Roger Daltrey has asserted that The Who were "the first heavy metal band," claiming that the group helped pave the way for the genre in the 1960s.
The rock icon made the comments during a new interview with Rolling Stone, saying that the band demonstrated multiple sounds, live performance tricks and more that would go on to be synonymous with heavy metal.
"We were just different than everybody else," the singer told Rolling Stone. "Americans don't really know the Who from the early '60s, but as the drummer of Deep Purple [Ian Paice] said recently in a magazine, 'The Who started it all.' We were the first heavy metal band."
He continued, "Jim Marshall invented the 4×12 [speaker cabinet], 100-watt stack for [Who guitarist] Pete Townshend. All the guitar smashing that Jimi Hendrix became famous for, in his style, was basically copied from Pete Townshend, first of all. And the first rock opera, of course, we elevated rock to be maybe up its own ass in a way, you could say it. We were doing it before anyone, but it's not important in the long run."
The English rock band was formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964-1978) consisted of lead vocalist Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
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