In 1969, Pete Townshend of The Who helped form a band named Thunderclap Newman. The concept was to create a band to perform songs written by former Who roadie and drummer John 'Speedy' Keen, who had written a couple of songs recorded by the Who. Townshend recruited jazz pianist Andy 'Thunderclap' Newman (a friend from art college), and 15-year-old guitarist Jimmy McCulloch. Keen played the drums and sang the lead. Townshend produced the single "Something In The Air", arranged the strings, and played bass under the pseudonym Bijou Drains. "Something in the Air" captured post-flower power rebellion, and reached No. 1 on the UK charts just three weeks after release, holding off Elvis Presley in the process. "Something in the Air" appeared on the soundtracks of several films The Magic Christian (1969) and The Strawberry Statement (1970) (which helped the single reach No. 25 in the United States) and later Kingpin (1996), Almost Famous (2000), The Dish (2000), and The Girl Next Door (2004). The song has been covered by many bands, and was a hit for Tom Petty in 1994. To me it's a great song, but also the epitome of the late 60's and the attitudes of the time.
