Profile of Keith Moon on Famous Like Me

Keith Moon
Keith Moon in 1975
Born	August 23, 1947 London, UK
Died	September 7, 1978 London, UK

Keith John Moon (August 23, 1947 – September 7, 1978) was the drummer of the rock group The Who. He was born in London in 1947, although he would claim to have been born a year after.

He is considered one of the most unusual and original drummers in rock and roll. Contemporary drummers such as Neil Peart, Mitch Mitchell, Ginger Baker, and John Bonham could all point to him as a major influence, and Moon's anarchic, out-of-control style remains an influence on popular music today.

Early in The Who's career, the band developed the concept of "Auto Destruction", which had them destroying their equipment at the end of their more high profile shows. Moon showed a particular zeal for this activity, wildly kicking and smashing his drums. During an appearance on the Smothers Brothers television show, he over-loaded a drum with explosive charges which were detonated during the finale of "My Generation", which according to legend resulted in permanent hearing damage for bandmate Pete Townshend and caused Bette Davis to faint. His antics earned him the nickname "Moon the Loon".

Because he was not a good singer, Moon was banned from the studio when vocals were being recorded. This led to an on-going game with Pete Townshend, in which Moon would try to sneak into the room to join the singing. At the tail end of "Happy Jack" Townshend can be heard shouting "I saw ya!" as he notices Moon once again trying to join in.

Moon quickly gained a reputation as being highly destructive. He was known to lay waste to hotel rooms, the homes of friends, and even his own domicile, often throwing furniture out of high windows and destroying the plumbing with firecrackers. While he never actually drove a car into a swimming pool, it's not hard to imagine how such a story originated. In 1969 Moon was brought before the High Court of London on charges of vehicular manslaughter. The charges were filed to determine Moon's role in the death of his bodyguard, Cornelius "Neil" Boland. Although Boland's death was ruled an accident and Moon was subsequently aquitted of any wrongdoing, those close to him said Moon was haunted by the accident for the rest of his life.

Although his work with The Who dominated Moon's career, he participated in a few minor side projects. In 1966, he teamed up with Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck and future Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones to record an instrumental, "Beck's Bolero", released as a single later that year. Moon is also said to have named Led Zeppelin, remarking that the supergroup would "go down like a lead zeppelin". In 1974 he released his first and only solo album, a collection of pop covers entitled Two Sides of the Moon. Perversely although this record featured Moon's atrocious singing much of the drumming was left to other drummers including Ringo Starr and session musician Jim Keltner. In 1971 he had a cameo role in Frank Zappa's film 200 Motels. He acted in drag as a nun fearful of death from overdosing on pills. It is widely regarded as one of film's funniest cameos. In 1973 he appeared in That'll Be the Day, playing a drummer at a holiday camp during the early days of British rock 'n' roll. The film also co-starred Moon's longtime friend Ringo Starr. He also appeared as "Uncle Ernie" in the film adaptation of Tommy, a 1969 Who album. In 1976 he covered The Beatles' "When I'm Sixty-Four" for the soundtrack of the documentary All This And World War II.

Keith Moon's final night out was as a guest of Paul McCartney at the preview of the film The Buddy Holly Story. After dining with Paul & Linda McCartney, Moon and his girlfriend, Annette Walter-Lax, left the party early and returned to his flat in Curzon Place, London. He died in his sleep at the age of 32, having overdosed on anti-seizure medication, Heminevrin, taken as part of a programme to wean him off alcohol. The flat was on loan to Keith from musician friend Harry Nilsson. Coincidentally, Cass Elliot (singer with the Mamas and The Papas) had died whilst staying not only in the same flat a few years earlier, but also in the same bed. Following the loss of a second friend in the building, a distraught Nilsson could not face returning there and subsequently sold the flat to Pete Townshend.

Following his death, Keith Moon was "replaced" in The Who by Small Faces (and The Faces) drummer Kenny Jones, and later by Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr). A number of others, most notably Simon Phillips, have also occupied the drummer's chair in The Who temporarily.

However, all three of the remaining Who members have stated firmly on seperate occassions that The Who died with Keith Moon.

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Keith Moon