"Athena" (the working title being "Theresa") 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 ...

and recorded by

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 appears as the first track on the band's tenth studio album '' It's Hard'', released in 1982. Written for actress

Theresa Russell Theresa Lynn Russell ( Paup; born March 20, 1957) is an American actress whose career spans over four decades. Her Theresa Russell filmography, filmography includes over 50 feature films, ranging from mainstream to independent film, independent a ...

, the song was the first single from ''It's Hard''. The single was a moderate success, entering the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 4 September, reaching No. 28 (their final top 40 hit in the US) and the UK Singles Charts on 2 October, reaching No. 40.

Background

"Athena" was originally written by Pete Townshend after an encounter with the American actress

. After seeing a

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

performance on their

The Wall Tour ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

, with Russell and her friend, Bill Minkin, Townshend was rejected by the actress when he attempted to romance her. Townshend said of the incident: Under the working title "Theresa," the song's name was changed to "Athena." Despite this alteration, Townshend still felt the song was too personal, claiming, "It was just too revealing."

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 ...

, however, disliked the song for this change. A demo for the original "Theresa" was first recorded and presented to the Who by Pete Townshend during the ''

Face Dances ''Face Dances'' is the ninth studio album by the English rock band the Who. It was released in 1981 by Warner Bros. in the United States (the band's first release on that label) and on Polydor in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Who stud ...

'' sessions. However, the song was not used until ''It's Hard.'' On "Athena" Roger Daltrey and Townshend share

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

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 ...

also adds horns to the track.

Kenney Jones Kenneth Thomas Jones (born 16 September 1948) is an English drummer best known for his work in the groups Small Faces, Faces and the Who. Jones was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Small Faces/Faces. Biograp ...

said of his drumming on the song, "I had a nice time playing that song. I got to have some fun with its arrangement."

Release

"Athena" was released as the first single from ''It's Hard'', backed with "A Man Is a Man" in Britain and "It's Your Turn" in America. The single achieved moderate chart success, reaching number 28 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but received good airplay on

album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. US rad ...

and later

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

radio formats. "Athena" also reached number 40 on the UK Singles Chart, making it both the band's last UK and US top 40 single. The single also reached number five in Canada. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described it as a "comparatively lilting love song set to a fast but fluid track" and said it was "one of the Who's most melodic and warmhearted" songs. In addition to appearing on ''It's Hard'', "Athena" also was released on both '' The Ultimate Collection'' (2002) and the deluxe edition of ''

The Who Hits 50! Billed as The Who Hits 50!, the Who's 2014–16 tour was a tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band. Roger Daltrey has referred to this tour as the band's "long goodbye" hinting that it will be the final tour for the Who. The tour co ...

'' (2014) compilation albums.

Live performances

The Who only played "Athena" a total of ten times on the band's 1982 tour, and have not played the song again ever since. On October 30, 2017, at Ruth Eckerd Hall in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...

, Roger Daltrey performed "Athena" live for the first time in 35 years.

References

External links

* 1982 singles The Who songs Songs written by Pete Townshend Polydor Records singles Warner Records singles Song recordings produced by Glyn Johns 1982 songs {{1980s-rock-song-stub