Who I Am: A Memoir

One of rock music’s most intelligent and literary performers, Pete Townshend–guitarist, songwriter, editor–tells his closest-held stories about the origins of the preeminent twentieth-century band The Who, his own career as an artist and performer, and his restless life in and out of the public eye in this candid autobiography, Who I Am.

With eloquence, fierce intelligence, and brutal honesty, Townshend has written a deeply personal book that also stands as a primary source for popular music’s greatest epoch. Readers will be confronted by a man laying bare who he is, an artist who has asked for nearly sixty years: Who are you?

"Raw and unsparing...as intimate and as painful as a therapy session, while chronicling the history of the band as it took shape in the Mod scene in 1960s London and became the very embodiment of adolescent rebellion and loud, anarchic rock 'n' roll."

Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

"Intensely intimate...candid to the point of self-laceration...[Townshend's] tone is less lofty than anyone would have expected, just as this book is more honest than any fan would have hoped."

Rolling Stone

"Unusually frank and moving...[Who I Am] isn't one of those rock memoirs that puts the what before the why. His past is a puzzle Mr. Townshend is sweating to decipher."

The Guardian (UK)

"Who I Am reveals that Townshend is a man who, despite his successes, remains filled with self-doubt and a quiet self-loathing that nothing, other than an ability to forgive himself for his shortcomings, will ever cure. Then again, we probably wouldn’t want him any other way and, despite his occasional self-flogging, he’s also a funny, and perhaps even warm man, who has given us one of the better rock autobiographies of the year."

PopMatters

"You'd think being one of the mightiest guitarists and songwriters in rock history would be, y'know, AWESOME. And yet, in Who I Am, a gargantuan memoir written with all manner of fever-dream angst and gray-cloud recall, the 67-year-old Townshend comes off as a deeply tormented Brit, tirelessly feeding "the polarities of my ego — the artistic grandiosity and the desperately low self-regard." The first time he wrecked a guitar was a mistake; after the second smash, however, "music would never be the same." And so on."

Tampa Bay Times

Description

He is one of the greatest musical talents Britain has ever produced. But even as the principle songwriter and lead guitarist for The Who, it would be unjust to define Pete Townshend’s life simply through his achievements with bandmates Daltrey, Moon and Entwistle. Noting that he has sold over 100 million records over a fifty-year period goes some way to quantifying his accomplishments, but numbers only scratch the surface of his contribution to popular culture. An avid student of his profession, during his career he has been credited with the creation of the concept album, worked as a literary editor, developed scripts for television and the stage, and written songs that have defined a generation.

The thinking man’s rock star with a dedication to his craft unlike any other in the business, he continues to inspire new generations of performers and writers with a continuing commitment to his art. Now, in one of the most eagerly awaited autobiographies of recent times, this icon tells about his incredible life and elaborates on the turbulences of time spent as one of the world’s most respected musicians – being in one of rock’s greatest ever bands, and wanting to give it all up. Incredibly, as a man who has achieved so much, this truly unique story of ambition, relentless perfectionism and rock and roll excess will be regarded as one of his greatest achievements.

Additional information

Publisher	Harper Perennial
Publish Date	August 06, 2013
Pages	576
Dimensions	5.49 X 9.43 X 1.0 inches, 1.31 pounds
Language	English
Type	Paperback
EAN/UPC	9780062127259