'My Generation.' It's perhaps the Who's most famous song and it may have been the tune that saved the British group from self-destruction some 15 years ago.

That rock anthem, which is certain to be part of the Who's set during Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. concert at Dallas' Reunion Arena, played a major role in keeping the group together in 1965 and very well may be the reason the band is still around 15 years later.

My Generation was released at a time when the band was racked by inner turmoil. Not only was the band in deep financial trouble, but there also were constant arguments, some of which resulted in fist fights between group members.

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MOST OF THE hassles centered around Roger Daltrey, who couldn't seem to get along with the other Who members. Daltrey, the group's dominant figure at the outset, reportedly resented Peter Townshend's increasing prominence in the band. Arguments broke out on stage.

Finally halfway through a performance at the Wembley Empire Pool, Daltrey stormed off the stage, leaving Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon to carry on as a trio.

"I'm choked off, absolutely choked off," Daltrey said at the time.

Since the Who had two straight Top 10 British hits to its credit at the time (I Can't Explain and Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere), the group's fussing and fighting made big news in the London papers.

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"WE GET ON badly, Roger causes a lot of trouble because he is never satisfied. He is not a very good singer at all in my opinion," Townshend said in one interview.

"It's like waiting for a bomb to go off. We're not mates at all," Daltrey countered.

And Moon said, "At the beginning I just couldn't get through to Pete and Roger. We really have nothing in common whatsoever, apart from music."

On several occasions, Townshend, Moon and Entwistle almost voted Daltrey out of the group. Then in 1965, they did just that. Daltrey was kicked out.

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BUT AS FATE would have it, the group had recorded My Generation just before Daltrey got the boot. When the song was released, it rushed straight to the top of the British charts. And since it was Daltrey singing lead on the track, he quickly was reinstated in the band.

Determined to behave himself this time around, Daltrey returned with a much humbler attitude. Personal problems were cast aside, and the group went about the business of creating a legend.

So instead of serving as the ending to a short, explosive career, My Generation provided the real beginning of that legend.