The Who lead singer Roger Daltrey forged a parallel solo career beginning in 1973, when the group had begun to fall apart in the aftermath of Quadrophenia (disc 1). Born March 1, 1944 in London, Roger Daltrey grew up in the same Shepherd's Bush neighborhood as future The Who bandmates Pete Townshend and John Entwistle, performing with them as the Detours as early as his late teen years. Over time, Roger Daltrey developed into one of rock's most powerful lead vocalists, a position to which he staked his claim on The Who 1971 masterpiece Who Got Next?; his onstage persona was one of macho swagger, accompanied by such antics as twirling his microphone like a lasso.

Roger Daltrey first traveled the solo route in 1973 with an album titled simply Best Of Rockers & Ballads, featuring mostly material penned by a then-unknown Leo Sayer that served as a departure from The Who signature hard rock sound. The Who reconvened for The Who By Numbers in 1975, a year that saw Roger Daltrey release his second solo album, Ride A Rock Horse, and appear in Ken Russell's films Lisztomania (as composer Franz Liszt) and an adaptation of Tommy (in the title role). While The Who went on hiatus for several years, Roger Daltrey released One of the Boys in 1977 and appeared in the 1978 film The Legacy. During The Who post-Keith Moon era, Roger Daltrey co-produced and starred in the film McVicar, a biography of train robber John McVicar; members of The Who appeared on its soundtrack, which essentially served as a full-fledged Roger Daltrey album and found him bridging the gap between hard rock and the pop songs of his earlier solo work. After The Who officially disbanded in 1983, Daltrey's solo albums became uniformly hard-rocking affairs, most notable among them 1985's Under a Raging Moon. In addition to The Who 1989 reunion tour, Roger Daltrey has since continued to act in occasional television and film roles, as well as releasing the solo album Rocks In The Head in 1992. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi