Remove ads
"Waspman" is a mainly instrumental song by The Who, credited to their drummer Keith Moon. The song is the B-side to The Who's single "Relay" (entitled "The Relay" in the United States).
| "Waspman" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Instrumental by The Who | |
| Released | 16 June 1972 (United States) 23 December 1972 (United Kingdom) |
| Recorded | 26 May 1972 at Olympic Studios, London[1] |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 3:09 |
| Label | Track Records/MCA |
| Songwriter(s) | Keith Moon |
| Producer(s) | The Who Glyn Johns |
The song is supposedly a tribute to Link Wray, who became famous for his 1958 instrumental hit "Rumble" by Link Wray and his Ray Men. He introduced "the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists" such as Pete Townshend of The Who.[2]
It is thought that John Entwistle wrote the song but gave the credit to Moon,[citation needed] as all members of The Who were supposed to write at least two B-sides, although Roger Daltrey only wrote one, "Here for More", the B-side for "The Seeker" in 1970.
Remove ads
"Waspman" originates from an incident in the late 1960s during one of The Who's many plane flights while touring.
During some white-knuckle turbulence, Moon and a groupie escaped to the bathroom. Shortly after, Moon burst forth with the groupie's bra wrapped over his head and announced, "I'll save you! I'm Wasp Man!" In addition to writing this song, Keith Moon also bought a wasp costume and wore it whenever the mood struck him.[3]
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
Remove ads