10 Greatest Hard Rock Moments On Live TV

9. The Who on Smothers Brothers

In the early '60s, most of the rock stars that got any prime time spots on television were usually more tame and family friendly. Other than acts like the Beatles, you weren't going to see people like KISS lighting themselves on fire or anything. When you have a madman behind the drumkit though, you might want to be a little bit more careful.

During their performance on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, the Who tore through My Generation, which usually ended with Pete Townshend smashing his guitar most nights. Even though Keith Moon promised to up the ante for television, it got even more interesting when he told his stage hands to overload his drum head with much more TNT than was originally planned.

When the final drum hit goes off, you can see the camera get desensitized to the blast as well, with Townshend fleeing for cover in the process. Other than a few people fainting backstage, the only long term damage that came of this whole thing was to Townshend, who had some hearing loss in his right ear that continues to this day. Compared to most other antics today, something like this would probably come off as tame. But for the '60s, this was the equivalent of starting a riot in the middle of a talk show.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

I'm just a junkie for all things media. Whether it's music, movies, TV, or just other reviews, I absolutely adore this stuff. But music was my first love, and I love having the opportunity to share it with you good people. Follow Me On Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/timcoffman97