page_title: Keith Moon
section_title: Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Keith Moon / Legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: Keith Moon (The Who drummer) 's blue plaque. London Wardour Street W1 Soho
context_page_description: Keith John Moon was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour.
  Moon grew up in Alperton, a suburb of Wembley, in Middlesex, and took up the drums during the early 1960s. After playing with a local band, the Beachcombers, he joined the Who in 1964 before they recorded their first single. He remained with the band during their rise to fame, and was quickly recognised for his drumming style, which emphasised tom-toms, cymbal crashes, and drum fills. Throughout Moon's tenure with the Who his drum kit steadily grew in size, and he has been credited as one of the earliest rock drummers to regularly employ double bass drums in his setup. Moon occasionally collaborated with other musicians and later appeared in films, but considered playing in the Who his primary occupation, and remained a member of the band until his death. In addition to his talent as a drummer, however, Moon developed a reputation for smashing his kit on stage and destroying hotel rooms on tour. He was fascinated by blowing up toilets with cherry bombs or dynamite, and by destroying television sets.
context_section_description: Moon's drumming has been praised by critics. Author Nick Talevski described him as "the greatest drummer in rock," adding that "he was to the drums what Jimi Hendrix was to the guitar." Holly George-Warren, editor and author of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The First 25 Years, said: "With the death of Keith Moon in 1978, rock arguably lost its single greatest drummer." According to Eder, "Moon, with his manic, lunatic side, and his life of excessive drinking, partying, and other indulgences, probably represented the youthful, zany side of rock & roll, as well as its self-destructive side, better than anyone else on the planet." The New Book of Rock Lists ranked Moon No. 1 on its list of "50 Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Drummers," and he was ranked No. 2 on the 2011 Rolling Stone "Best Drummers of All Time" readers' poll. In 2016, the same magazine ranked him No. 2 in their list of the 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time, behind John Bonham. Adam Budofsky, editor of Drummer magazine, said that Moon's performances on Who's Next and Quadrophenia "represent a perfect balance of technique and passion" and "there's been no drummer who's touched his unique slant on rock and rhythm since."
  Several rock drummers, including Neil Peart and Dave Grohl, have cited Moon as an influence. The Jam paid homage to Moon on the second single from their third album, "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight"; the B-side of the single is a Who cover ("So Sad About Us"), and the back cover of the record has a photo of Moon's face. The Jam's single was released about a month after Moon's death. Animal, one of Jim Henson's Muppet characters, may have been based on Keith Moon due to their similar hair, eyebrows, personality and drumming style. Jazz drummer Elvin Jones praised Moon's work during "Underture", as integral to the song's effect.
  Ray Davies notably lauded Moon's drumming during his speech for the Kinks' induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 1990:"...Keith Moon changed the sound of drumming."
  "God bless his beautiful heart ..." Ozzy Osbourne told Sounds a month after the drummer's death. "People will be talking about Keith Moon 'til they die, man. Someone somewhere will say, 'Remember Keith Moon?' Who will remember Joe Bloggs who got killed in a car crash? No one. He's dead, so what? He didn't do anything to talk of."
  Clem Burke of Blondie has said "Early on all I cared about was Keith Moon and the Who. When I was about eleven or twelve, my favourite part of drum lessons was the last ten minutes, when I'd get to sit at the drumset and play along to my favourite record. I'd bring in 'My Generation'. At the end of the song, the drums go nuts. 'My Generation' was a turning point for me because before that it was all the Charlie Watts and Ringo type of thing."
  In 1998 Tony Fletcher published a biography of Moon, Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon, in the United Kingdom. The phrase "Dear Boy" became a catchphrase of Moon's when, influenced by Kit Lambert, he began affecting a pompous English accent. In 2000, the book was released in the US as Moon (The Life and Death of a Rock Legend). Q Magazine called the book "horrific and terrific reading", and Record Collector said it was "one of rock's great biographies."
  In 2008, English Heritage declined an application for Moon to be awarded a blue plaque. Speaking to The Guardian, Christopher Frayling said they "decided that bad behaviour and overdosing on various substances wasn't a sufficient qualification." The UK's Heritage Foundation disagreed with the decision, presenting a plaque which was unveiled on 9 March 2009. Daltrey, Townshend, Robin Gibb and Moon's mother Kit were present at the ceremony.
caption: Moon's blue plaque at the site of the former Marquee Club
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