Pinball Wizard

Townshend wrote it, Kit Lambert produced, and it was recorded on 7 February 1969 at Morgan Studios in London. The single came out on 7 March 1969 with Moon's Dogs Part Two on the B-side. It reached number four in Britain, number 19 on the US Hot 100 and number six in Canada.

The idea came from Nik Cohn's lukewarm reaction to a rough assembly of Tommy. Townshend made the hero a pinball player to lighten the spiritual themes. He later called it the most clumsy piece of writing he had ever done.

Covers and live

Elton John recorded it for the 1975 Tommy film in April 1974, with Gus Dudgeon producing. His single reached number seven in Britain in 1976, the only cover of a Who song to reach the British top ten. The band first played it on 2 May 1969 and has played it at almost every concert since, including the Super Bowl XLIV halftime show on 7 February 2010. It has been played about 958 times live.