![]() ![]() ![]() It was a perpetual concert favourite for Who fans due to its pop sound and familiarity. Nevertheless, the song was a commercial success and remains one of the most recognised tunes from the opera. Townshend once called it "the most clumsy piece of writing ever done". However, in a fated sort of way, the song seemed to reach its spiritual home as the band played it at Woodstock in 1969, just as the sun was peaking over the horizon, leaving the crowd mute in awestruck wonder.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: "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 gets a replay / Never seen him fall / 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". In the movie, Elton John makes an appearance as The Pinball Wizard and performed this song with his hit version peaking at number seven in the UK charts. #LYRICS PINBALL WIZARD MOVIE#The track itself would go on to be a hit, which played a pivotal part in the 1975 movie based on the album, Tommy, starring Jack Nicholson, Ann Margaret, Tina Turner, and Roger Daltrey himself (who played Tommy). “I found that a stunning thing to call upon while I was in the process of writing ‘Pinball Wizard.’ I analysed every single chord,” Townshend concludes, “and found ways to play them on guitar.” A single bowed note runs throughout that whole piece. “It’s a very plaintive piece, almost like the Samuel Barber composition ‘Adagio for Strings’,” Townshend explained, adding: “Only the Purcell piece was written in 1600 or something. The track itself is built around an old Symphonic piece that Townshend discover around the time of recording, as he told Guitar World back in 2005: “The chordal structure for the intro was inspired by Henry Purcell, who did this very short piece called ‘Symphony Upon One Note.'” The track microwaved Cohn’s lukewarm first thoughts and resulted in a glowing hot review. Townshend decided that the deaf, dumb and blind protagonist should also excel in a certain area and with Cohn being a pinball fanatic, that area of expertise presented itself quite readily.Īlmost immediately after this conversation with Cohn, ‘Pinball Wizard’ was written and written. Afterwards, Townshend discussed the record with Cohn and took his remarks regarding the overbearing fidelity to subtext onboard. The story goes that in late 1968 – or early 1969 – when The Who played a preview of their new album in the presence of legendary critic Nik Cohn, and his reaction to the performance was middling. ‘Pinball Wizard’ is the perfect example of his dichotomous, head in the clouds yet finger to pulse approach. As a songwriter, Townshend may well have had both feet planted firmly in the realm of spiritualism, but he was still peaking over into the mainstream and never lost sight of what makes a hit. However, what singled Pete Townshend out as a unique creative force is that such a spiritual and deep synopsis could be transmuted into something so fun and palatable. ![]() As far as a creative impetus for rock music goes, that is about as nebulous as it gets. ![]()
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