Pete Townshend says The Who's Elvis tribute showcases his personal tragedy

One of the highlights of the current Who shows is their 2004 tribute to Elvis Presley, titled "Real Good Looking Boy." The song chronicles Pete Townshend's first impressions of "The King" as an 11-year-old, and how his music and message helped shape his teenage and adult life.

During the song, various film clips of Presley run on the stage's multiple screens, including two 1960 shots of a post-army Presley frozen on the sides of the stage.

Townshend told us that he wishes the band's nightly presentation of the song could delve further into Presley's state of mind: "The tragedy of Elvis and the tragedy perhaps of the way that it's being presented onstage by the Who, which is, it's the tragedy that's being presented. Which is that there's this beautiful, beautiful man and if we wanted to carry it to it's conclusion, what we should be doing is we should be looking at whether or not Elvis ever had any pleasure, or fun, or serenity, or contentment in the last couple of years of his life. But the appearance is that he didn't."

"Real Good Looking Boy" includes passages from Presley's 1962 Top Two hit "Can't Help Falling In Love." It was originally released on the band's compilation The Who: Then And Now - 1964-2004, and was the band's first original studio track in 15 years.

The Who's first studio album in 24 years, titled Endless Wire, debuted last week at Number Seven on the Billboard 200 chart.

The Who performed on Monday, November 13th, in Salt Lake City at the Delta Center.
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