Pete TownshendImagine being tasked with compiling a catalog of the greatest and most influential lyricists in the rock and roll genre. Such a list would inevitably include names like John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Elton John; however, if you scrolled a little further down the list, you would come across a man named Pete Townshend. Townshend rose to fame as the lead guitarist and primary songwriter of a rock band called The Who. Through his work with the Who and the compositions of his solo career, Pete Townshend has become known as an extremely respected figure in the musical world, as well as one of the most influential members of the unique ideological movements he has touched..