Tommy |
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Released: May 19, 1969 Peak: 4 US, 2 UK, 6 CN, 8 AU, 7 DW Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 2.5 US, 0.1 UK, 20.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock |
Tracks:Click on a song titled for more details.
Total Running Time: 75:15 The Players:
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Rating: 4.278 out of 5.00 (average of 41 ratings)
Awards:(Click on award to learn more).
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Before TommyThe Who formed in London in 1964. The lineup consisted of guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend, singer Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. Over the next few years, they became one of England’s most successful rock bands, landing eight top-ten hits from 1964 to ‘68 that included now rock classics like “I Can’t Explain,” “My Generation,” and “Substitute.” While they became associated with the British invasion in America, their only U.S. top 10 was “I Can See for Miles.”The Who also released a pair of top-five UK albums during that time, but failed to chart any higher than #48 in the United States. That all changed with their fourth album – a top-five, double-platinum seller in the United States that established the Who as one of the premiere rock bands. In 1968, “the band were creatively and financially in a fix.” TB They were “generally regarded as more attitude than substance…the Who were just another loud British band riding the coattails of their predecessors.” CS “With the onset of heavy blues rock and psychedelia, a gulf between chart pop and album rock opened up. To maintain credibility The Who needed to make a play for the latter audience…The Who’s manager, Kit Lambert, repeatedly pushed the idea of a rock-opera at Townshend until it took hold.” TB The First Rock Opera“Pete Townshend’s lyrical and compositional gifts would not be denied, and the swirling cacophony of sound the band produced – with Townshend’s solid guitar skills providing a foundation for Keith Moon’s chaotic drumming, John Entwistle’s adventurous bass, and Roger Daltrey’s vocal acrobatics – would find grounding and maturity in Tommy.” CSAuthor Tom Moon calls Tommy the first rock opera and still the best” TM although “many rock aficionados regard [the Pretty Things’] S.F. Sorrow as the first true rock opera.” CS Townshend does acknowledge the influence the album had on him and the creation of Tommy. CS Regardless of whether or not it was first, it was “a major leap forward in the artistic capacity of the rock world.” CS It would influence “Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd to create story albums of their own, ultimately inspiring rock musicals such as Godspell, Grease, and Jesus Christ Superstar.” CS “Townshend’s ability to construct a lengthy conceptual narrative brought new possibilities to rock music. Despite the complexity of the project, he and the Who never lost sight of solid pop melodies, harmonies, and forceful instrumentation, imbuing the material with a suitably powerful grace.” AM “These are more than songs – they’re affirmations of rock as a path to understanding and maybe even redemption.” TM When initially released, some critics hailed it as a masterpiece and “the beginnings of a new genre” WK Life magazine said, “for sheer power, invention and brilliance of performance, Tommy outstrips anything that has ever come out of a rock recording studio.” WK It has come to be regarded as “the quintessential rock opera, and to many fans, the quintessential record from The Who.” PM The RecordingRecording took place at IBC in London through the autumn and winter of 1968. Thanks to multitracking, the four-piece band could build a much bigger sound. The band tried to stick to instruments they could play, but eventually orchestral parts – although Townshend was reluctant. TB A debate was “already underway about the artistic merits of rock as the bands King Crimson, Procol Harum, the Moody Blues, and Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention were incorporating classical structures and instruments into their music,” CS giving birth to the progressive rock movement. In addition, “Entwistle added French horn, there are backward tapes on ‘Amazing Journey,’ buried sitar on ‘Cousin Kevin,’ and fairground barrel-organ for ‘Tommy’s Holiday Camp.’” TBThe StoryThe double album, written almost entirely by Townshend, “launched the band to international superstardom.” AM The story focuses on Tommy Walker, a deaf, dumb, and blind kid suffering from childhood trauma who becomes a Messiah-like figure. This gave Townshend a chance to explore “the larger themes of emotional scars, freedom and religion.” RV Townshend said, “When you listen to the music you can actually become aware of the boy, and aware of what he is all about, because we are creating him as we play.” PMNegative ReactionSome critics, however, considered it exploitative. The BBC and some U.S. radio stations even banned it. Detractors also cite the “pretensions of the concept and…the insubstantial nature of some of the songs that functioned as little more than devices to advance the rather sketchy plot.” AMOther Songs
