The Who rose to fame in the UK with a series of top ten hit singles, boosted in part by pirate radio stations such as Radio Caroline, beginning in January 1965 with "I Can't Explain". The albums My Generation (1965), A Quick One (1966) and The Who Sell Out (1967) followed, with the first two reaching the UK top five. They first hit the US Top 40 in 1967 with "Happy Jack" and hit the top ten later that year with "I Can See for Miles". Their fame grew with memorable performances at the Monterey Pop, Woodstock and Isle of Wight music festivals. The 1969 release of Tommy was their first major commercial success, reaching number 4 in the US charts. Various sources estimate the album has now sold over 20 million copies internationally. This was followed up by the successes of Who's Next (1971), Quadrophenia (1973), The Who by Numbers (1975), and Who Are You (1978). With the exception of The Who by Numbers, all of these reached the top 5 of the US charts, with by Numbers making the top 10. Also successful was the live album Live At Leeds (1970), and the soundtrack album The Kids Are Alright (1979), reaching number 4 and 8 on the US charts, respectively.
Keith Moon died at the age of 32 on 7 September 1978, after which the band released two studio albums, the UK and US top five Face Dances (1981) and the US top ten It's Hard (1982), with drummer Kenney Jones from The Small Faces/The Faces, before disbanding in 1983. They re-formed at events such as Live Aid and for reunion tours such as their 25th anniversary tour at The Royal Hall with guest stars Billy Idol, Elton John and Shirley Bassey in 1989 and the Quadrophenia tours of 1996, 1997, and 2012. In 2000, the three surviving original members discussed recording an album of new material, but their plans were temporarily stalled by Entwistle's death at the age of 57 in 2002. Townshend and Daltrey continue to perform as The Who and in 2006 they released the studio album Endless Wire, which reached the top ten in the UK and US.
The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, their first year of eligibility; the display describes them as "Prime contenders, in the minds of many, for the title of World's Greatest Rock Band." TIME magazine wrote in 1979 that "No other group has ever pushed rock so far, or asked so much from it." Rolling Stone magazine wrote: "Along with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, The Who complete the holy trinity of British rock." They received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1988 and from the Grammy Foundation in 2001, for creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording. In 2008 surviving members Townshend and Daltrey were honoured at the 31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors. That same year VH1 Rock Honors paid tribute to The Who where Jack Black of Tenacious D called them "the greatest band of all time."
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