"Baba O'Riley" 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 Wale ...
band
the Who
The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...
, written by guitarist and principal songwriter
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...
. It is the opening track to the Who's fifth studio album, ''
Who's Next
''Who's Next'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 2 August 1971, by Track Records in the United Kingdom and by Decca Records in the United States. It developed from the aborted '' Lifehouse'' project, a m ...
'' (1971). In Europe, it was released as a single in October 1971, coupled with "
My Wife My Wife may refer:
*My Wife (1918 film), ''My Wife'' (1918 film), an American silent film
*''My Wife'', English language title for the 1942 Indian film ''En Manaivi''
*My Wife (1964 film), ''My Wife'' (1964 film), an Italian comedy film
*My Wife (so ...
". Performances of "Baba O'Riley" appear on several Who live albums.
Widely regarded as one of the Who's finest songs and as one of the greatest rock songs of all time, "Baba O'Riley" appears in ''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''s "All-Time 100 Songs" list, ''
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.
The magazine was first known fo ...
''s list of "
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...
", and the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
as one of the
500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
Background and composition
Townshend wrote "Baba O'Riley" for his ''
Lifehouse'' project, a
rock opera
A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...
intended as the followup to the Who's 1969 opera
''Tommy''. In ''Lifehouse'', a Scottish farmer named Ray would have sung the song at the beginning as he gathered his wife Sally and his two children to begin their move to London. When ''Lifehouse'' was scrapped, eight of the songs were salvaged and recorded for the Who's fifth studio album ''
Who's Next
''Who's Next'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 2 August 1971, by Track Records in the United Kingdom and by Decca Records in the United States. It developed from the aborted '' Lifehouse'' project, a m ...
'' (1971), with "Baba O'Riley" as the lead-off track. The song title refers to two of Townshend's primary inspirations at the time: Indian spiritual master
Meher Baba
Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) was an Indian spirituality, spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following o ...
and American
minimalist composer
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist music, minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his work became notab ...
.
According to Townshend, at the end of the band's gig at the
1969 Isle of Wight Festival, the field was covered in rubbish left by fans, which inspired the line "teenage wasteland". In another interview, Townshend said the song was also inspired by "the absolute desolation of teenagers at
Woodstock
The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...
, where audience members were strung out on
acid
An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...
and 20 people had brain damage. The irony was that some listeners considered the song a teenage celebration: 'Teenage Wasteland, yes! We're all wasted!
Recording
The repeating set of notes (
ostinato
In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...
) in "Baba O'Riley" that opens and underlies the song was derived from the ''Lifehouse'' concept, where Townshend wanted to input the vital signs and personality of
Meher Baba
Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) was an Indian spirituality, spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following o ...
into a synthesiser, which would then generate music based on that data. When this idea fell through, Townshend instead recorded a
Lowrey Berkshire Deluxe TBO-1 organ using its marimba repeat feature to generate them. This
modal approach was inspired by the work of
minimalist composer
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist music, minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his work became notab ...
.
The song was derived from a nine-minute
demo, which the band reconstructed.
"Baba O'Riley" was initially 30 minutes in length, but was edited down to the "high points" of the track for ''Who's Next''. The other parts of the song appeared on the third disc of Townshend's ''
Lifehouse Chronicles'' as "Baba M1 (O'Riley 1st Movement 1971)" and "Baba M2 (2nd Movement Part 1 1971)". Dave Arbus, whose band
East of Eden was recording in the same studio, was invited by
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Who. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique style of playing and ...
to play the violin solo during the outro. In most live performances, this part is played instead by Daltrey on harmonica.
Release
"Baba O'Riley" was released in November 1971 as a single in several European countries. However, in the United Kingdom and the United States, it was released only as part of the album ''Who's Next''. The song became one of the band's most popular songs, as well as a popular staple of
AOR radio, and remains on the
classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
radio canon.
Critical reception

"Baba O'Riley" appears at No. 159 on ''
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.
The magazine was first known fo ...
''s list of "
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...
". The song is in the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
as one of the
500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. The band
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...
regularly plays a cover of the song during concerts, and a readers' poll in ''Rolling Stone'' awarded this cover as #8 in their "Greatest Live Cover Songs". In 2012, ''
Paste'' ranked the song number two on their list of the 20 greatest Who songs, and in 2022, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the song number six on their list of the 50 greatest Who songs.
Legacy
"Baba O'Riley" was used as the theme song for the television series ''
CSI: NY'' (2004–2013), with each ''CSI'' series using a Who song as its theme. The song was also used in the ''
One Tree Hill'' episode "Pictures of You" (season 4, episode 13). The live version of the song from the album ''
Who's Last'' (1984) plays in the opening segment of the ''
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...
'' episode "
Out Where the Buses Don't Run" (season two, 1985). One of the working titles of ''
That '70s Show
''That '70s Show'' is an American television teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from 197 ...
'' (1998–2006) was "Teenage Wasteland", a reference to the repeated lyric in the song. The song was also used in the trailers for the films ''
A Bug's Life
''A Bug's Life'' (stylized in all lowercase) is a 1998 American animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter from a screenplay written by Andrew Stanton, Donald McEnery, and Bob Shaw, and a story conceived by Lasseter, Stanton, and Joe Ran ...
'' (1998), ''
American Beauty'' (1999), ''
Resident Evil: Retribution'' (2012), ''
Jobs'' (2013), ''
The Peanuts Movie
''The Peanuts Movie'' (known in some countries as ''Snoopy and Charlie Brown: A Peanuts Movie'') is a 2015 American animated comedy film based on Charles M. Schulz's comic strip ''Peanuts'', produced by 20th Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky ...
