What Are The Who’s 5 Biggest U.S. Hits?

Although they stand on the figurative Mount Rushmore of British classic rock, The Who didn’t have nearly the same success as a singles band as peers like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, especially when it came to the U.S. That said, they had more than their fair share of songs that found their way to pop radio.

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The following five songs show off the band’s variety, as well as how their music altered and advanced throughout the years. Here’s a look at The Who’s biggest-ever hits in America.

5. “Squeeze Box” (No. 16 in 1975)

The Who were probably a bit weary of all the heavy conceptual material they’d been conjuring in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. “Squeeze Box,” with its eyebrow-arched, lascivious intent, certainly proved the antidote for that. Pete Townshend traded in his sober messaging for larky lyrics here, just as he gave his electric guitar a rest in favor of the banjo. This winking vibe was something the band did very well on ‘60s tracks like “Happy Jack” and “I’m a Boy,” and they make a winning return to that style here.

4. “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (No. 15 in 1971)

Part of the reason The Who struggled somewhat as a singles band is their best songs often wandered into five- and six-minute territory. Even with edits to get it down to radio-friendly length, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” is still a powerhouse. The edited version is sort of all peaks. You’re better off, of course, with the album version, because those peaks make even more impact when the song is given time to breathe before it gets to them. In any case, this cathartic classic has made a lot more impact than dozens of chart-toppers.

3. “Who Are You” (No. 14 in 1978)

In many ways, “Who Are You” is the last gasp of The Who in their epic form. The death of Keith Moon and Pete Townshend’s changing songwriting tendencies left them sounding, from that point forward, like very capable craftsmen lacking inspiration. This song has everything you would come to expect from the band at their most bombastic, including Roger Daltrey’s unearthly bellows, Townshend’s masterful melding of synth buildups and guitar crashes, Moon’s maximalist rumble, and John Entwistle’s burrowing bass notes.

2. “See Me, Feel Me” (No. 12 in 1970)

Another bugaboo that kept The Who from the chart success of other bands like them: their conceptual bent. How do you pull a song from an album like Tommy or Quadrophenia and have it come across to an audience without the context? “See Me, Feel Me,” which essentially is the closing block of music from Tommy, overcame that. Listening to it on the album is an overwhelming experience, as you’re affected by all that’s come before it. But even as a standalone song, Roger Daltrey’s vulnerable lead vocals create a powerful effect.

1. “I Can See for Miles” (No. 9 in 1967)

Found on the band’s quasi-concept album The Who Sell Out, this colossal song found the band going to darker musical corners than they’d occupied in previous singles. It’s a master class in tension and release, with Keith Moon doing a particularly impressive job conjuring atmosphere with his thunderous drum interludes. “I Can See for Miles” is also famous for putting a bee in Paul McCartney’s bonnet. Upon hearing The Who were working on what they deemed was the heaviest rock song yet, Macca picked up the gauntlet and wrote “Helter Skelter.”

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