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TL;DR:

  • Pete Townshend considered The Who’s “I Can See for Miles” to be a masterpiece.
  • He expected and wanted the song to become a hit a lot sooner than it did.
  • The initial performance of the song made him feel his financial situation was “bleak.”
The Who's Pete Townshend, Keith Moon, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle wearing collared shirts
The Who’s Pete Townshend, Keith Moon, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle | The Visualeyes Archive/Redferns

Pete Townshend said he was “shocked” The Who‘s “I Can See for Miles” didn’t become a hit immediately. He saw the song as his masterpiece. In addition, he revealed a famous composer praised the musicianship of “I Can See for Miles.”

Pete Townshend expected The Who’s ‘I Can See for Miles’ to sweep his band to ‘eternal glory’

In his 2012 book Who I Am: A Memoir, Townshend discussed “I Can See for Miles.” “‘I Can See for Miles’ wasn’t shooting up the charts as a single, which was a shock to me; I really had expected my masterwork to sweep us to eternal glory,” he wrote. 

“A few weeks after its release [producer Kit Lambert’s] godfather, the English composer Sir William Walton, wrote me a note congratulating me on the ambitious harmonies,” Townshend said. “Kit had done a wonderful job of recording this time; the test we brought back from Gold Star studios in California sounded spectacular on the mono single release.” For context, Walton is most known for his pieces Façade, Belshazzar’s Feast, Crown Imperial, and Orb and Sceptre.

Pete Townshend said the performance of the song was the result of the record label doing its job poorly

Townshend revealed the acclaim didn’t mean the song was a hit. “Yet it was being received in the U.K. with a lukewarm response, and climbing the charts slowly,” he recalled. “I worried that Track [Records] weren’t pushing it properly; if that was the case, to whom could we complain?”

“We all saw Track as our own record label at the time,” he added. “The single did better in the U.S., but was still rather slow. The financial picture was bleak.”

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How ‘I Can See for Miles’ performed on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“I Can See for Miles” reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed on the chart for 11 weeks. The Who put “I Can See for Miles” on the album The Who Sell Out, which hit No. 48 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 24 weeks.

According to The Official Charts Company, “I Can See for Miles” was similarly successful in the United Kingdom. The tune peaked at No. 10 and stayed on the chart for 12 weeks. On the other hand, The Who Sell Out reached No. 13 and remained on the chart for 11 weeks.

“I Can See for Miles” became a big hit even if it took a while.

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