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Pete Townshend's family has a rich musical heritage: his grandparents were both musicians who played in Concert Parties for the troops during World War I; his father Cliff was a noted alto sax player with The Royal Air Force Dance Orchestra during World War II; and his mother Betty sang professionally. Unlike many kids of his age, rock 'n' roll was a short-lived episode in young Pete's musical schooling. His mother recounts that he repeatedly went to see the 1956 film "Rock Around the Clock". Nevertheless, the rock 'n' roll bug was only a passing fad. "I only liked Bill Haley for a few months" says Townshend. It was while attending Ealing Art College that Townshend's musical education underwent a seismic shift that would remain with him for life. Tom Wright, stepson of an American Air Force officer, and his friend Cam, both photographic students at Ealing College, had huge music collections containing records by the likes of Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Little Walter and Jimmy Reed, all blues artists entirely new to Pete. "Every album was a revelation," said Townshend, "but the real richness ... was on its fringes: Mose Allison sat alongside Joan Baez; Ray Charles alongside Bo Diddley; Jimmy Smith alongside Julie London." This wonderful musical grounding is all part of "The Music That Inspired The Man". This CD contains 28 songs that helped inspire Townshend to become a brilliant musician and world class composer whose music has riveted audiences in locations as diverse as West London's sweatiest dives and New York's finest opera houses and theatres - with just about every other kind of venue in between.

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