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Several names later, The Who hit it big

The Who in Abu Dhabi
Roger Daltrey , left, and Pete Townshend of The Who headline the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix F1 Concert on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014.
Baiju Sunder/AP

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Today's Morning Edition music is from a group that was first known as the Detours.

For a while they were known as the High Numbers.

Pete Townsend thought they should be called The Hair.

But 50 years ago today the band began a 16-week engagement at London's Marquee Club with a name that would stick: The Who.

They would soon release their first single "I Can't Explain," which Townsend says he wrote to sound like the music of another British band they admired: The Kinks. It would make it to No. 8 on the UK pop chart.