Won't Get Fooled Again

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Won't Get Fooled Again"

Single by The Who
from the album Who's Next
Released	June 25, 1971
Format	Vinyl record
Recorded	Berkshire and Olympic Studios, London, April and May 1971
Genre	Hard Rock
Length	8:32
Label	Polydor
Producer(s)	The Who, Glyn Johns (associate producer)
Chart positions
#15 (U.S.) #9 (U.K.)
The Who singles chronology
"See Me, Feel Me"/"Overture" (1970)	"Won't Get Fooled Again"/"I Don't Even Know Myself" (1971)	"Let's See Action"/"When I Was A Boy" (1968)

"Won't Get Fooled Again" is a rock song by the British rock band The Who, composed by band member Pete Townshend.

1 History
2 Extramusical history
3 Media usage
4 Live 8
5 Parodies
6 Accolades
7 External links

[edit] History

The song originally appeared on the 1971 album Who's Next and has since appeared on various other recordings, including the live compilation soundtrack for The Kids Are Alright, the 1979 documentary film about the band. It is famous for its angular organ part set against guitar power chords, leading up to an extended synthesizer break into a drum entrance followed by a long scream. Pete is playing block chords spread between the two keyboards of the 1968 Lowrey Berkshire Deluxe TBO-1 organ. The output of the organ is fed into the audio input of the EMS VCS 3 mk1 synth. The first bit of processing to be applied to the organ sound is a low-frequency oscillator (LFO) controlling the frequency of a voltage-controlled filter (VCF), using a sine or triangle wave shape. In other words, the synth is turning the tone of the organ from mellow to bright, up and down automatically. There are pictures of Pete playing this instrument.

The song is quite long, ranging from eight to nine minutes depending on the version (The original album version being about 8:32). A shortened single (3:38) was also released for use on broadcast radio and appeared on some hit collections such as Who's Better, Who's Best. To younger audiences, the song is perhaps best known as the theme to CSI: Miami, where it is further edited for length.

Pete Townshend wrote this as part of his Lifehouse Project. He wanted to release a double-album and film about a world where the people are oppressed, but saved by a rock concert. Part of Townshend's wish was to show the power of music and how it reflects the people. "Won't Get Fooled Again" is about a revolution. In the first verse, there is an uprising. In the middle, they overthrow those in power, but in the end, the new regime becomes just like the old one ("Meet the new boss, same as the old boss").

This was the last song that Keith Moon performed with The Who on May 25th 1978 in Shepperton Studios. The song was performed both at Live Aid and 20 years later at Live 8. Composer Pete Townshend also collaborated on a celebrated, live, acoustic duet version of the song with leading classical guitarist John Williams at the invitation of producer Martin Lewis for the 1979 Amnesty International benefit The Secret Policeman's Ball. The Who's Next deluxe edition (released in 2003) contains an early session tape of this song with a different structure featuring Mountain's Leslie West on lead guitar. Numerous live versions of this song have appeared on albums. In addition to The Kids Are Alright soundtrack, the most notable ones are on the Who's Next deluxe edition from the 1971 Young Vic show and on the Live At The Royal Albert Hall album (from a 2000 show with Noel Gallagher guesting). The band's performance of the song at 2001's The Concert for New York City was the highlight of that show.

The extended scream is generally considered as one of the greatest rock & roll screams of all time.

[edit] Extramusical history

The song was banned in South Korea until the emergence of democracy there in the early 1990s; copies of Who's Next sold there omitted it.

In an April 2006 editorial for Time magazine, retired Lieutenant General Greg Newbold referenced the song, calling it an "antiwar anthem" that "conveyed a sense of betrayal by the nation's leaders, who had led our country into a costly and unnecessary war in Vietnam." [1]

In a May 2005 article for the National Review, political reporter John J. Miller chose the song as #1 on his list of "the greatest conservative rock songs," saying, "The conservative movement is full of disillusioned revolutionaries; this could be their theme song." [2]

[edit] Media usage

"Won't Get Fooled Again" was featured in a commercial for the 2000 Nissan Maxima, and, later that same year, used on The Simpsons in episode BABF20 ("A Tale of Two Springfields"), in which The Who guest starred. It later became the theme song for the CBS television series CSI: Miami. It was also used as background music throughout the documentary Supersize Me by Morgan Spurlock.

This song is also used twice in the film, The Pick of Destiny.

The beginning of the song, featuring the synthesiser solo, is often played prior to the 1st inning at Yankee Stadium, the home of the New York Yankees baseball team. It is also traditionally played at Alumni Stadium as the Boston College Eagles football team takes the field. J.T. Snow used this song as his introduction music when he played for the San Francisco Giants. The song was also used in commercials for the BBC's coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The song was used as intro music for the AFC Champions, the Indianapolis Colts, for Super Bowl XLI.

Michael Moore requested to use the song over the end credits of his 2004 documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, as it tied in with both Moore's sentiments over George W. Bush's impending re-election, and the movie's last line, delivered by Bush — "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." However, permission was refused, and Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" was ultimately used instead. Townshend later said that Moore "bullied" him about his refusal, and defended his decision by saying that he was "not convinced" by Moore's previous film, Bowling for Columbine. [3]

An excerpt of the song was used in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind when Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) and Jim Byrd (George Clooney) discussed over the music how there was a mole in their operation.

[edit] Live 8

The song, along with "Who Are You", formed part of The Who's Live 8 line-up, which they performed in Hyde Park, London on July 2, 2005 to over 200,000 onlookers. It was also performed at the original Live Aid in 1985, along with "Love, Reign O'er Me", "My Generation" and "Pinball Wizard".