Pinball Wizard
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"Pinball Wizard" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by The Who for the 1969 rock opera Tommy. The original recording was released as a single in 1969 and reached #4 in the UK charts.
The song is well known for its distinctive instrumental opening section, which mimics the sounds of a mechanical pinball machine on acoustic and electric guitar. The rhythm of that section serves as one of the opera's leitmotifs, with similar patterns also played on acoustic guitar at the end of the songs "Overture" and "I'm Free". Townshend has said that the section draws some influence from English Baroque composer Henry Purcell.
The lyrics are written from the perspective of a local pinball champion astounded by the skills of the opera's eponymous main character, Tommy Walker: "That deaf, dumb, and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball", and "I thought I was the Bally table king, but I just handed my pinball crown to him."
Townshend, who is known for making contradictory statements about his work, once said "it is the one the worst songs I've ever written." The song was however a gigantic commercial success and one of the most recognized tunes from the opera. It was a perpetual concert favorite for Who fans due to its pop sound and familiarity to Who fans.
The song was introduced into Tommy as an afterthought. 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. Following this, Who guitarist Pete Townshend, the primary composer of Tommy, 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), he decided that the title character, a "deaf, dumb, and blind" boy, 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 song was featured in a medley with another song from Tommy ("See Me, Feel Me") in a recording by the British easy-listening pop group The New Seekers in 1973. This version reached #16 on the UK charts.
The song was performed by Elton John in Ken Russell's 1975 Tommy movie. This version was released as a single in 1976 and reached #7 in the UK. It was also popular song in other countries including the USA. Elton John's version uses a piano in the place of the acoustic guitar in the original, and features additional lyrics specially written for the movie by Townshend and a snippet of The Who's "I Can't Explain". John continues to perform the song in his Las Vegas Red Piano Show and on tour.
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