Top 10 Roger Daltrey Songs

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Our top 10 Roger Daltrey songs list presents some of the best Roger Daltrey songs outside of his work with the band The Who. It’s pretty much a no-brainer that when one thinks of the voice of Roger Daltrey, one thinks of The Who. The sound, the look, and the persona of Roger Daltrey will forever be connected to the band The Who. The legendary band The Who stands as one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time. For a short period of time, the band was fueled by four very distinct personalities in the musicianship of Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, and of course Keith Moon.

The group The Who had an amazing fourteen-year run from 1964 to 1979. That run ended in 1979 when Keith Moon died. The band continued on with Kenny Jones as his replacement for a while, but they were never the same. Sadly, John Entwistle passed away in 2002. Yet Roger and Pete have continued to tour as The Who and quite honestly they have constantly put on spectacular shows. It’s just not the Who that we knew in the 1960s and 70s.

During the band’s glory years Pete, Roger and John all put out solo albums. This article takes a closer look at the Roger Daltrey solo material. Most lead singers from superstar bands are always looking to see what they can do as solo artists, even when their main bands are still together. Mick Jagger, Ann Wilson, and many others all ventured out on their own and then of course recorded more albums with their groups.

Roger Daltrey released his first album in 1973 entitled Daltrey. This was during a peak period of The Who’s career in between the albums Who’s Next and The Who By Numbers and the same year the Who’s grand album Quadrophenia came out. With the band releasing those phenomenal albums it can be easy to see how Roger’s solo albums would be overlooked. Since his debut solo album in 1973, Roger Daltrey has released eight more solo albums. His most recent solo album entitled As Long as I Have You was released in 2018.

# 10 – Avenging Annie

We open up our top 10 Roger Daltrey songs list with the classic song entitled “Avenging Annie.” This is easily one of the most underrated rock songs in classic history. The song was originally written by Andy Pratt. Sadly, no one ever had a really big hit with the song. It should have been a much bigger song. Roger does the song due justice of course. Roger Daltrey’s version was released on his album One of the Boys. It was the second single released from the album. The album was released in 1977.

# 9 – Thinking

Continuing with our top 10 Roger Daltrey songs list we take a listen to the acoustic guitar driven song entitled “Thinking.” Some echoes of country can be heard through this one with a little bit of The Beatles thrown in for good measure. The song was released on the album entitled Daltrey. The album was released in 1973. It was the second single released from the album. The song was a minor hit on the UK Music Charts peaking at number sixty one. The song “Thinking” was composed by David Courtney and Leo Sayer.

# 8 – Without Your Love

In the number eight spot on our top 10 Roger Daltrey songs list we celebrate the song entitled “Without Your Love.” This sentimental ballad was released on the soundtrack album McVicar. The album was released in 1980. The song was composed by Billy Nicholls, Even though the album was released in 1980, the song sounds like something Roger would have recorded in the early 1970s. This is a great one.

# 7 – There Is Love

In the number seven position on our top 10 Roger Daltrey songs list is the song entitled “There Is Love.” Chance are you may have never heard this one before. The song was never released on any of Roger Daltrey’s solo albums. It was released as the b-side to “Thinking.” This is an old-school sounding bonus recording with Roger Daltrey singing against a solo piano before it breaks into a big-time gospel arrangement. What makes this one even more special is that’s Jimmy Page playing guitar. Roger Daltrey and Jimmy Page together on vinyl. Yeah baby, don’t you just love it?

# 6 – Under A Raging Moon

Landing in the number six spot on our top 10 Roger Daltrey songs list we present the song “Under A Raging Moon.” This one starts out with a bouncing eight note keyboard pattern that’s very similar to the keyboard patterns on “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and Baba O’Reilly” which was intentional due to the meaning of the song. The song takes a much different turn than the Who classic, yet it’s still a song filled with passion and energy delivered on all fronts. It’s classic rock for the 80s and Roger hit a home run with this one.

The song was released on the album also entitled Under A Raging Moon. The album was released in 1980. The song was composed by John Parr and Julia Downes. The song and the song’s title stand as a tribute to Keith Moon. The drum tribute performance on the song was performed by Stewart Copeland of The Police, Carl Palmer of Emerson Lake & Palmer and Martin Chambers of The Pretenders.

# 5 – Giving It All Away

At the halfway point on our top 10 Roger Daltrey songs list is the passionate song entitled “Giving It All Away.” This was Roger Daltrey’s first solo single release. The song was issued on the album entitled Daltrey. The album was released in 1973. It was the first single released from the album. The song “Giving It All Away,” was written by Leo Sayer and David Courtney. “Giving It All Away,” would become a top 10 hit on the UK Music Charts peaking at number five.

# 4 – Walking in My Sleep

At the number four spot on our top 10 Roger Daltrey songs list we present the song entitled “Walking in My Sleep.” The song was released on the album entitled Ride a Rock Horse. The album was released in 1975. Roger Daltrey covered this classic Rufus Thomas song showing off his blues side. It was the first single released from the album. The song was a hit on the US Billboard Rock Charts peaking at number five. This is a fun one.

# 3 -Parting Would Be Painless

Moving along on our top 10 Roger Daltrey songs list we present the song entitled “Parting Would Be Painless.” The song was released on the album entitled Parting Would Be Painless. This one sounds nothing like Roger Daltrey had ever released before. It’s very possible that’s one of the reasons why we have always really liked this song. It’s a bit of a film noir-style sounding song, which we also really appreciate. Old school Who fans may not like this one, but we do.

# 2 – Free Me

In the number two spot on our top 10 Roger Daltrey songs list we present the rocking song entitled “Free Me.” This one sounds like a Who song. Roger lights it up on this one echoing the work he did on albums like Who’s Next, Tommy and Quadrophenia. The song “Free Me,” was released on the soundtrack album McVicar. The album was released in 1980. It was the first single released from the album. “Free Me,” was written by the great songwriter Russ Ballard who has written hundreds of classic rock songs for bands like Three Dog Night, Santana, America, and many more. Listen to Roger Daltrey’s vocals on this one, where he hits some extremely high notes.

# 1 – After The Fire

We close out our top 10 Roger Daltrey songs list with the song entitled “After The Fire.” The song was released on the album entitled Under a Raging Moon. The song After The Fire was Roger Daltrey’s highest-charting song on the US Billboard Rock Charts where it peaked at number three. It’s a great song, but it’s Roger Daltrey’s vocal performances on this recording that sold it to us as the number one song on our Top 10 Roger Daltrey songs list. What makes this pick even sweeter is that the song was written by Pete Townshend.