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Roger Daltrey: The Biography
This is a frank and revealing look at one of rock's most fascinating and enigmatic personalities. Roger Daltry is the wild and passionate lead singer for the supergroup The Who, and he is one of rock's greatest survivors.
- GenresMusicBiographyNonfiction
254 pages, Hardcover
First published October 7, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 15, 2013
It's too bad how little attention the history of other members of the Who have received compared to Pete Townshend's, as interesting as it is. Lots of good, little-known details about Daltrey here, even if the biography's not super in-depth and is suspiciously overwhelmingly positive. Also the last bit of the book, everything after the Tommy film, feels very rushed and a bit scattered, which is a shame. Still, lots of good info here for a Who fan, like the unusual circumstances of Daltrey's birth, his seance to contact the spirit of Keith Moon (!), and a little more depth behind his tough image in the early days of the Detours.
June 20, 2015
Roger deserves a better biography than this, I'm afraid. I'd say it is a good primer for someone who is unfamiliar with Daltrey, or vaguely familiar, but there are just too many inaccuracies in here. Granted, most of the ones that I noticed were numerical in nature: The Who's final tour was in 1982, not 1983. WWII ended on May 7, not May 13. The Who released 2 albums of original material in the 80s, not 3.
But there were other issues as well. The author states that after Roger's birth in March 1944, his father rejoined the war in Germany. Unless Harry fought for the Germans, that's not possible. D-Day wasn't until June of 45, and it was several months after that before the Allies entered Germany. And where they got the notion that the Who's version of Eddie Cochrane's "C'mon Everybody" was on Live at Leeds is beyond me.
Furthermore, if I were an English teacher and this was submitted to me as an assignment I would accuse the writers of padding their work. On several occasions they repeat themselves nearly word for word only a few pages apart. And the fact that Roger played one night in a production of My Fair Lady at the Hollywood Bowl is no excuse for going into minute detail about the plot of the musical.
The last major complaint is about something I'd never heard before but very highly doubt: that Keith Moon came to Roger in a seance and told him to hire Kenney Jones as his replacement. Most accounts of how that came to pass agree pretty closely, but this is a whole new and dubious account.
However, it is a decent if fairly shallow account of his life up to 2006. A fellow Who fan commented to me that he was disappointed it was more of a Who history than a proper biography of the man. Personally I think if you wanted to learn about Roger you could probably do better by spending some time on the internet, but if you want a short bio, this will do.
But there were other issues as well. The author states that after Roger's birth in March 1944, his father rejoined the war in Germany. Unless Harry fought for the Germans, that's not possible. D-Day wasn't until June of 45, and it was several months after that before the Allies entered Germany. And where they got the notion that the Who's version of Eddie Cochrane's "C'mon Everybody" was on Live at Leeds is beyond me.
Furthermore, if I were an English teacher and this was submitted to me as an assignment I would accuse the writers of padding their work. On several occasions they repeat themselves nearly word for word only a few pages apart. And the fact that Roger played one night in a production of My Fair Lady at the Hollywood Bowl is no excuse for going into minute detail about the plot of the musical.
The last major complaint is about something I'd never heard before but very highly doubt: that Keith Moon came to Roger in a seance and told him to hire Kenney Jones as his replacement. Most accounts of how that came to pass agree pretty closely, but this is a whole new and dubious account.
However, it is a decent if fairly shallow account of his life up to 2006. A fellow Who fan commented to me that he was disappointed it was more of a Who history than a proper biography of the man. Personally I think if you wanted to learn about Roger you could probably do better by spending some time on the internet, but if you want a short bio, this will do.
October 4, 2023
3.2 stars
February 11, 2020
I can't believe that people only gave this three stars on average? It's the story of Roger Daltrey and the Who for Pete's sake. No pun intended, one of the best rock bands of all time.
June 4, 2015
The first question I had about this book was if it was an authorised biography. The jury is still out on that front, as there is very little interview with the man himself.
It needs to be said that, while this book covers Daltrey's formative years and colours in the early years, once the familiar Daltrey, Townshend, Entwistle and Moon lineup coalesces into The Detours, it becomes very much more a biography of The Who not Daltrey in particular.
It is a well written, engaging read but one that, for an biography, crucially lacks enough of an in-depth look at the man himself, his views, his reactions and such. Daltrey's life is reported on very much from the outside in. Granted it is written almost from the perspective of someone admitted to The Who's inner circle, but it still lacks that final personal touch.
Enjoyable as far as biographies go - from someone who is normally very fussy about which ones he reads - but just lacking that final little something to make it a great read.
It needs to be said that, while this book covers Daltrey's formative years and colours in the early years, once the familiar Daltrey, Townshend, Entwistle and Moon lineup coalesces into The Detours, it becomes very much more a biography of The Who not Daltrey in particular.
It is a well written, engaging read but one that, for an biography, crucially lacks enough of an in-depth look at the man himself, his views, his reactions and such. Daltrey's life is reported on very much from the outside in. Granted it is written almost from the perspective of someone admitted to The Who's inner circle, but it still lacks that final personal touch.
Enjoyable as far as biographies go - from someone who is normally very fussy about which ones he reads - but just lacking that final little something to make it a great read.
January 5, 2014
A pretty basic bio of Roger Daltrey, though not well-written, well-organized or well-researched. As a huge fan of the Who, I enjoyed reading it, and it jogged my memory in many places, but it is a pedestrian walk through an amazing person's life.
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November 30, 2013Sucks. Time for an update. I'm volunteering to write it!
October 28, 2016
Only biog on Roger as far as i know , his band mates Moon and Townshend have had plenty . Shame the book peters out at the time Moon dies in 1978 , the remander of the book is short .
January 20, 2023
Really enjoyed it. Slot of history about the group. Would definitely recommend if you are a Who or Roger Dal trey fan
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews