Beatles/Who: Feedback; Who Loves You/WAY

[Marc/Carolyn Hurwitz <MHurwitz@compuserve.com>]

Mark,

Excuse me, but I have to step in and gently correct a few things here.

>Lennon also claimed the idea of recording feedback came when he
accidentally left a guitar leaning against his amp.<

No, Lennon never claimed that in any interview I could dig up.
The first time I heard that particular story was from McCartney
in the Anthology video.  Lennon just said it was his idea from
take one, which is correct; he never said where he got the
idea in the first place.  McCartney, like Lennon, has a tendency to
rewrite Beatle history at times.

>Like many of you, I have The High Numbers at the Scene Club in 1964, aka
at
the Marquee, and Pete was using controlled feedback at that point. There is
also the feedback on BDYDI from the new ODDS AND SODS, circa late `64/early
`65. Dave Davies and Jeff Beck also claimed to have "invented" controlled
feedback, but I have no proof of anyone except our own Pete doing it. THEY
never recorded any, that's for sure! But The Kinks DID open for The
Beatles, just prior to The High Numbers (I believe they also shared some
dates).
In any case, I Feel Fine was recorded in 1965.<

No, sorry.  It was recorded October 18, 1964, and released in November
1964.
What Lennon actually claimed was that "I Feel Fine" was the first use *on
record*
of controlled feedback to produce an effect, and since IFF beat out
Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere by several months, he was indeed correct.
Of course the Who was doing it onstage long before IFF was recorded, but
they still hadn't released any records with controlled feedback.

>And in a previous discussion
either Bruce or Brian (sorry I can't recall which; it's been a while)
established that The High Numbers opened for The Beatles roughly four
months before IFF was recorded.<

In August of 1964.  But would Lennon have picked up the idea of feedback
from their performance on that day?  I doubt it, since they probably only
played two numbers, "I'm The Face" and "Zoot Suit".  Remember, this was
a package tour, and the Fabs themselves only got half an hour's time.
And there were several other acts on the same bill.  Now, this is not
to say that John didn't see the High Numbers at the Marquee and get
the idea THERE...but we'll never know for certain one way or the other.
Matters not; the Who were first to do it onstage, and also the best.

Now, a completely new subject.  I was listening to oldies radio recently
and tuned in when they were playing "Who Loves You" by the Four
Seasons, released around 1975, I believe (if memory serves).  At first
I thought it was "Who Are You"; and although I quickly realized it
wasn't, the mistake so intrigued me that I kept on listening to WLY, which
I hadn't heard in years.  I honestly believe that Townshend, consciously
or unconsciously, was inspired to write WAY after hearing WLY.  The
backing vocals are *very* similar, the arrangements are also alike in
some ways (the long quiet instrumental in the middle of each song),
and the way the backing vocals answer the lead singer's lines.  Can
anyone tell me if Townshend ever spoke about the influence?  I can't
believe that it's mere coincidence.  And yes, I know the whole story
behind WAY, with the Sex Pistols and everything; my point is just that
Pete may have liked the Seasons' hit and wanted to do something
like it.  Or it may have been "unconscious plagarism", such as George
Harrison committed when he recorded "My Sweet Lord", aka "He's
So Fine".  Anyway, comments appreciated.

--Carolyn