Today in Music (1966): The Who released their second album, A Quick One

A Quick One (aka “Happy Jack”) The Who

Released: December 3, 1966 Peak: 67 US, 4 UK, 13 CN, 163 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: classic rock

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. Run, Run, Run [2:43] Boris the Spider [2:29] I Need You [2:25] Whiskey Man [2:58] Heat Wave [1:57] Cobwebs and Strange [2:31] Happy Jack [2:11] * Don’t Look Away [2:54] See My Way [1:53] So Sad about Us [3:04] A Quick One, While He’s Away [9:11] * on U.S. version of the album, which was called Happy Jack. “Heat Wave” was omitted from Happy Jack. Also from This Era: Substitute [3:47] I’m a Boy [2:34] The Players: Roger Daltrey (vocals) Pete Townshend (guitar, vocals) John Entwistle (bass) Keith Moon (drums)

Rating: 3.486 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings)

About the Album “The group's second album is a less impressive outing than their debut, primarily because, at the urging of their managers, all four members penned original material (though Pete Townshend wrote more than anyone else). The pure adrenaline of My Generation also subsided somewhat as the band began to grapple with more complex melodic and lyrical themes, especially on the erratic mini-opera, A Quick One While He's Away.” AM “Still, there's some great madness on Keith Moon's instrumental Cobwebs and Strange, and Townshend delivered some solid mod pop with Run Run Run and So Sad About Us. John Entwistle was also revealed to be a writer of considerable talent (and a morbid bent) on Whiskey Man and Boris the Spider.” AM U.S. Version In the US, the album was released as Happy Jack and contained the single of the same name. Reissue The 1995 reissue added 10 more cuts including the Ready, Steady, Who EP (“Batman,” “Bucket ‘T’,” “Barbara Ann,” and “Disguises”) along with songs “Doctor Doctor,” “I’ve Been Away,” “In the City,” “Happy Jack,” “Man with Money,” and “My Generation/Land of Hope and Glory.” The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Substitute The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend Lead Vocals: Roger Daltrey Released: single (3/4/1966), Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy (compilation, 1971), Greatest Hits (compilation, 1983), Who’s Better Who’s Best (compilation, 1988), My Generation: The Very Best of (compilation, 1996), The Ultimate Collection (compilation, 2002), Then & Now (compilation, 2004), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2009), Hits 50! (compilation, 2014) B-side: “Circles (Instant Party)” (UK), “Waltz for a Pig” (UK & US) Peak: 4 CL, 5 UK, 5 AU, 4 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 12.0 video, 20.35 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “Substitute” “establishes itself with a guita riff, but the music soon centers on John Entwistle’s powerful bass and Keith Moon’s wild drumming as Roger Daltrey yelps out Townshend’s contradictions.” DM “Back in 1966, Atco actually forced the band to rerecord the gaffe about ‘I look all white but my dad was black’ as ‘I try walking forward but my feet walk back,’ for fear of offending programming bigots.” DM “The record flopped in the States, anyway, like almost everything that the Who did in those days. The Who went on to a cool career and vast popularity achieved by recoding even lengthier Townshend opuses about the distance between appearance and reality. Seen in that light, ‘Substitute’ becomes a rehearsal for Tommy.” DM

I’m a Boy The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: single (8/26/1966), Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy (compilation, 1971), Who’s Better Who’s Best (compilation, 1988), My Generation: The Very Best of (compilation, 1996), The Ultimate Collection (compilation, 2002), Then & Now (compilation, 2004), Hits 50! (compilation, 2014) B-side: “In the City” Peak: 31 AR, 2 UK, 11 AU, 27 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.70 video, 1.36 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “Written for a projected sci-fi rock opera in which parents can choose the sex for their children, Pete Townshend’s ‘I’m a Boy’ looks at what happened when the order got mixed up.” DT

Run Run Run The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend Lead Vocals: Roger Daltrey Released: A Quick One (12/3/1966), Magic Bus (compilation, 1968) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.36 streaming

