"Real Good Looking Boy" is a song written by

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...

, the guitarist of the English rock band

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

. It was originally released in 2004 on the compilation album '' Then and Now'', and was one of two new songs on that album, the other being "Old Red Wine". Together, they were the first new songs released by the Who for 15 years. It was later released as an edited single backed with the aforementioned song. "Real Good Looking Boy" was later performed in the 2007 rock musical ''

The Boy Who Heard Music ''The Boy Who Heard Music'' is a rock opus that began life as an Internet novella written by musician and songwriter Pete Townshend. Townshend wrote in the foreword to the novella that he typically sketches out his opera in this way to lay out ...

''. The song peaked at #28 on the

Heritage rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

chart. Bassist

Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 – 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and b ...

and drummer

Zak Starkey Zak Richard Starkey (born 13 September 1965) is an English rock drummer who toured and recorded with the Who from 1996 to 2025. He is also the third drummer to have appeared with Oasis. Other musicians and bands he has worked with include Johnny ...

, as well as keyboardist

John "Rabbit" Bundrick John Douglas "Rabbit" Bundrick (born November 21, 1948) is an American keyboardist and vocalist. He is best known for his work with The Who and associations with others including Eric Burdon, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Roger Waters, Free and ...

played on this song.

Lyrical meaning

The song was a tribute to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. During live performances,

Roger Daltrey Sir Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Who, known for his powerful voice and charismatic stage presence. His stage persona ear ...

gives a short introduction to the song, describing it as a song about "a man that changed my life at the age of 11. I saw Elvis Presley live at 11. Thank God I did, I loved him because everybody under the age of 20 thought they were Elvis and dressed like him. Everybody over 20 hated him and that was good enough for me." The piano intro borrows from the Elvis song "

Can't Help Falling in Love "Can't Help Falling in Love" is a song written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss and published by Gladys Music, Inc. The melody is based on " Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-� ...

", and one of the later verses in "Real Good Looking Boy" uses lyrics from the first verse of the Elvis song. The first part of the song is about Pete Townshend growing up and realizing that he was not a good looking boy, that he was not part of the cool good-looking group of boys his age and the trials, tribulations that everyone goes through in life. The second part is where the Elvis tribute comes into play and also where the song speaks of falling in love. The third part is where Townshend pays homage to finding true love and being made to feel like a "real good looking boy".

Personnel

*Guitars, backing vocals: Pete Townshend *Lead vocals:

*Bass guitar:

*Drums:

*Piano:

*Additional guitars and keyboards:

Simon Townshend Simon Townshend (; born 10 October 1960) is a British guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is the younger brother of the Who's guitarist Pete Townshend, and is most associated with The Who and the various side projects of its original members ...

*Producer: Simon Townshend at Eel Pie Oceanic Studios, London c. Nov. 2003 *

Engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while consider ...

Bob Pridden Bob Pridden (born 1946) is an English audio engineer, roadie, and record producer, best known for his long-standing position as principal sound engineer for the rock band the Who. He has also worked with a number of other rock musicians and wi ...

and Myles Clarke

"Old Red Wine"

"Old Red Wine" was written for The Who's former

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

John Entwistle John Alec Entwistle (9 October 194427 June 2002) was an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band the Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band ...

, who died two years prior to the release of "Then and Now". The riff at the end of the song predated the actual song by a few years, being played at the end of some versions of "My Generation" from the 2000 tour. The riff was also played in a performance of the same song during Entwistle's last show, at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

on 8 February 2002. Portions of the song were also played sometimes after "My Generation" on the band's 2002 (after Entwistle's death), 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008 tours.

Personnel

*Guitars, piano, backing vocals: Pete Townshend *Lead vocals: Roger Daltrey *Bass guitar:

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A session bassist, he has played bass for a number of acts such as the Who, the John Mayer Trio, Gary Numan, Paul Young, Don Henle ...

*Drums: Zak Starkey *

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

and additional piano: John Bundrick *Producer: Simon Townshend at Eel Pie Oceanic Studios, London c. Early 2004 *Engineers: Bob Pridden and Myles Clarke

References

{{Authority control The Who songs Songs about Elvis Presley Songs written by Pete Townshend Songs written by George David Weiss 2004 songs Songs written by Hugo Peretti Songs written by Luigi Creatore Song recordings produced by Pete Townshend