Who I Am: A Memoir

By Pete Townshend

Four out of Five Stars

I must first confess, as a teenager I was a Who fan; they were one of my favorite bands. At the same time, in recent years Pete Townshend, the lead guitarist and main creative force behind the rock ‘n’ roll band’s songs, has annoyed me, complaining in interviews about his life, his success, his fans, and so on. There is nothing more annoying than a successful man – a millionaire – complaining about his privileged life.

I found it annoying, and then I read his autobiography, Who I Am: A Memoir and realized that for his entire life, Pete Townshend, ‘Rock God’ to some, as been a pessimist – a glass is half empty kind of guy; he just can’t help himself.

To read Who I Am: A Memoir, a book highlighting the life of a very successful rock ‘n’ roller whose music is sure to live on for generations, is to read the tale of a man who never seemed satisfied with his lot in life. To read the book, you know he was conflicted continually about his direction as a rock ‘n’ roller, rather than staying in art school, his attachment to the band he joined, The Who, featuring their leader Roger Daltrey and members John Entwistle and Kieth Moon. We’re to understand he had a volatile marriage (well, not always, but enough) and that he wasn’t that good with the ladies, nor continually dealing with his own addictions. Where Townshend seems to allow himself some credit, is in his creativity, as a rock ‘n’ roll innovator, having basically come up with rock music’s first opera, Tommy, and other innovations in the field. He allows himself some credit here, but never in a bragging way.

While after reading Who I Am: A Memoir I can better understand Townshend’s complaining in interviews and, where it previously annoyed me, give him the benefit of the doubt; what prevented me from giving this autobiography a five star rating, despite my reluctance to hand out five stars too easily, was the fact, a lot in Who I Am: A Memoir left me wanting. Townshend almost seems to gloss quickly over the death of Keith Moon, and even the Cincinnati incident where lives were lost before a Who concert due to festival seating and a stampede for seating (the band played the concert, unaware of what had happened). When it came to the death of bassist John Entwistle, Townshend spent a little more time, giving us a sense of how tragic it was to him and that he could open up more if he wanted to.

Of course, no matter how much of a public figure he’s been during his lifetime, the truth is, he shared with us what he wanted to share and, really, owes us nothing more; his deeper thoughts on some matters are his and his alone, and I can respect that, although, sometimes in not mining them, he did leave me wondering and unsatisfied. That’s my problem.

Overall, Who I Am: A Memoir by Pete Townshend is a rock ‘n’ roll autobiography worth reading; and in the process, their music is worth discovering if you all ready haven’t.