"Substitute" is a song by the English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
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 ...
, written by
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 ...
. Released in March 1966, the single reached number five in the UK and was later included on the compilation album ''
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy'' in 1971.
In 2006,
''Pitchfork'' ranked "Substitute" at number 91 on the "200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s".
Inspiration and writing
"Substitute" was primarily inspired by the 1965
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
single "
The Tracks of My Tears
"The Tracks of My Tears" is a song written by Smokey Robinson, Pete Moore, and Marv Tarplin. It is a multiple award-winning 1965 hit R&B song originally recorded by their group, The Miracles, on Motown's Tamla label. The Miracles' million-sell ...
" by
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups ...
. Pete Townshend became obsessed, particularly, with the line, "Although she may be cute/She's just a substitute." This had then led Townshend "to celebrate the word with a song all its own."
The riff used in the song's verses was derived from a November 1965 single by Robb Storme and The Whispers called ''Where Is My Girl'', a fact later acknowledged by Townshend who recalled hearing the record whilst reviewing singles for the ''
Melody Maker''.
The guitar solo is played by bassist John Entwistle who later said: "I played a Gibson SG medium scale bass with wire-wound strings. When it got to the solo, because we were recording and mixing it virtually live, I thought, yeah, this should be a bass solo, so I turned my volume up and they couldn't mix me out, so it ended up as a bass solo."
For the American single, released in April 1966, a different vocal take was used that changed the line in the chorus, "I look all white but my dad was black", to "I try walking forward but my feet walk back."
The complete second verse and chorus were also edited from the US release, reducing the track's length to two minutes and fifty-nine seconds.
Reception
''
Cash Box'' described the song as a "pulsating, fast-moving
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
-drenched woeser which concerns a guy who’s miserable ’cause he’s only a stand-in for the fella his girl really wants."
Performance history
The song remains a familiar fan-favourite and was performed at most of their concerts.
"Substitute," along with "
I Can't Explain," have served as the group's opening numbers since 1971. It appears on the ''
Live at Leeds
''Live at Leeds'' is the first live album by English rock band The Who. It was recorded at the University of Leeds Refectory on 14 February 1970, and is their only live album that was released while the group were still actively recording and p ...
'' album, as well as ''
Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.''
On the album ''Live at Leeds,'' Townshend comments on the song by saying:
In 1976,
radio pirates
''Radio Pirates'', also known as ''Big Ben Calling'', is a 1935 British musical film directed by Ivar Campbell and starring Leslie French, Mary Lawson and Enid Stamp-Taylor. It was made at Shepperton Studios.Wood p.83
Cast
* Leslie Frenc ...
interrupted
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
programmes in the south and southwest of England by overpowering a feeder station in
. The fake program, which started at 11:00pm and ran for 35 minutes before government engineers regained control, fittingly began with "Substitute."
played "Substitute" live on numerous gigs during 1976. A studio version, also recorded in 1976, was released on the 1979 double album
.
The Ramones included "Substitute," with Pete Townshend contributing backing vocals, on their 1993 all-covers album,
recorded a cover and produced a video of this song on their debut album in 1984.