Other Editions and ProductionsThe group has frequently played the entire album live in concert, but not as a staged theatrical show. Several live performances have been released in their entirety, including the 2002 Deluxe Edition of the 1970 live album Live at Leeds and the Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 release in 1996. In 1975, the album was adapted into a film with major stars such as Ann-Margret, Elton John, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, and Jack Nicholson. Elton John’s performance of “Pinball Wizard” became a top 10 hit in the U.K. The band re-released a soundtrack version of the album.In 1993, Townshend and theatrical director Des McAnuff adapted the album for a Broadway musical. The show initially received mixed reviews, but won five Tony Awards that year, including Best Original Score. A 2003 edition added a second disc of demos and outtakes. A 2013 edition added a full live performance of Tommy from October 15, 1969 at the Capitol Theatre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and the Swansea City Football Club on June 12, 1976. The SongsHere’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs. |
OvertureThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 7.39 streaming About the Song:“The ‘Overture’ is mostly instrumental, incorporating themes from ‘1921,’ ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It,’ ‘Go to the Mirror!,’ ‘See Me, Feel Me,’ ‘Pinball Wizard,’ ‘Listening to You,’ and ‘Sparks.’ Another musical highlight is John Entwistle’s French horn. The song ends with one verse sung by Townshend, establishing that Tommy’s father, Captain Walker, is missing in action in WWI and presumed dead.” MG |
It’s a BoyThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: 16 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.56 streaming About the Song:This barely thirty-second snippet serves as our introduction to Tommy, as his birth is announced. There is a certain glee in the vocal here which doesn’t prepare the listener for the trauma that Tommy will endure at a young age. |
1921 (aka “You Didn’t Hear It”)The Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: 32 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 4.83 streaming About the Song:“Tommy’s mother, left to raise the boy alone, takes on a lover. Though the year is 1921 in the album’s version of the story, Russell’s film changes the year to 1951; the war is thus changed to WWII.” MG “On the album, Captain Walker kills his wife’s paramour, in the film, killer and killed are reversed.” MG Young Tommy witnesses the killing, but the man and woman scream at the boy, “You didn’t see it, you didn’t hear it” which brings on his “psychosomatic deafness/muteness/blindness.” MG Tommy is effectively cut off from society because he is denied the ability to express his trauma. |
Amazing JourneyThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: 11 CL Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 3.47 streaming About the Song:As traumatized as Tommy is by his “loss of connectedness with the social and sensory worlds,” MG there is a “blissful, mystical aspect of his experience” MG as expressed via the “mystical/visionary ‘Amazing Journey.’” MG Tommy lives in “a quiet vibration land” where “the unifying vibrations…are his only connection with everything around him but they are also a powerful connection with it, because [it is] a connection not requiring the senses.” MG “These vibrations will be the mystical source of Tommy’s incredible talent at pinball.” MG |
SparksThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: 11 CL Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 6.14 streaming About the Song:“Bursts of acoustic suspense and hard rock rapture on songs like ‘Sparks’ and I’m Free’ demonstrate the band’s approach to sound-driven storytelling.” PM This instrumental is typically paired with “Amazing Journey.” |
The Hawker (Eyesight to the Blind)The Who |
Writer(s): Sonny Boy Williamson II Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.37 streaming About the Song:“A quack/pimp known as The Hawker claims his wife, a drug addict/prostitute known as the ‘Acid Queen’ can cure Tommy. The use of the lyrics to Sonny Boy Williamson’s blues song ‘Eyesight to the Blind,’ which refer to how the beautiful prostitute’s sexy walk is so compelling that it would restore a man’s eyesight, his ability to talk and to hear.” MG |
ChristmasThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.98 streaming About the Song:In the song “Christmas,” Tommy’s parents “fret about how the boy’s disconnect from the world around him means he doesn’t know about Jesus, and therefore cannot be ‘saved from the eternal grave.’” MG Of course, as the instigators of his trauma, they “are in no position to judge whether Tommy, or anyone, for that matter, needs to be saved by Christ or not.” MG |
Cousin KevinThe Who |
Writer(s): John Entwistle Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: 16 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.94 streaming About the Song:Instead of legitimately “making a decent attempt at curing him, his parents emotionally neglect him” MG convincing themselves it’s okay “to leave the deaf, dumb, and blind boy in the more-than-questionable care of, first, his bullying ‘Cousin Kevin’ and his drunk, child molester Uncle Ernie, thus compounding Tommy’s childhood traumas.” MGPete Townshend and John Entwistle sing the song on the original album. In the movie, Paul Nicholas plays the part of Cousin Kevin and he sings the song. During the Who’s 1989 tour, Billy Idol “did a profanity-laced performance as Cousin Kevin.” MG |
The Acid QueenThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: 27 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.90 streaming About the Song:“The sexual allure of the Acid Queen (played by Tina Turner in the film), as well as the hedonistic escape that her drugs represent” MG “act as a replacement, a transference, for the Oedipally-desired mother.” MG “If she succeeds, she theoretically could cure [Tommy] of his mental block.” MG |
UndertureThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.86 streaming About the Song:Tommy experiences “an intense LSD trip, as musically expressed in ‘Underture’ with musical themes similar to those of ‘Sparks’ (implying the similarity between a drug trip and a blissful mystical experience of universal oneness).” MG “Still, drugs won’t cure Tommy of his trauma any better than sex will…These fleeting pleasures are the opposite of a cure, for they are only a manic defense against facing the pain, which is the only real cure.” MG |
Do You Think It’s Alright?The Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: 20 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming About the Song:This song continues the concept introduced in “Cousin Kevin,” where Tommy’s parents consider their incredibly questionable decisions to leave Tommy in the care of family members who are bullies and child molesters. |
Fiddle AboutThe Who |
Writer(s): John Entwistle Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: 20 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.48 streaming About the Song:In “Cousin Kevin,” Tommy is bullied by his cousin while in “Fiddle About” Tommy is the victim of his child molesting Uncle Ernie. The song is sung by John Entwistle, although in the movie “the lyrics are growled by Moon, who plays Uncle Ernie.” MG Phil Collins played the role during the Who’s 1989 tour, “dressed in the stereotypical pervert’s bathrobe, underwear, and with messy hair and glasses.” MG |
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Pinball WizardThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: single (3/7/1969), Tommy 5/19/1969), Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy (compilation, 1971), Hooligans (compilation, 1981), Greatest Hits (compilation, 1983), Who’s Better Who’s Best (compilation, 1988), My Generation: The Very Best of (compilation, 1996), The Ultimate Collection (compilation, 2002), Then & Now (compilation, 2004), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2009), Hits 50! (compilation, 2014) B-side: “Dogs Part II” Peak: 19 BB, 15 CB, 11 GR, 15 HR, 1 CL, 4 UK, 6 CN, 45 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 27.0 video, 233.57 streaming |
Awards:(Click on award to learn more).
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About the Song:According to singer Roger Daltrey, the idea to do a rock opera came from Kit Lambert, the Who’s co-manager. He pushed Pete Townshend, the band’s songwriter and guitarist, to “write something grander than a pop song.” TC In 1966, Townshend wrote the nine-minute mini-opera “A Quick One.” Three years later, he went all in with Tommy, a rock opera about a kid so stricken by childhood abuse that he has shut down his senses. He becomes a messiah figure when he starts amassing fans amazed by his inexplicable pinball skills.The song explains how Tommy played so well because there were no distractions via his senses, such as the lights and sounds of the machine. He plays based on vibration and, as the song says, “sense of smell.” Townshend called it “the most clumsy piece of writing I’ve ever done.” WK He considered it a “mindless, badly written song.” SF It was inspired by the Meher Baba. Townshend followed the teachings of the Indian spiritual master, who lived in silence the final 44 years of his life. He explained that “Tommy’s real self represents the aim – God – and the…way, the path and all of this.” FO Daltrey says, though, that the story line came more from Lambert than Townshend. TC Music author Toby Creswell describes it as “an extraordinary piece. Townshend uses a wall of acoustic guitars in a almost flamenco style of lightning-fast strumming to set the atmosphere, which is then pierced with fat chords of electric guitar peeled off and then allowed to float through the air.” TC This was the last song written for Tommy. The Who previewed the album for rock critic Nik Cohn, who wasn’t overly impressed. Townshend recognized that the project was heavy and the spiritual side and needed something to lighten the tone. He decided Tommy needed to possess a special skill. Knowing that Cohn was a pinball fanatic, Townshend made his protagonist excel at the game. Cohn then gave the project a glowing review, FO saying “It’ll be a masterpiece.” RV On the original album, Daltrey sings most of the song. In the movie, it is memorably performed by Elton John, whose recording of the song was a top ten hit in the UK. “Visually it’s hard to disassociate Tommy’s greatest hit from the scene in the movie, with the hyper-platformed Elton John leading the band through a manic reconstruction of the deaf, dumb, and blind boy’s most potent anthem. But musically, the original is still the one that matters.” DT
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There’s a DoctorThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming About the Song:His parents find a doctor (played by Jack Nicholson in the film) who they hope can cure Tommy. “In the song on the album, we hear a refrain of Tommy’s ‘See me, feel me…,’ a reflection of his trauma; then soon after, ‘Listening to you…,’ a reflection of his mystical, visionary state of mind.” MG |
Go to the Mirror!The Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: 27 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.96 streaming |
Awards:(Click on award to learn more).
