"The Ox" is an instrumental piece by The Who

The Who

The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...

. It was on their debut album, My Generation. It was improvised by Pete Townshend

Pete Townshend

Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...

 , John Entwistle

John Entwistle

John Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, horn player, and film and record producer who was best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players...

 , Keith Moon

Keith Moon

Keith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...

 and keyboardist

Keyboardist

A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...

 Nicky Hopkins

Nicky Hopkins

Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins was an English pianist and organist.He recorded and performed on noted British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a session musician....

. This track appears as the b-side of "The Kids Are Alright

The Kids Are Alright (song)

"The Kids Are Alright" is a song written by Pete Townshend of The Who. It appears as the seventh track on the group's first album, My Generation . It was not released as a single until more than six months after it first appeared on the LP, first in the United States, and in the UK the following...

" on the single's UK release. The song was also on the compilation album Thirty Years of Maximum R&B

Thirty Years of Maximum R&B

Thirty Years of Maximum R&B is a box set by British rock band, The Who released by Polydor Records internationally and by MCA Records in the US; since 2003, it has been issued in America by Geffen Records...

. An unreleased jingle based on this song exists.

The song was very rarely played live by The Who. The band may have played it in 1965 and 1966 while the album was still fresh, though no live recordings of the song are known to exist. The only known live appearance of this song was in a medley of "My Generation" at the Concertgebouw

Concertgebouw

The Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building"...

 in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

, Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 on September 29, 1969, part of the Tommy tour.

Rolling Stone Magazines John Swenson described "The Ox" and "My Generation

My Generation

My Generation is the debut album by the English rock band The Who, released by Brunswick Records in the United Kingdom in December 1965. In the United States it was released by Decca Records as The Who Sings My Generation in April 1966, with a different cover and a slightly altered track...

" to be "sonic marvels of the time" due to Townshend's feedback technique on these songs.