Probably the most famous of all the Smothers Brothers shows. Why you ask? The Who had burst into the music scene at the Monterey Pop Festival in the summer of1967. This was their first national tv appearance. America would get its introduction on this episode when the Who ended an already explosive, nationally televised performance of "My Generation" with a literal bang that singed Pete Townshend's hair, left shrapnel in Keith Moon's arm and momentarily knocked The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour off the air.
Drummer Keith Moon was in the habit of placing an explosive charge in one his two bass drums to detonate during Pete Townshend's guitar-smashing at the end of each Who performance. But for their Smothers Brothers appearance, Moon packed several times the normal amount of explosives into his drum kit, and when he set it off, a gigantic explosion rocked the set as a cloud of white smoke engulfed Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey. Though bassist John Entwistle never lost his cool, Daltrey practically flew downstage and when Townshend emerged from the smoke, his hair was almost literally blown to one side of his head. Though the incredible explosion has been rumored to have caused Pete Townshend's eventual near-deafness. Pete Townshen said in an interview about the incident. "Keith persuaded the pyro-technician on the show to make a cannon, which he put inside his drum. And in the rehearsal it went bang, but it kind of made a lot of smoke and a bit of a dull thud. And Keith said, 'Listen, you must increase the charge.'" Stage manager Bob LeHendro complied but was unaware that the drummer added more explosives to the device, giving it three times the firepower. When Tommy Smothers introduced the group, he said the audience was "going to be surprised what happens." They were. As Townshend and John Entwhistle smashed their instruments into their amps, Moon's bass drum erupted.
"It set my hair alight," Townshend recalled. The guitarist then tacitly and awkwardly removed an acoustic guitar off Tommy and smashed it to bits, and Tommy even got in the fun, his mouth agape with shock. "Hey Dick," he said to his brother, "I'd like to borrow your bass for a minute."
The Who was known for among other things, the sheer volume at which they preferred to play and their penchant for leaving every stage they played on looking as if a bomb had just gone off. On this day in 1967, one actually did.
Drummer Keith Moon was in the habit of placing an explosive charge in one his two bass drums to detonate during Pete Townshend's guitar-smashing at the end of each Who performance. But for their Smothers Brothers appearance, Moon packed several times the normal amount of explosives into his drum kit, and when he set it off, a gigantic explosion rocked the set as a cloud of white smoke engulfed Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey. Though bassist John Entwistle never lost his cool, Daltrey practically flew downstage and when Townshend emerged from the smoke, his hair was almost literally blown to one side of his head. Though the incredible explosion has been rumored to have caused Pete Townshend's eventual near-deafness. Pete Townshen said in an interview about the incident. "Keith persuaded the pyro-technician on the show to make a cannon, which he put inside his drum. And in the rehearsal it went bang, but it kind of made a lot of smoke and a bit of a dull thud. And Keith said, 'Listen, you must increase the charge.'" Stage manager Bob LeHendro complied but was unaware that the drummer added more explosives to the device, giving it three times the firepower. When Tommy Smothers introduced the group, he said the audience was "going to be surprised what happens." They were. As Townshend and John Entwhistle smashed their instruments into their amps, Moon's bass drum erupted.
"It set my hair alight," Townshend recalled. The guitarist then tacitly and awkwardly removed an acoustic guitar off Tommy and smashed it to bits, and Tommy even got in the fun, his mouth agape with shock. "Hey Dick," he said to his brother, "I'd like to borrow your bass for a minute."
The Who was known for among other things, the sheer volume at which they preferred to play and their penchant for leaving every stage they played on looking as if a bomb had just gone off. On this day in 1967, one actually did.