Won't Get Fooled Again
The Who, 1971, from Who's Next. Solo by Pete Townshend.
Power chords and a synth break.
Townshend doesn't play a conventional solo on this one, and that's the point. His guitar works in punches and slashes: power chords, short lead bursts and rhythmic stabs that cut between verses and push against the pulsing synth-organ track. The tone is the secret, a Gretsch 6120 into a small tweed Fender Bandmaster turned all the way up, giving a boxy, honking midrange instead of a stadium roar. It showed how much drama a guitarist could create through rhythm, dynamics and placement alone, and it became a template for arena rock. Listen for the build before the long synthesizer break, where the guitar keeps tightening the screws until the band drops away and leaves the organ pulse alone.
Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who is ranked #107 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Pete Townshend and the song was released in 1971. It appears on 6 lists, placing as high as #35 (SiriusXM (countdown transcribed on PRS Guitars forum)).
The story of Won't Get Fooled Again
Pete Townshend wrote 'Won't Get Fooled Again' as the finale of Lifehouse, an ambitious multimedia rock opera influenced by Meher Baba and by Inayat Khan's writings on the mysticism of sound. Lifehouse collapsed, and several of its songs were salvaged for Who's Next. The lyric is a sceptical look at revolution: the new rulers, it warns, may turn out no better than the old ones. Townshend has tied it to his irritation with 1960s radicalism, including the moment he threw Abbie Hoffman off the stage at Woodstock.
Townshend built the famous pulsing keyboard backing at home, running a Lowrey organ's rhythm feature through the filter of an EMS VCS3 synthesizer so the chords chopped and swept in time. That demo track proved so strong that the band kept it. An early full-band attempt at the Record Plant in New York in March 1971, with Leslie West on guitar, was set aside in favour of new sessions in England.
The Who recorded the master in April 1971 using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio at Stargroves, Mick Jagger's country house, and finished overdubs at Olympic Studios in London, with Glyn Johns mixing at Island Studios in May. Roger Daltrey's climactic scream, arriving after a long synthesizer interlude, became one of the most imitated moments in rock. Johns's clean, punchy production let the synthesizer pulse, Keith Moon's drums and Townshend's guitar all sit clearly in the mix.
An edited single was released in the UK on June 25, 1971, chosen over 'Behind Blue Eyes' because the band felt it better matched their sound. It reached No. 9 in Britain and No. 15 in the US. The full eight-and-a-half-minute version closed Who's Next, which topped the UK album chart that August. The Who first played it live at London's Young Vic in February 1971.
The solo
Townshend recorded his parts on a 1959 Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins hollow-body given to him by Joe Walsh, plugged through an Edwards volume pedal into a 1959 tweed Fender Bandmaster combo with three 10-inch Jensen speakers, per Guitar World and Wikipedia. He set the bridge pickup and the amp's volume to full, producing a boxy, honking midrange with raw tweed-era breakup rather than the Hiwatt stacks he used on stage. His playing is more about power chords, slashing rhythm and short lead bursts than a long conventional solo: the guitar punches through between verses, trades phrases with the synth-organ pulse, and drives the build-up before the instrumental break. Townshend said the combination of the Gretsch, the pedal and the Bandmaster gave him a sound from paradise.
Legacy
Rolling Stone placed it No. 295 on its 2021 list of the greatest songs and ranked it the best Who song in 2022. Its synth-driven pulse and Daltrey's scream made it a template for arena rock. It became the Who's standard closer, performed at Live Aid, Live 8, the Concert for New York City after 9/11 and the 2010 Super Bowl halftime show, and it was the last song Keith Moon played with the band on film. Townshend has said he feels mixed about it, sometimes proud and sometimes embarrassed.
Top 10 facts about Won't Get Fooled Again
The song was written as the closing number of Townshend's abandoned Lifehouse project.
WikipediaThe keyboard pulse came from a Lowrey organ fed through an EMS VCS3 filter, and the demo's organ track was kept for the master.
WikipediaAn early New York recording at the Record Plant in March 1971 featured Leslie West on lead guitar.
WikipediaTownshend's guitar was a 1959 Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins given to him by Joe Walsh.
WikipediaHe played through a 1959 Fender Bandmaster with three Jensen P10Q speakers, with the instrument volume on 10.
Guitar WorldTownshend strung the guitar with a second B string in place of the G string.
Guitar WorldTownshend has linked the lyric to his cynicism about 1960s radicals, including ejecting Abbie Hoffman from the Woodstock stage.
WikipediaLive, Keith Moon wore headphones carrying a click so he could stay in time with the taped synth part.
WikipediaIt was the last song Keith Moon played with the Who, filmed at Shepperton Studios on May 25, 1978 for The Kids Are Alright.
WikipediaVan Halen's live cover, with Eddie Van Halen playing the synth part on guitar, reached No. 1 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart.
Wikipedia
Live versions
- The Kids Are Alright (Shepperton Studios) (1978) Filmed May 25, 1978; Keith Moon's last performance with the Who.
- Live Aid (Wembley Stadium) (1985) Part of the reunited band's Live Aid set.
- The Concert for New York City (2001) Benefit for 9/11 families, performed with aerial footage of the World Trade Center.
- Super Bowl XLIV halftime show (2010) Closed the Who's medley in front of a massive TV audience.
Notable covers
- Labelle (1972) Soul reading on their album Moon Shadow.
- Van Halen (1993) Live version on Live: Right Here, Right Now; topped Billboard's Album Rock Tracks.
- Hayseed Dixie Bluegrass arrangement on Killer Grass.
- Richie Havens (2008) Slowed-down version on Nobody Left to Crown.
- Axel Rudi Pell Metal version on Diamonds Unlocked.
In our lists
- The 25 Greatest Classic Rock Guitar Solos — #21
- Epic-Length Solos — #25
- The Best The Who Guitar Solos — #1
- The Best Pete Townshend Guitar Solos — #1
Sources
- SiriusXM (countdown transcribed on PRS Guitars forum): 50 Baddest Guitar Solos — #35
- Ranker: The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time — #47
- Bombay Lives (Substack): 100 Greatest Guitar Solos — #75
- Topito (now 10h26.com): Top 100 des plus grands solos de guitare de l'histoire (Benoit Floyd) — #75
- Guitar Tricks: 200 Best Guitar Solos of All Time — #100
- Digital Dream Door: 250 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos — #137
- Wikipedia: Won't Get Fooled Again
- Guitar World: The secrets behind Pete Townshend's tone on Won't Get Fooled Again
Who played the guitar solo on Won't Get Fooled Again?
Pete Townshend played the solo on The Who's Won't Get Fooled Again (1971).
What guitar was used on the Won't Get Fooled Again solo?
A gretsch 6120 through a Fender Bandmaster amp, according to widely reported accounts.
Where does Won't Get Fooled Again rank among the greatest guitar solos?
#107 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 6 of them.
Who wrote Won't Get Fooled Again?
Pete Townshend wrote it for his Lifehouse project; it ended up closing Who's Next.
What guitar did Pete Townshend use on Won't Get Fooled Again?
A 1959 Gretsch 6120 given to him by Joe Walsh, through a Fender Bandmaster amp and an Edwards volume pedal.
What is the synth on Won't Get Fooled Again?
A Lowrey organ run through the filter of an EMS VCS3 synthesizer.
What is Won't Get Fooled Again about?
It warns that revolutions often replace one set of rulers with another no better, voicing scepticism of political idealism.
Who screams in Won't Get Fooled Again?
Roger Daltrey delivers the famous scream after the synthesizer break.