| "Pinball Wizard" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Continental European picture sleeve | ||||
| Single bythe Who | ||||
| from the albumTommy | ||||
| B-side | "Dogs Part Two" | |||
| Released | 7 March 1969 (1969-03-07) | |||
| Recorded | 7 February 1969 | |||
| Studio | Morgan, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:57 | |||
| Label | Track (UK) Decca (US) | |||
| Songwriter | Pete Townshend | |||
| Producer | Kit Lambert | |||
| The Who singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Lyric video | ||||
| "Pinball Wizard" by the Who onYouTube | ||||
| Live video | ||||
| "Pinball Wizard" (1970, live) by the Who onYouTube | ||||
| Alternative release | ||||
 Side A of the UK single | ||||
"Pinball Wizard" is a song by the Englishrock bandthe Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriterPete Townshend and featured on their 1969rock opera albumTommy. 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 toKeith Moon, titled "Dogs Part Two". Despite the title, it has no musical connection to the Who's 1968 UK single "Dogs".
The lyrics are written from the perspective of apinball champion, called "Local Lad" in theTommylibretto book, astounded by the skills of the opera's eponymous main character,Tommy Walker: "He ain't got no distractions / Can't hear those buzzers and bells / Don't see no lights a flashin' / Plays by sense of smell / Always gets a replay / Never seen him fall / That deaf dumb and blind kid / Sure plays a mean pinball.",[3] and "I thought I was theBally 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".[4] 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 criticNik Cohn, Cohn gave a lukewarm reaction to it. Following this, Townshend, asTommy'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 ofMeher 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 declaredTommy to be amasterpiece.[5] 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 3:04.
Cash Box said "Pinball Wizard" was "sensational", saying "Retaining the joyful exaltation of early pop rock, the Who add a proficiency and modernization that clicks with the accuracy of aBeatles-gone-heavy."[6]Billboard described the single as "a solid beat rocker."[7]Record World described it as an "exciting side."[8]
This song is one of the band's most famous live songs, being played at almost every Who concert since its debut live performance on 2 May 1969. The live performances rarely deviated from the album arrangement, save for an occasional jam at the end sometimes leading to another song. Bootleg recordings show that this song has been known to last as long as eight minutes (at a concert at theRainbow Theatre in London on 3 February 1981), although live versions lasting as long as that are extremely rare. Pinball Wizard was also played during theSuper Bowl XLIV Halftime Show on 7 February 2010.
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| "Pinball Wizard" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Side A of the Philippine single | ||||
| Single byElton John | ||||
| from the albumTommy soundtrack | ||||
| B-side | "Harmony" | |||
| Released | 12 March 1976 | |||
| Recorded | April 19, 1974 | |||
| Studio | Ramport, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:14 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Pete Townshend | |||
| Producer | Gus Dudgeon | |||
| Elton John singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Pinball Wizard" by Elton John onYouTube | ||||
| Live video | ||||
| "Pinball Wizard" (live, 1975) by Elton John onYouTube | ||||
The song was performed by British musicianElton John inKen Russell's 1975film adaptation ofTommy. This version was released in 1975 as a promotional single only in the US, and in 1976 in the UK, where it reached number seven. Because it was not released as a commercial single in the US, it was ineligible to be listed on theBillboard Hot 100 chart, but did make the USRadio & Records airplay chart, where it reached number nine.
John's version uses a piano as the song's centerpiece in place of the acoustic guitar in the original. In the film, John's character is shown playing his pinball machine via a small piano keyboard. He acknowledges that Tommy is a threat, but initially believes he will not be able to beat him for the championship. As the match progresses, he is soon proven wrong, and concedes defeat when Tommy maxes the score counter. His adaptation also features additional lyrics specially written by Townshend for the movie version, as well as a subtle inclusion of musical phrases from the Who's 1960s hit "I Can't Explain" during the outro. Similarly, the Who's later cover of John's "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" included parts of "Take Me to the Pilot". Unlike most of the soundtrack's music, which featured various combinations of the Who and some of the era's best session players, John used his own band and producerGus Dudgeon for the track. John has performed the song as part of his Las VegasRed Piano Show, as well as on various tours. To date, it is the only cover of a Who song to reach the top 10.[16]
John performed the song with an extended closing jam during his 1975 tour. This version appears on the 2-CD 30th Anniversary release ofCaptain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, with the live disc of the June 21, 1975 concert fromWembley Stadium.
John opened his 'Final UK Show' at theGlastonbury Festival in 2023 playing the song.
The song has subsequently been performed byTaron Egerton who portrayed John in the filmRocketman (2019).
In Toronto, "Pinball Wizard" spent two weeks at number one on theCHUM survey.[17] In Chicago, "Pinball Wizard" remained on theWLS Musicradio Survey as an "extra" for five and a half months, from mid-April to late September as an album track in heavy rotation.[18]
| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia[19] | 88 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[20] | 13 |
| UK[21] | 7 |
| US Radio & Records[22] | 9 |
Bruce Springsteen makes a reference to the song in his song "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)", in the albumThe Wild, the Innocent, & the E Street Shuffle, with the lyric "And the wizards play down on Pinball Way".[27] The track is also featured on the video gamesRock Band 2,Rock Band Unplugged andKaraoke Revolution: American Idol Encore 2.[citation needed]
Using the phrase "pinball wizard" to describe a high-quality pinball player is common, both in works of media and among the general public. Several pinball tables feature a "wizard mode", a state of play which is meant to be reached only by skilled players. Within the pinball community, the phrase's use is sometimes controversial: this is primarily due to its ubiquity, with many players having become tired of hearing it.[5]
Several pinball machines have been produced with a "Pinball Wizard" theme. Two of these, produced at the time of theTommy feature film's release, have only an oblique relation to the song:Wizard was wholly unlicensed, only taking inspiration from the song and film, whileCapt. Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, a table ostensibly with anElton John licence, used the singer's likeness as he appeared in the film, where he played the "Pinball Wizard". Both of these machines were produced in the mid-1970s byBally Manufacturing. Two decades later,Data East Pinball also producedThe Who's Tommy Pinball Wizard, a licensed machine capitalising on the album'sstage adaptation.[5]
