Editing Keith Moon (section)

====Musical contributions====
{{quote box|align=right|width=35em|quote=I suppose as a drummer, I'm adequate. I've got no real aspirations to be a great drummer. I just want to play drums for the Who and that's it.|source=—Keith Moon, ''[[Melody Maker]]'', September 1970{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=238}}}}
Moon's style of drumming was considered unique by his bandmates, although they sometimes found his unconventional playing frustrating; Entwistle noted that he tended to play faster or slower according to his mood.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=234}} "He wouldn't play across his kit", he later added. "He'd play zig-zag. That's why he had two sets of tom-toms. He'd move his arms forward like a skier."{{sfn|Chapman|1998|p=70}} Daltrey said that Moon "just instinctively put [[Fill (music)|drum fills]] in places that other people would never have thought of putting them".{{sfn|Chapman|1998|p=70}}

Who biographer John Atkins wrote that the group's early test sessions for [[Pye Records]] in 1964 show that "they seemed to have understood just how important was&nbsp;... Moon's contribution."{{sfn|Atkins|2000|p=35}} Contemporary critics questioned his ability to keep time, with biographer [[Tony Fletcher]] suggesting that the timing on ''[[Tommy (The Who album)|Tommy]]'' was "all over the place". Who producer [[Jon Astley]] said, "You didn't think he was keeping time, but he was."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=234}} In the opinion of Atkins, early recordings of Moon's drumming sound tinny and disorganised;<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Who's Next (2003 remaster) |author=John Atkins |page=23 |publisher=Polydor |id=113 056-2}}</ref> it was not until the recording of ''[[Who's Next]]'', with [[Glyn Johns]]' no-nonsense production techniques and the need to keep time to a synthesizer track, that Moon began developing more discipline in the studio. Fletcher considers the drumming on this album to be the best of Moon's career.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=286}}

Unlike contemporary rock drummers such as [[Ginger Baker]] and [[John Bonham]], Moon hated drum solos and refused to play them in concert. At a [[Madison Square Garden]] show during [[The Who Tour 1974|The Who's 1974 tour]], Townshend and Entwistle decided to spontaneously stop playing during "[[Waspman]]" to listen to Moon's drum solo. Moon continued briefly and then stopped, shouting, "Drum solos are boring!"{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=329}} On 23 June 1977, he made a guest appearance at a [[Led Zeppelin]] concert in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/keith-moon-led-zeppelin/ |title=The Day Keith Moon Joined Led Zeppelin Onstage |first=Jeff |last=Giles |website=Ultimate Classic Rock|date=23 June 2015 }}</ref>

[[File:Keith-Moon Bellboy.jpg|alt=Keith Moon singing|thumb|left|Moon singing at [[Maple Leaf Gardens]], Toronto, 21 October 1976;{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=466}} he enjoyed singing whenever possible.]]
Moon also aspired to sing lead vocal on some songs.{{sfn|Marsh|1989|p=183}} While the other three members handled most of the onstage vocals, Moon would attempt to sing backup (particularly on "[[I Can't Explain]]"). He provided humorous commentary during song announcements, although sound engineer [[Bob Pridden]] preferred to mute his vocal microphone on the [[mixing desk]] whenever possible.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=[[Live at Leeds]] (CD reissue) |publisher=Polydor |year=1995 |id=527 169-2 |page=8 |first=Chris |last=Charlesworth}}</ref> Moon's knack for making his bandmates laugh around the microphone led them to banish him from the studio when vocals were being recorded; this led to a game in which Moon would sneak in to join the singing.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZRY5AQAAIAAJ&q=%22keith+moon%22+%22i+saw+ya%22 |title=The book of rock lists |first1=Dave |last1=Marsh |first2=Kevin |last2=Stein |publisher=[[Dell Pub. Co.]] |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-440-57580-1}}</ref> At the end of "[[Happy Jack (song)|Happy Jack]]", Townshend can be heard saying, "I saw ya!" to Moon as he tries to sneak into the studio.{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=174}} The drummer's interest in surf music and his desire to sing led to his performing lead vocals on several early tracks, including "[[Bucket T]]" and "[[Barbara Ann]]" (''Ready Steady Who'' EP, 1966){{sfn|Atkins|2000|p=75}} and high backing vocals on other songs, such as "[[Pictures of Lily]]". His performance on "[[Bell Boy (song)|Bell Boy]]" (''[[Quadrophenia]]'', 1973) saw him abandon "serious" vocal performances to sing in character, which gave him (in Fletcher's words) "full licence to live up to his reputation as a lecherous drunk"; it was "exactly the kind of performance the Who needed from him to bring them back down to earth."{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=346}}

Moon composed "I Need You", the [[instrumental]] "Cobwebs and Strange" (from the album ''[[A Quick One]]'', 1966),{{sfn|Atkins|2000|p=80}} the single B-sides "In The City" (co-written with Entwistle){{sfn|Atkins|2000|p=71}} and "Girl's Eyes" (from ''[[The Who Sell Out]]'' sessions featured on ''[[Thirty Years of Maximum R&B]]'' and a 1995 re-release of ''The Who Sell Out''), "Dogs Part Two" (1969) and "Waspman" (1972).{{sfn|Atkins|2000|p=173}} Moon also co-composed "[[The Ox (instrumental)|The Ox]]" (an instrumental from their debut album, ''[[My Generation (album)|My Generation]]'') with Townshend, Entwistle and keyboardist [[Nicky Hopkins]]. "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (from ''Tommy'') was credited to Moon{{sfn|Fletcher|1998|p=230}} because he came up with the idea, but the song was actually written by Townshend and, although there is a misconception that Moon sings on it, the album version is Townshend's demo.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qEEUAQAAIAAJ&q=%22tommy's+holiday+camp%22+wrote |title=The British Invasion: From the First Wave to the New Wave |first=Nicholas |last=Schaffner |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=1982 |page=127 |isbn=978-0-07-055089-6}}</ref>

Moon produced the violin solo on "[[Baba O'Riley]]".<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Who's Next (back sleeve credits) |publisher=[[Track Records]] |id=2408 102}}</ref> Moon sat in on congas with [[East of Eden (band)|East of Eden]] at London's [[Lyceum Theatre, London|Lyceum Ballroom]], and afterwards suggested to violinist [[Dave Arbus]] that he play on the track.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aylesburyfriars.co.uk/interviewseastofeden.html |publisher=Friars Aylesbury official site |title=Interview with Ron Caines And Geoff Nicholson |first=Mike |last=O'Connor |year=2012 |access-date=11 April 2013 |archive-date=16 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016005401/http://www.aylesburyfriars.co.uk/interviewseastofeden.html |url-status=live }}</ref>