'' (2015), ''
Free Guy
''Free Guy'' is a 2021 American action comedy film directed and produced by Shawn Levy from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, and a story by Lieberman. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudk ...
'' (2021) and
season 3 of ''
Stranger Things
''Stranger Things'' is an American television series created by the Duffer brothers, Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the Stranger Things season 1, first season was released on N ...
''. The song was also sung in the first season ''
Sense8'' episode "W. W. N. Double D?" by Riley's father at the airport.
"Baba O'Riley" was included in the soundtrack for the 1997 film ''
Prefontaine'' and the 1999 film ''
Summer of Sam
''Summer of Sam'' is a 1999 American crime thriller film about the 1977 David Berkowitz (Son of Sam) serial murders and their effect on a group of fictional residents of an Italian-American neighborhood in The Bronx in the late 1970s. It focu ...
''. The song was used in the 10th episode of the 2010 Fox show ''
The Good Guys''. The song was featured in the 2004 romantic comedy film ''
The Girl Next Door'', and was also used in the beginning and end credits of the 2012 movie ''
Premium Rush''. The song has also been used in episode 14 of
season one in the TV series ''
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
'' and in episode 10 of
season one in the TV series ''
The Newsroom''. It was also used in episode one of the UK version of ''
Life on Mars
The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no conclusive evidence of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that ...
''. A remixed version of this song, re-done by Alan Wilkis, appears in the
2012 remake of ''Need for Speed: Most Wanted'', as well as the ''
Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
''
season 13 episode "
Quagmire's Mom", the third ''
Robot Chicken: Star Wars'' special and episode 11 of season one of
''Superstore''. The song is also featured in the ''
Joe Pera Talks with You'' episode "Joe Pera Reads You The Church Announcements".
In October 2001, the Who gave a much-lauded performance of the song at
the Concert for New York City. Since 2003, "Baba O'Riley" has been played during player introductions for the
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
during home games at the
Staples Center
Crypto.com Arena (originally and colloquially known as Staples Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Los Angeles. Opened on October 17, 1999, as Staples Center, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along F ...
. The song is played before live
UFC events during a highlight package showing some of the most famous fights in the
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world.
In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
company's history. The song was used for the trailer of the ''
EA Sports UFC 4'' game. It is also the official theme song of competitive eater
Joey Chestnut.
Baba O'Riley was sampled in the 2010 song "Escape Velocity" from
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.
Originally known as The Dust Brothers, th ...
.
At both the opening and closing ceremonies of the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, the 120 BPM dance track "The Road Goes on Forever" by the Welsh electronic music producer
High Contrast
Lincoln Barrett (born 18 September 1979), better known by the stage name High Contrast, is a Welsh electronic music producer, DJ and record producer. He produces drum and bass music, and his 2009 album '' Confidential'' reached BPI gold cert ...
, which
samples "Baba O'Riley", is used during the countdown at the start of the proceedings. "Baba O'Riley" was then performed by the Who as their first number during the last musical segment at the closing ceremony, with
Roger Daltrey
Sir Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Who, known for his powerful voice and charismatic stage presence. His stage persona ear ...
singing a changed lyric of "Don't cry/Just raise your eye/There's more than teenage wasteland". "Baba O'Riley" is also used as the pregame music at
Sanford Stadium
Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium is the on-campus playing venue for football at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States (also known as UGA). The 93,033-seat stadium is the ninth-largest American football stadium in the NCAA ...
and is played right before kickoff at every
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
home
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
game. In addition, the
Boston College Marching Band has featured a rendition of the song at football and hockey games. It is also played at halftime of most
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
home games, leading up to the second-half kickoff. It is also the entrance music for the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
for every Rangers home playoff game.
In the course of a debate on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, it was noted that "
Best Song Ever" (2013) by
One Direction
One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...
bore a strong resemblance to the basic structure of "Baba O'Riley".
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...
responded to the claims by denying that the Who were pursuing legal action, and stated that he was a fan of One Direction's single and was happy that One Direction appeared to have been influenced by the Who, just as he had been influenced by earlier musicians such as
Eddie Cochran
Ray Edward Cochran ( ; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. His songs, such as " Twenty Flight Rock", " Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire in ...
.
Personnel
The Who
*
Roger Daltrey
Sir Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Who, known for his powerful voice and charismatic stage presence. His stage persona ear ...
– lead vocals; harmonica (live versions only)
*
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...
–
Lowrey organ, piano, guitars, co-lead vocals
*
John Entwistle
John Alec Entwistle (9 October 194427 June 2002) was an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band the Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band ...
–
bass guitar
The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
*
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Who. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique style of playing and ...
– drums
Additional personnel
*
Dave Arbus – violin
Charts
Certifications
References
External links
* – filmed at
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of Pinewood Group, the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not ...
, on 25 May 1978, in front of an invited audience, and included in Jeff Stein's documentary ''
The Kids Are Alright''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baba O'riley
1971 songs
1971 singles
The Who songs
Songs written by Pete Townshend
Song recordings produced by Glyn Johns
CSI: NY
Decca Records singles
Polydor Records singles
MCA Records singles
Television drama theme songs
Song recordings produced by Pete Townshend
Songs based on actual events
Songs about teenagers
Cultural depictions of Meher Baba
Teenage tragedy songs
Electronic rock songs
Meher Baba
Terry Riley