Dogs

Album: 30 Years of Maximum R&B (1968)
Charted: 25
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This tribute to White City's dog track was inspired by Pet Townshend's friend Chris Morphet, who had a fascination with greyhound racing. Morphet contributed harmonica and backing vocals to the tune.
  • The song was not a major commercial success at the time of its release and has been virtually disowned by the group since. According to Roger Daltrey, Townshend had Small Faces bassist Ronnie Lane in mind when he wrote it. The vocalist told Uncut magazine: "He was such a lovely geezer, Ronnie, they were great guys, The Faces, all of them. But I think it'd have been better if Pete had just given the song to Ronnie in the first place. As a Who record, it was all a bit frivolous for me."
  • A musically unrelated sequel "Dogs Part 2" was later released as the B-side of "Pinball Wizard" in 1969.

Comments: 2

  • Clemence from New YorkI love this song! I'm surprised they don't like it.
  • Guy from Benson, NcI've always loved this tune. It's quirky, but I love the bass line doubled with the vocals. Also, love Entwistle's vocal lines in the Boris the Spider voice.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside Story

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside StorySong Writing

The in-depth discussion about the making of Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley, who played Jesus in the 1973 film.

Rob Halford of Judas Priest

Rob Halford of Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."

Jimmy Webb

Jimmy WebbSongwriter Interviews

Webb talks about his classic songs "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park."

Michael Bolton

Michael BoltonSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.