become one of the Who’s defining tracks. It’s also today’s classic song of the day.
Pete Townsend wrote “The Kids Are Alright” and the Who recorded it for their debut album, 1965’s My Generation. Here’s what Mr. Townsend remembers about the song:
“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 practicing 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.”
“The Kids Are Alright” is Pete Townsend defending the youth of his generation. (He did a lot of that, including on the companion tune, “My Generation.”) He doesn’t mind other guys dancing with his girl, because he knows them all pretty well, but sometimes he just needs to get away or he’ll go out of his mind. He knows he can leave his girl behind, because the kids are alright.
It’s a glorious piece of proto-power pop with Townsend’s driving guitar chords, Keith Moon’s near-chaotic drum fills, Roger Daltry’s earnest vocals, and the whole group’s glorious harmonies. It just doesn’t get much better than this.
And here’s something cool. It’s the Who with a primitive music video for “The Kids Are Alright,” and it’s today’s daily bonus video of the day.
