List of the Who band members

The Who are an English rock band, founded in 1961 under the name The Detours. When the band changed their name to The Who in 1964, the band's classic line-up was founders Roger Daltrey (vocals), Pete Townshend (guitar), John Entwistle (bass) and Keith Moon (drums). Founding members Daltrey and Townshend have been the band's only constant members throughout its history.

History
The band was first founded by Roger Daltrey under the name The Detours in 1959, the first line-up in mid 1961, included Pete Townshend on lead guitar, Daltrey on rhythm guitar, John Entwistle on bass, Harry Wilson on drums, and Colin Dawson on vocals. Wilson was fired in mid-1962 and replaced by Doug Sandom.

Dawson left after frequently arguing with Daltrey and was briefly replaced by Gabby Connolly, before Daltrey moved to lead vocals. Townshend, with Entwistle's encouragement, became the sole guitarist. Sandom was fired after an argument with Townshend in 1964, the band continued with stand-in drummers, until Keith Moon joined in April of that year.

Moon was the band's drummer, until his death on 7 September 1978, the band decided to continue without Moon. He was replaced by Kenney Jones, who had previously played with the Small Faces and Faces, who joined that November. Joining alongside Jones were keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick and a four piece horn section consisting of Dick Parry and Howie Casey (saxophone), David Caswell (trumpet), and Reg Brooks (trombone). The horn section departed in 1980 and Bundrick departed in 1981. The latter was replaced by Tim Gorman for the band's final tour in 1982. The Who broke up in 1983.

The who reunited at Live Aid in 1985, with Jones and Bundrick reprising their roles. The band reunited again in 1988, which the same personnel. In 1989, the band embarked on a 25th-anniversary The Kids Are Alright reunion tour with Simon Phillips on drums, Steve "Boltz" Bolton on second guitarist, Jody Linscott on percussion, Simon Clarke and Tim Sanders on saxophone, Roddy Lorimer and Simon Gardner on trumpet, Neil Sidwell on trombone, and Chyna Gordon, Cleveland Watkiss and Billy Nicholls on backing vocals.

The band reformed again, at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction with Paul Shaffer and The World's Most Dangerous Band as backup band.

The band tour again in 1996, with an expanded band, consisting of, John "Rabbit" Bundrick on keyboards, Zak Starkey on drums, Simon Townshend on second guitar, Jon Carin on keyboards Jody Linscott on percussion, Dennis Farias, Nick Lane and Roy Wiegand on horns, Simon Gardner on trumpet, Neil Sidwell on trombone, and Billy Nicholls on backing vocals, and as musical director.

In late 1999, The Who performed as a five-piece for the first time since 1985, with Bundrick on keyboards and Starkey on drums. The band toured the US and UK from June to October 2000, with Simon Townshend returning as second guitarist. The Who played concerts in the UK in early 2002 in preparation for a full US tour. On 27 June, the day before the first date, Entwistle, 57, was found dead of a heart attack at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. Cocaine was a contributing factor.

Entwistle's son, Christopher, gave a statement supporting The Who's decision to carry on. The US tour began at the Hollywood Bowl with touring bassist Pino Palladino. Bundrick took hiatus from the band to tend terminally ill wife between November 2006 and March 2007 and was substituted for by his keyboard tech Brian Kehew.

The band played at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, with Chris Stainton on keyboards and Morgan Nicholls on bass. The Quadrophenia and More tour started in November 2012 in Ottawa with keyboardists John Corey, Loren Gold and Frank Simes, the last of whom was also musical director, second guitarist Simon Townshend, and J. Greg Miller and Reggie Grisham on brass. Miller and Grisham both departed in 2013. Corey and Simes both departed in 2017.

The band started touring with an orchestra in 2019, Billy Nichols returned as musical director and backing vocalist, Keith Levenson joined as conductor, Katie Jacoby on lead violin, Audrey Q. Snyder on lead cello, Emily Marshall on second keyboards. Randy Landau joined as lead contrabassist in 2022.