Watch The Who’s Dynamite Performance On ‘Smothers Brothers’ Show

The Who burst onto the forefront of the 1960s British rock scene with their explosive – both figuratively and literally – live appearances that often saw the members of the band destroying their instruments and equipment to punctate a demonstrative performance. Drummer Keith Moon was particularly fond of small explosives and guitarist Pete Townshend was among the early guitarists to smash his guitar and topple his amps in a chaotic frenzy.

One of The Who’s most notorious destructive performances took place during a 1967 appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, which was hosted by The Smothers Brothers comedy duo. Brothers Dick Smothers and Tom Smothers were the namesake emcees of the variety show, which ran for two years and featured many prominent musical guests like Jefferson Airplane, Simon & Garfunkel, Ray Charles, Cream, Buffalo Springfield and others. Folk icon Pete Seeger’s appearance on the program broke a 17-year ban that originated during the McCarthyism blacklisting.

The Smothers Brothers themselves also regularly performed on their show, often incorporating political satire into their humorous musical skits. Tom Smothers, who died on December 26 at age 86, perhaps knew what to expect when selecting The Who to be musical guests on an episode that aired on September 17, 1967.

Introducing some of the acts (but not The Who), Tom Smothers was at the Monterey International Pop Festival held in June 1967 featuring Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Ravi Shankar and many others. Jimi Hendrix famously set his guitar on fire and The Who’s set ended with Moon and Townshend destroying the stage.

While Tom might have been prepared for an explosive performance by The Who when they appeared on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Keith Moon’s true plans remained hidden until after the taping began.

After miming along to “I Can See For Miles,” The Who followed by playing along to “My Generation.” At the end of “My Generation,” a massive explosive went off, blowing up Moon’s kit as Townshend was blown back from smashing his guitar on his stack of amps. The massive blast caused Townshend to experience permanent hearing damage.

The Who frontman Roger Daltrey recalled the explosive experience in 2015, telling Howard Stern:

“It was all done by a pyrotechnic guy. And when we did the rehearsal, it just went [mimics sound] and … a little puff of smoke came out. The guy didn’t realize he’s dealing with Keith Moon. So Keith goes out and buys a couple of bottles of brandy and he says to the guy, ‘Come on, let’s go and have a drink.’

“And by the end of the day, the guy kind of didn’t realize what he was putting into the cannon and when it went off, it really was like a bomb going off.

“This is on the Smothers [Brothers] – live on TV – and this thing blew up, the drum kit blew apart, the bass drum. Keith had shrapnel in his arm. If you see him, he’s bleeding.

“And if you watch, if you can slow it down, Pete’s hair literally goes straight up and it stays up because it’s fried and he’s patting his head because it’s alight … It just blew me over. I thought I got shot …

“We thought it was wonderful … [but] we were in terrible trouble with the fire marshals. We all nearly got arrested. The Smothers Brothers, they nearly lost their whole series. It got really serious. And that was the downside but we thought it was great.

The Who’s appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour was used to open the 1979 documentary about the band, The Kids Are Alright. The film begins at the end of “I Can See For Miles” and includes Tom Smothers’ comedic survey of the members of The Who. Hinting at the (unknowingly potent) explosive ending that was planned, Smothers told the audience to be prepared for a surprise before the start of “My Generation.”

Watch The Who’s appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour below: