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The Who<\/a> entered Rock and Roll history led by guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend, who formed the perfect line-up alongside Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon and John Entwistle<\/a>. Together, they made some of the albums that changed Rock music forever and inspired countless artists around the world.<\/p>\n Although the band continued after Moon tragically passed away in 1978 at the age of 32, both the fans and the group still missed him, remembering him as an irreplaceable member. Townshend once explained why Keith was so special as both a musician and a person.<\/p>\n Why Keith Moon was so special according to Pete Townshend<\/p>\n Although Keith Moon<\/a> was not always easy to deal with, Pete once recalled an interesting story that shows how special the drummer was. He said that, despite being physically ill at times, Moon was still able to deliver an incredible performance. \u201cHe once took eight elephant tranquilizers in San Francisco and survived. Couldn\u2019t move, couldn\u2019t play.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe was in a wheelchair for two days. I have a Super-8 film of when we brought him off the plane in a wheelchair. The doctor from the Free Clinic says, \u2018His heart is only beating once every 30 seconds! He\u2019s clinically dead!\u2019 And Keith says (mumbles), \u2018F*ck off. \u201d That is not apocryphal.\u201d I have it on film. It was sad, because he had alienated so many people around him by his obstinate clinging to his image. That was a good analogy to Sid Vicious.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbout halfway through the recording of \u2018Who Are You\u2019, he was showing up late and not playing very well and I got into this mood: \u2018I\u2019m not taking any more of his shit.\u2019 So I rang him up and told him to get the f*ck down here. He came running down, babbling excuses. I got him behind the drums and he could not keep the song together. He couldn\u2019t play. He\u2019d obviously been out the night before to some club.He\u2019d put his work second.<\/p>\n He continued:<\/p>\n \u201cAgain. But before I could say anything, he went [imitates chaotic drum solo]. \u201cSee?\u201d he said. \u2018I\u2019m still the best Keith Moon-type drummer in the world.\u2019 There was nobody to top him doing that. But unless you wanted that, you were f*cked. It happened that on that song, we didn\u2019t want that, Keith wrestling himself. He was funny, but he was capable of so much more. He was such a wonderful drummer, not just an apeshit drummer. But he had reduced himself to that in the eyes of the world and in his own eyes. A couple of days after that, he started to call me up just to say good night and I love you,\u201d Pete Townshend said in an interview with Musician<\/a> magazine in 1989.<\/p>\n During the same conversation, he recalled that Keith later kept calling him about ten times, saying that he loved him, and Pete could tell he was crying a little. Moon would ask the guitarist, \u201cYou do believe me, don\u2019t you?\u201d, and Pete would reply, \u201cYes, but you\u2019re still an asshole.\u201d<\/p>\n After that, he helped Moon to rent a flat in London, as the drummer was broke after buying a house in California that no one later wanted to buy. It was meant to help his bandmate get back on his feet, but only a few days later, Moon died in that same apartment. Curiously, a couple of years later, when the flat was still owned by Harry Nilsson, The Mamas and The Papas singer Cass Elliott<\/a> also died there.<\/p>\n Pete said that Keith Moon didn\u2019t keep time when playing<\/p>\n Although Keith Moon is one of the most influential drummers of all time and, in most cases, drummers are expected to keep time, Pete said that the late musician didn\u2019t. \u201cRoger made a point once when listening to some records, you know, the stems of the records. He listened to the drums and the vocals on their own and he said to the interviewer: \u2018Listen, Keith Moon is following the vocals, he is following my vocals\u2019.<\/p>\n