The Who Sell Out

The Who Sell Out
Studio album by the Who
Released	15 December 1967 (1967-12-15)
Recorded	May–November 1967
Studio	IBC, Pye, De Lane Lea Studios and CBS, London Talentmasters and Mirasound, New York City Bradley's Barn, Nashville Gold Star, Los Angeles[1]
Genre	Psychedelic pop power pop art pop mod pop
Length	38:46
Label	Track (UK) Decca (US)
Producer	Kit Lambert
The Who UK chronology
A Quick One (1966) The Who Sell Out (1967) Direct Hits (1968)
The Who US chronology
Happy Jack (1967) The Who Sell Out (1967) Magic Bus: The Who on Tour (1968)
Singles from The Who Sell Out
"I Can See for Miles" Released: October 1967[2] "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" Released: 2 February 1968 (Netherlands)

The Who Sell Out is the third studio album by the English rock band the Who. It was released on 15 December 1967 by Track Records in the UK and Decca Records in the US. A concept album, The Who Sell Out is structured as a collection of unrelated songs interspersed with fake commercials and public service announcements, including the second track "Heinz Baked Beans".^[3] The album purports to be a broadcast by pirate radio station Radio London. The reference to "selling out" was an intended irony, as the Who had been making real commercials during that period of their career, some of which are included as bonus tracks on the remastered CD.

The album was primarily written by guitarist Pete Townshend, though three tracks were penned by bassist John Entwistle and one by Thunderclap Newman vocalist Speedy Keen, who also sings. Townshend and Entwistle are joined by vocalist Roger Daltrey and drummer Keith Moon, and organist Al Kooper makes a guest appearance on two tracks. The album was produced by the band's manager Kit Lambert.

The album's release was reportedly followed by lawsuits due to the mention of real-world commercial interests in the faux commercials and on the album covers, and by the makers of the real jingles (Radio London jingles), who claimed the Who used them without permission (the jingles were produced by PAMS Productions of Dallas, Texas, which created thousands of Station identification jingles in the 1960s and 1970s). The deodorant company Odorono took offence that Chris Stamp made a request for endorsement dollars.^[4] "I Can See for Miles" was released as a single and peaked at number 10 in the UK and number 9 in the US, becoming the band's highest-charting single and only Top 10 hit in the latter region.

The Who Sell Out has received widespread acclaim from critics, some of whom viewed it as the Who's best record. It has also frequently been featured on all-time lists of the best albums, including Rolling Stone magazine's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". However, it was the band's lowest-charting album on the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at number 13.