10 Musicians That Saved Their Careers By Changing Genres

It's hard to look back and think of the Who as anything but disposable in the early days. Compared to the more established on the scene like the Beatles and the Stones, Pete Townshend's knack for songwriting seemed to just be the traditional Mod rock, only played at punishingly loud volumes. Though the sheer force of the music may have moved the people, the interesting part was how much Townshend's songwriting chops carried them.

Looking at the big picture of rock music, Townshend envisioned making something that could hit the audience on a much more visceral level than the 3 minute single. Stringing together bits and pieces on albums like A Quick One and Rael, Townshend eventually molded bold new stories into his albums, from the story of Tommy to the down on his luck Mod kid of Quadrophenia. While they may have seemed outlandish for their time, this was the beginning of a much different kind of music.

Although he wasn't the first one to include stories in his songs, these albums would become known as the first true rock operas, giving way to even more groundbreaking work later down the line like Pink Floyd's the Wall and Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime. Considering that Townshend never expected the Who to last that long, it's safe to say that he's created something a bit bigger than he thought.