10 Bands That Invented Their Own Genre
3. The Who
As sacrilegious as it sounds now, it was very possible for the Who to become a flash in the pan. While songs like My Generation opened the door for a more abrasive form of rock and roll, there was nothing that was happening there that wasn't too far removed from the traditional Mod scene. Once they ventured beyond three chords though, Pete Townshend created something that no one had ever heard before.
Looking to communicate with the audience on an interactive level, the Who blew the doors wide open on Tommy, which was heralded as the world's very first rock opera. Even though the building blocks weren't too far removed from the traditional rock instrumentation, the grand scope of the music along with the addition of horns and strings made every part of the story feel larger than life. Suddenly, whenever you heard a distorted electric guitar on the record, it felt like it meant something more than just volume.
It goes without saying that this is the blueprint for the rock opera, but the influence goes a bit further than that. Whereas albums like Green Day's American Idiot or Pink Floyd's The Wall would not exist without the Who, you can also hear those operatic stylings in the sounds of bands like ELO later down the line. For a genre of music that was supposed to be childish, Townshend was right....this music can affect people.