Boris the Spider The Who

Writer(s): John Entwistle Lead Vocals: John Entwistle Released: single (12/9/1966), A Quick One (12/3/1966), Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy (compilation, 1971), My Generation: The Very Best of (compilation, 1996), The Ultimate Collection (compilation, 2002), Hits 50! (compilation, 2014) B-side: “Whiskey Man” Peak: 13 CL, 29 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 3.1 video, 7.03 streaming About the Song: This song has been touted as John Entwistle’s first composition. He wrote the “horror song” in six minutes after a night drinking with Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones. The pair were making up funny animal names. According to Pete Townshend, it was Jimi Hendrix’s favorite song by the Who. It was released as a single in Japan, but not in the U.S. or UK. WK

I Need You The Who

Writer(s): Keith Moon Lead Vocals: Keith Moon Released: A Quick One (12/3/1966) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.28 streaming

Whiskey Man The Who

Writer(s): John Entwistle Lead Vocals: John Entwistle Released: B-side of “Boris the Spider” (12/9/1966), B-side of “Happy Jack” (US, 3/18/1967), A Quick One (12/3/1966) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.24 streaming

Heat Wave The Who

Writer(s): Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland Lead Vocals: Roger Daltrey with Pete Townshend Released: A Quick One (12/3/1966) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.21 streaming

Cobwebs and Strange The Who

Writer(s): Keith Moon Lead Vocals: instrumental Released: A Quick One (12/3/1966) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.21 streaming

Happy Jack The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend Lead Vocals: Roger Daltrey with John Entwistle and Pete Townshend Released: single (UK, 12/2/1966), single (US, 3/18/1967), Happy Jack (U.S. version of A Quick One, 12/3/1966), Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy (compilation, 1971), Who’s Better Who’s Best (compilation, 1988), My Generation: The Very Best of (compilation, 1996), The Ultimate Collection (compilation, 2002), Then & Now (compilation, 2004), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2009), Hits 50! (compilation, 2014) B-side: “I’ve Been Away” (UK), “Whiskey Man” (US) Peak: 24 BB, 13 CB, 16 HR, 6 CL, 3 UK, 11 CN, 4 AU, 6 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 4.10 video, 7.57 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “Happy Jack” was the sixth top-ten hit for the Who in the UK but it was the band’s first trek into the top 40 in the United States. Pete Townshend said, “This is Paul McCartney’s favorite Who song – tellingly because it was partly inspired by ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ which I thought was a small masterpiece.” AS Townshend was inspired by a childhood memory of a man who played with the children when the family vacationed in the Isle of Man. When Roger Daltrey, who typically sang lyrics written by Townshend, heard the song, he wasn’t sure what to do with it. As he said, “I had a picture in my head that this was the kind of song that Burl Ives would sing, so ‘Happy Jack’ was my imitation of Burl Ives!” AS

Don’t Look Away The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend Lead Vocals: Roger Daltrey Released: A Quick One (12/3/1966) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.34 streaming

See My Way The Who

Writer(s): Roger Daltrey Lead Vocals: Roger Daltrey Released: A Quick One (12/3/1966) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.17 streaming

A Quick One, While He’s Away The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend Lead Vocals: Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Pete Townshend Released: A Quick One (12/3/1966) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 4.06 streaming About the Song: This mini opera is considered a predecessor to the elaborate rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia which Pete Townshend composed for The Who. It is comprised of six parts: I. Her Man’s Been Gone [0:23] II. Crying Town [1:37] III. We Have a Remedy [1:32] IV. Ivor the Engine Driver [1:42] V. Soon Be Home [1:26] VI. You Are Forgiven [2:30]

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Richie Unterberger AS AmericanSongwriter.com (11/15/2024). “The Story Behind ‘Happy Jack’ by the Who and Why It’s Paul McCartney’s Favorite Song by the Band” by Jay McDowell DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Page 222. DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 35. WK Wikipedia page for “Boris the Spider” Related DMDB Pages: First posted 4/5/2008; last updated 9/1/2025.