Baba O'Riley
Updated: 12/11/2025, 5:43:41 PM Wikipedia source
"Baba O'Riley", sometimes mistakenly referred to as "Teenage Wasteland", is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by guitarist and principal songwriter Pete Townshend. It is the opening track to the Who's fifth studio album, Who's Next (1971). In Europe, it was released as a single in October 1971, coupled with "My Wife". Performances of "Baba O'Riley" appear on several Who live albums. Widely regarded as one of the Who's finest songs and as one of the greatest rock songs of all time, "Baba O'Riley" appears in Time's "All-Time 100 Songs" list, Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
Infobox
B-side
"My Wife"
Released
October 1971 (1971-10)
Recorded
May 1971
Studio
Olympic (London)
Genre
Hard rock art rock
Length
5:00
Label
Polydor
Songwriter
Pete Townshend
Producer
The Who
Tables
1972 chart performance for "Baba O'Riley" · Charts
Australia (Kent Music Report)
Australia (Kent Music Report)
Chart (1972)
Australia (Kent Music Report)
Peakposition
80
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)
Chart (1972)
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)
Peakposition
13
Netherlands (Single Top 100)
Netherlands (Single Top 100)
Chart (1972)
Netherlands (Single Top 100)
Peakposition
11
| Chart (1972) | Peakposition |
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 80 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) | 13 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) | 11 |
2012 chart performance for "Baba O'Riley" · Charts
France (SNEP)
France (SNEP)
Chart (2012)
France (SNEP)
Peakposition
200
UK Singles (OCC)
UK Singles (OCC)
Chart (2012)
UK Singles (OCC)
Peakposition
55
| Chart (2012) | Peakposition |
| France (SNEP) | 200 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 55 |
Certifications for "Baba O'Riley" · Certifications
Italy (FIMI)
Italy (FIMI)
Region
Italy (FIMI)
Certification
Platinum
Certified units/sales
50,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)
United Kingdom (BPI)
Region
United Kingdom (BPI)
Certification
Platinum
Certified units/sales
600,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Region
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Italy (FIMI) | Platinum | 50,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
- "Baba O'Riley"http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Who&titel=Baba+O%27Riley&cat=s
- Who's Next 1995 Remastered Liner Notes Page 17
- The Who on Record: A Critical History, 1963–1998https://books.google.com/books?id=XveU8zHP6y4C&pg=PA158
- Cleveland.comhttps://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2018/03/250_greatest_songs_by_rock_rol.html
- The A.V. Clubhttps://www.avclub.com/the-who-best-songs-1851301969
- "Meher Baba"https://petetownshend.net/meher-baba
- "Come Together: The Rise of the Festival"https://www.sky.com/watch/title/programme/7da3e289-fca8-4900-aff7-7cf85fc5b1d5/come-together
- Guitar World Vol. 30 No. 9 pg. 76
- www.thewho.nethttp://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/guitar/lowrey.html
- "The Hypertext Who " Article Archive — The Who Puts the Bomp (1971)"https://web.archive.org/web/20140405071004/http://thewho.net/articles/townshen/crawdaddy_71.htm
- Rolling Stonehttps://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/the-who-baba-oriley-2-1225179/
- "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll"https://web.archive.org/web/20080707054811/http://www.rockhall.com/exhibithighlights/500-songs-by-name-ac/
- Rolling Stonehttps://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/readers-poll-the-greatest-live-cover-songs-20130212/8-pearl-jam-baba-oriley-0593864
- Pastehttps://www.pastemagazine.com/music/best-songs/the-20-best-songs-by-the-who
- Rolling Stonehttps://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-whos-50-greatest-songs-81794/
- New Yorkhttps://www.vulture.com/2010/02/the_who_performs_csi_medley.html
- Analyzing Popular Musichttps://archive.org/details/analyzingpopular00moor
- "DVD Verdict Review – That '70s Show: Season One"http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/that70sshowseason1.php
- Slashfilmhttp://www.slashfilm.com/peanuts-movie-trailer-3/
- Varietyhttps://variety.com/2019/tv/news/stranger-things-season-3-trailer-1203167415/
- BuzzFeedhttps://www.buzzfeed.com/jarrylee/the-ultimate-music-playlist-for-sense8-fans
- Forbeshttps://www.forbes.com/sites/tomwatson/2012/12/07/the-night-the-who-saved-new-york/
- "London Called, But Lakers Don't Figure to Be Back Any Time Soon"https://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers/post/_/id/10858/london-called-but-lakers-dont-figure-to-be-back-any-time-soon
- Post-Tribunehttps://web.archive.org/web/20111024171225/http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/7239309-556/qa-with-local-mma-announcer-ray-flores.html
- Vanity Fairhttp://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2011/07/out-to-lunch-joey-chestnut-201107
- highlycontrasting.comhttps://web.archive.org/web/20141021172941/http://www.highlycontrasting.com/2012/08/15/high-contrasts-olympic-story-part-3/
- "Did Roger Daltrey Forget the Lyrics to 'Baba O'Riley'?"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/did-roger-daltrey-forget-the-lyrics-to-baba-oriley/
- Rolling Stonehttps://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/pete-townshend-responds-to-furious-one-direction-fans-188813/
- Australian Chart Book 1970–1992
- "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Who" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.https://www.top40.nl/top40-artiesten/The-Who
- "The Who – Baba O'Riley" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Who&titel=Baba+O'Riley&cat=s
- "The Who – Baba O'Riley" (in French). Le classement de singles.https://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Who&titel=Baba+O'Riley&cat=s
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/20120825/7501/
- "Italian single certifications – The Who – Baba O'Riley"https://www.fimi.it/top-of-the-music/targhette/richiedi-targhetta/?id=6432
- "British single certifications – Who – Baba O'Riley"https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/13054-1463-1