In 1964, he also helped decide on a new name for the group that had been suggested by Townshend's roommate, Richard Barnes - "The Who." 26) He generally selected the music they performed, including songs by The Beatles, various Motown artists, James Brown, and other rock standards. If you argued with him, you usually got a bunch of fives." (Giuliano, p. According to Townshend, Roger "ran things the way he wanted. After a couple of years, Daltrey switched to vocals and Townshend to lead guitar.Įarly on, Daltrey was the band's leader, earning a reputation for using his fists to exercise control when needed, despite his small stature. At the time, the band included Daltrey on lead guitar, Pete Townshend on rhythm guitar, John Entwistle on bass, Doug Sandom on drums and Colin Dawson on lead vocals. He became a sheet metal worker during the day, while practicing and performing nights with the band at weddings, pubs and men's clubs. Soon after, interested in nothing but rock and roll, he was expelled from school. He made his first guitar from a block of wood and formed a band called, "The Detours." When his father bought him an Epiphone guitar in 1959, he became the lead guitarist for the band. His parents, Harry and Irene, hoped he would eventually continue on to study at a university, but obeying the rules and learning from his instructors were not in the plans of the self-described "school rebel." He showed academic promise as a child in the English public school system, ranking at the top of his class on examinations that led to his enrollment at the Acton County Grammar School for boys. Daltrey was born in the Shepherd's Bush section of London, the same working class neighborhood that produced fellow Who members Pete Townshend and John Entwistle.