The Who song “You Better You Bet” was released as a single on this day, February 27, in 1981. The tune was the first track released from the band’s 1981 studio album, Face Dances, which also was the group’s first without drummer Keith Moon, who had died in 1978.
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“You Better You Bet” was a hit in both the U.S. and the U.K., peaking at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 9 on the U.K. singles chart. It was the last single by The Who to date to break into the Top 20 of the Hot 100 and the Top 10 of the U.K. tally. “You Better You Bet” also reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Tracks (Mainstream Rock) chart.
The track was also The Who’s first single to feature new drummer Kenney Jones, a founding member of the Small Faces and Faces who joined The Who in 1979.
What “You Better You Bet” Was About
“You Better You Bet” was written by Who guitarist and principal songwriter Pete Townshend and sung by frontman Roger Daltrey. The song was inspired by a young woman named Jacqueline Vickers with whom Townshend was having an affair at that time.
When he wrote the song, Townshend was having something of an early mid-life crisis, indulging too much in alcohol and drugs, and having serious issues with his marriage to his longtime wife, Karen.
“I developed [‘You Better You Bet’] over several weeks of clubbing and partying,” he recalled in the 2010 book The Who by Numbers. “I had gone through a lean period in my marriage and was seeing the daughter of a friend of mine.” He added, “I wanted it to be a good song because the girl I wrote it for is one of the best people on the planet.”
Musical References in the Song’s Lyrics
The song’s lyrics feature a couple of interesting musical references, including one of his band’s most popular albums and an influential 1970s glam band.
“I’ve got your body right now on my mind, and I’ve drunk myself blind to the sound of old T. Rex,” the end of the second verse goes. “To the sound of old T. Rex, and Who’s Next.”
More About “You Better You Bet” and the Face Dances Album
“You Better You Bet” features fluid piano by John “Rabbit” Bundrick, who had joined The Who’s touring lineup in 1979. The song finds The Who at their most accessible, highlighted by a catchy melody, and featuring an arpeggiated synthesizer similar to the one heard in the band’s 1982 gem “Eminence Front.”
Face Dances saw The Who working for the first time with producer Bill Szymczyk, who also produced or co-produced most of the Eagles’ albums. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 in the U.K.
Roger Daltrey Loved “You Better You Bet”
In a 2001 interview with Uncut magazine, Daltrey referred to “You Better You Bet” as “one of my favorite songs of all.”
“A wonderful, wonderful song,” he said. “The way the vocal bounces, it always reminds me of Elvis [Presley].”
Having said that, Daltrey also noted that he just wasn’t happy with Jones as Moon’s replacement.
“[I]n retrospect, we did make the wrong choice of drummers,” Daltrey maintained. “Kenney Jones—don’t get me wrong, a fantastic drummer—but he completely threw the chemistry of the band. It just didn’t work; the spark plug was missing from the engine.”
About the “You Better You Bet” Video
The Who shot a black-and-white music video for “You Better You Bet,” which featured the band performing the tune on a stage. The clip was the fourth video ever played on MTV, on August 1,1981. It also became the first video MTV ever aired more than once.
