"The Seeker" is a song 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 ...

and performed by English 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 ...

. First released as a non-album single in March 1970, it is included on their 1971 compilation album '' Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy'' and other compilations.

Background

Around the time of the song's release, Townshend explained its meaning in an interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'': "I suppose I like this least of all the stuff", wrote Townshend the following year. "It suffered from being the first thing we did after ''

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

'', and also from being recorded a few too many times. We did it once at my home studio, then at IBC where we normally worked then with

Kit Lambert Christopher Sebastian "Kit" Lambert (11 May 1935 – 7 April 1981) was a British record producer, record label owner and the manager of The Who. Biography Early life Kit Lambert was born on 11 May 1935, the son of composer Constant Lamb ...

producing. Then Kit had a tooth pulled, breaking his jaw, and we did it ourselves. The results are impressive. It sounded great in the mosquito-ridden swamp I made it up in—Florida at three in the morning drunk out of my brain with Tom Wright and John Wolff. But that's always where the trouble starts, in the swamp. The alligator turned into an elephant and finally stampeded itself to death on stages around England. I don't think we even got to play it in the States." However, the Who performed "The Seeker" for about two weeks on their

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

American tour. The Who revived the song briefly in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

and then extensively starting on the 2006–2007 tour for '' Endless Wire''. The lyrics name-check several people who had high profiles in contemporary pop culture: musicians

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

(as "Bobby Dylan") and

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

, and advocate of psychedelic drugs

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...

. Townshend was a devotee of the teachings of

Meher Baba Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) was an Indian spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A major spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following of ...

, a Persian-Indian mystic whose 1966 treatise/ pamphlet '' God in a Pill?'' famously lambasted drug use as a means of consciousness expansion. Similarly, Townshend was an opponent of drug abuse throughout this period. Nicky Hopkins plays piano on '"The Seeker".

Release

Released in the UK as track 604036 on 21 March 1970, "The Seeker" reached number 19 in the charts. Released in the US as Decca 7-32670, it hit the ''Billboard'' charts on 11 April 1970, eventually peaking at number 44. The B-side, "Here for More", is one of the few Who songs written by lead singer

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 band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include " My Generation", " Pinball Wizard", " Won't Get Fooled ...

. '' Cash Box'' described it as showing "the Who still operating with blistering instrumental thrust, but turning to lyrics more meaningful than before."

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeker, The 1970 singles The Who songs Rush (band) songs Songs written by Pete Townshend Decca Records singles Track Records singles Song recordings produced by Kit Lambert 1970 songs Song recordings produced by Pete Townshend