"Real Good Looking Boy" is a song written by the guitarist of the British rock band

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

. It was originally released in 2004 on the compilation album '' Then and Now'', and was one of two new songs on that album, the other being "Old Red Wine". Together, they were the first new songs released by the Who for 15 years. It was later released as an edited single backed with the aforementioned song. "Real Good Looking Boy" was later performed in the 2007 rock musical ''

The Boy Who Heard Music ''The Boy Who Heard Music'' is a rock opus that began life as an Internet novella written by musician and songwriter Pete Townshend. Townshend wrote in the foreword to the novella that he typically sketches out his opera in this way to lay out ...

''. The song peaked at #28 on the

Heritage rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart. Bassist

Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 – 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and b ...

and drummer

Zak Starkey Zak Richard Starkey (born 13 September 1965) is an English rock drummer who has performed and recorded with English rock band the Who since 1996. He is also the third drummer to have appeared with English rock band Oasis. In 2020, Starkey toure ...

, as well as keyboardist

John "Rabbit" Bundrick John Douglas "Rabbit" Bundrick (born November 21, 1948 in Houston, Texas) is an American–English rock keyboardist. He is best known for his work with The Who and associations with others including Eric Burdon, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Roge ...

played on this song.

Lyrical meaning

The song was a tribute to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. During live performances,

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...

gives a short introduction to the song, describing it as a song about "a man that changed my life at the age of 11. I saw Elvis Presley live at 11. Thank God I did, I loved him because everybody under the age of 20 thought they were Elvis and dressed like him. Everybody over 20 hated him and that was good enough for me." The piano intro borrows from the Elvis song " Can't Help Falling in Love", and one of the later verses in "Real Good Looking Boy" uses lyrics from the first verse of the Elvis song. The first part of the song is about Pete Townshend growing up and realizing that he was not a good looking boy, that he was not part of the cool good-looking group of boys his age and the trials, tribulations that everyone goes through in life. The second part is where the Elvis tribute comes into play and also where the song speaks of falling in love. The third part is where Townshend pays homage to finding true love and being made to feel like a "real good looking boy".

Personnel

*Guitars, backing vocals: Pete Townshend *Lead vocals:

*Bass guitar:

*Drums:

*Piano:

*Additional guitars and keyboards:

Simon Townshend Simon Townshend (; born 10 October 1960) is a British guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is the younger brother of the Who's guitarist Pete Townshend, and is most associated with The Who and the various side projects of its original members ...

*Producer: Simon Townshend at Eel Pie Oceanic Studios, London c. Nov. 2003 *

Engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

Bob Pridden Bob Pridden (born 1946) is an English audio engineer, roadie, and record producer, best known for his long-standing position as principal sound engineer for the rock band the Who. He has also worked with a number of other rock musicians and wi ...

and Myles Clarke

"Old Red Wine"

"Old Red Wine" was written for The Who's former

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

John Entwistle John Alec Entwistle (9 October 194427 June 2002) was an English musician who was the bassist for the rock band The Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band's only member ...

, who died two years prior to the release of "Then and Now". The riff at the end of the song predated the actual song by a few years, being played at the end of some versions of "My Generation" from the 2000 tour. The riff was also played in a performance of the same song during Entwistle's last show, at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

on 8 February 2002. Portions of the song were also played sometimes after "My Generation" on the band's 2002 (after Entwistle's death), 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008 tours.

Personnel

*Guitars, piano, backing vocals: Pete Townshend *Lead vocals: Roger Daltrey *Bass guitar:

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific session bassist, he has played bass for acts such as The Who, the John Mayer Trio, Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan, Jeff Beck ...

*Drums: Zak Starkey *

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

and additional piano: John Bundrick *Producer: Simon Townshend at Eel Pie Oceanic Studios, London c. Early 2004 *Engineers: Bob Pridden and Myles Clarke

References

{{The Who singles The Who songs Songs about Elvis Presley Songs written by Pete Townshend Songs written by George David Weiss 2004 songs Songs written by Hugo Peretti Songs written by Luigi Creatore Song recordings produced by Pete Townshend