Pinball Wizard
| "Pinball Wizard" | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by The Who | ||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Tommy | ||||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Dogs (Part Two)" | |||||||||||||||||
| Released | 7 March 1969 | |||||||||||||||||
| Format | 7-inch single | |||||||||||||||||
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| Length | 2:57 | |||||||||||||||||
| Label | Track | |||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Pete Townshend | |||||||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Kit Lambert | |||||||||||||||||
| ISWC | T-010.162.829-8 | |||||||||||||||||
| The Who singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||
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| 24 tracks |
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| "Pinball Wizard" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Elton John | ||||||||||
| from the album Tommy soundtrack | ||||||||||
| B-side | "Harmony" | |||||||||
| Released | 26 March 1976 | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1974 | |||||||||
| Genre | Hard rock, glam rock | |||||||||
| Length | 5:14 | |||||||||
| Label |
DJM (UK) MCA (US) |
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| Writer(s) | Pete Townshend | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | Gus Dudgeon | |||||||||
| Elton John singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Pinball Wizard" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by the English rock band The Who, and featured on their 1969 rock opera album Tommy. The original recording was released as a single in 1969 and reached No. 4 in the UK charts and No. 19 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
The B-side of the "Pinball Wizard" single is an instrumental credited to Keith Moon, titled "Dogs (Part Two)". Despite similar titles it has no musical connection to The Who's 1968 UK single "Dogs".
The lyrics are written from the perspective of a pinball champion, called "Local Lad" in the Tommy libretto book, astounded by the skills of the opera's eponymous main character, Tommy Walker: "What makes him so good?; He ain't got no distractions; Can't hear those buzzers and bells; Don't see lights a flashin'; Plays by sense of smell.; Always has a replay; Never tilts at all; That deaf dumb and blind kid; Sure plays a mean pin ball.", and "I thought I was the Bally table king, but I just handed my pinball crown to him".
Townshend once called it "the most clumsy piece of writing [he'd] ever done". Nevertheless, the song was a commercial success and remains one of the most recognised tunes from the opera. It was a perpetual concert favourite for Who fans due to its pop sound and familiarity.
In late 1968 or early 1969, when The Who played a rough assembly of their new album to critic Nik Cohn, Cohn gave a lukewarm reaction to it. Following this, Townshend, as Tommy's principal composer, discussed the album with Cohn and concluded that, to lighten the load of the rock opera's heavy spiritual overtones (Townshend had recently become deeply interested in the teachings of Meher Baba), the title character, a "deaf, dumb, and blind" boy, should also be particularly good at a certain game. Knowing Cohn was an avid pinball fan, Townshend suggested that Tommy would play pinball, and Cohn immediately declared Tommy to be a masterpiece. The song "Pinball Wizard" was written and recorded almost immediately. The single version was slightly sped up and runs to 2:57, whilst the natural length album version runs to 3:01.
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