Pete Townshend Thinks The Beatles Ain’t Rock n’ Roll

The Beatles’ genre has long sparked debate: were they pop, rock, psychedelic, doo-wop—or all of the above? While many fans argue that The Beatles spanned every one of these styles, The Who guitarist Pete Townshend has a more singular perspective, labeling the Fab Four primarily as a pop phenomenon.

From Pop Hits to Experimental Sounds

There’s no denying The Beatles’ early success in the pop realm. Singles like “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “She Loves You”, and “Love Me Do” dominated charts worldwide. Yet by 1965, with the release of Rubber Soul, the band’s sound had shifted toward more experimental rock ‘n’ roll. Subsequent albums, including Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The White Album, and Let It Be, further pushed musical boundaries.

Despite their undeniable influence on rock music and its many subgenres, Townshend has insisted that The Beatles shouldn’t be classified as a true rock band.

Townshend’s Take: The Stones Are Rock, The Beatles Are Pop

In a 1982 interview with Rolling Stone, Townshend elaborated on his stance:

“You know, I could sit down and have a conversation with Paul about rock ‘n’ roll, and we’d be talking about two different things.”

“To me, rock was The Rolling Stones, and before that, Chuck Berry, and maybe a few artists from rural Louisiana—but I can’t really include The Beatles in that,” he continued. “The Beatles were over with Herman’s Hermits. That’s not rock ‘n’ roll.”

Townshend described The Beatles as “a big pop phenomenon” who produced “light music with occasional masterpieces thrown in.” While this is certainly a bold claim, it reflects a particular lens—especially when their work is compared to that of The Who, Led Zeppelin, or The Rolling Stones.

Reconceptualizing Rock ‘n’ Roll

Of course, one could argue that The Beatles did, in fact, create rock music—just not in the straightforward sense Townshend champions. Their experiments with studio techniques, instrumentation, and songwriting arguably redefined the genre itself. But Townshend’s opinion is clear: for him, The Beatles were primarily pop icons who occasionally flirted with rock brilliance, rather than a traditional rock ‘n’ roll band.