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About the Song:“Realizing that Tommy’s disabilities are all psychosomatic and not at all biological, the doctor et al advise that Tommy ‘Go to the Mirror!’” MG “It is interesting…that blind Tommy would be brought before a mirror…as an essential part of his cure. An infant establishes its ego, its unified sense of self…by seeing itself in the mirror reflection for the first time.” MG |
Tommy, Can You Hear Me?The Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: B-side of “I’m Free” (Europe, 7/5/1969), Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: 29 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 2.81 streaming About the Song:“Having Tommy stand before a mirror and stare at himself…is a temporary indulging of narcissism…before gently weaning him of this indulgence.” MG “The problem is that Tommy’s mother, chanting “Tommy, Can You Hear Me?’ with the others, grows impatient and frustrated herself, and she decides to ‘Smash the Mirror.’” MG |
Smash the MirrorThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.70 streaming About the Song:“In the film, Tommy’s oh, so desirable mother is seen in the mirror reflection with Tommy during ‘Smash the Miror.’” MG This reflects Tommy’s “need to establish his ego before the mirror, something his trauma has frustrated. This connection is now key to curing him.” MG |
SensationThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.55 streaming About the Song:“Tommy has already had “disciples” from the discovery of his amazing pinball skills, but now he’s become a ‘Sensation,’ gaining many more followers, including groupie-like ‘Sally Simpson.’” MG |
Miracle CureThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, -- streaming About the Song:As a result of the smashing of the mirror, “Tommy’s mental block is gone: he can finally see, hear, and speak, but his ‘Miracle Cure’ is a superficial one.” MG “It’s much too sudden and abrupt.” MG “Now, the narcissism of Tommy’s fancying himself as a Messiah-figure is the one thing keeping him from falling apart and having a psychotic break with reality. What’s worse, as we see especially in the film, his family is indulging his megalomania to make a buck or two.” MG |
Sally SimpsonThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.78 streaming About the Song:Groupie Sally Simpson’s “preacher father disapproves of her involvement in Tommy’s cult. Since he’s ‘free,’ Tommy is trying to get as many followers as he can, people who, devoted to him, are treated as mere extensions of himself. They are the other, a mirroring back to himself of his ego.” MG |
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I’m FreeThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: single (7/5/1969), Tommy 5/19/1969), Who’s Better Who’s Best (compilation, 1988), The Ultimate Collection (compilation, 2002), Hits 50! (compilation, 2014) B-side: “We’re Not Gonna Take It” (US), “Tommy, Can You Hear Me?” (Europe) Peak: 37 BB, 30 CB, 26 GR, 29 HR, 7 CL, 83 AU, 13 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 7.30 streaming About the Song:“I’m Free” is an album highlight. It captures the moment when “frontman Roger Daltrey fully embodies the tortured essence of Tommy, displaying his newfound liberty.” RV
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WelcomeThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.28 streaming About the Song:Tommy now fully embraces his status as a cult leader, reveling in the narcissism of having so many people following him. He invites his followers to “come to this house and be one of us.” |
Tommy’s Holiday CampThe Who |
Writer(s): Keith Moon Released: Tommy 5/19/1969) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.28 streaming About the Song:“Wishing to cash in on Tommy’s new celebrity, his Uncle Ernie, his mother and Frank (in the film), set up ‘Tommy’s Holiday Camp.’ This whole set-up would be the rock opera’s satirical take on all those who would exploit the spiritual yearnings of the masses for profit.” MG “At first, the masses go along with it. There’s an ironic twist in having them wear ear plugs, eye shades, and a cork in their mouths…His followers, seeking to be pinball-playing imitators of Tommy as Christians would be imitators of Christ, are being willfully deaf, dumb, and blind followers.” MG |
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We’re Not Gonna Take It / See Me, Feel MeThe Who |
Writer(s): Pete Townshend Released: B-side of “I’m Free” (US, 7/5/1969), single (“See Me, Feel Me” – excerpt from “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” 9/19/1970), Tommy 5/19/1969), Who’s Better Who’s Best (compilation, 1988), The Ultimate Collection (compilation, 2002), ), Then & Now (compilation, 2004), Hits 50! (compilation, 2014) B-side: “Overture” Peak: 12 BB, 8 CB, 4 GR, 9 HR, 5 CL, 4 CN, 70 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 7.12 streaming |
Awards:(Click on award to learn more).
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About the Song:“When Tommy starts scolding certain of his followers for drinking, smoking pot, or being ‘Mr. Normal,’ they grow disillusioned with him and his restrictions on their freedoms, realizing he is no different from any other religious leader who becomes too authoritarian and repressive. Thus, they all chant, ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It,’ and reject his phony cult.” MG“Their rejection of Tommy leads to an ironic repeat of his ‘See me, feel me…’ plaintive singing. Before, the traumatized boy had our sympathies; now that he’s not only regained his senses but also become a powerful cult leader, his pleas to be heard and healed fall on…deaf…ears.” MG “The masses’ rejection of Tommy, their refusal to indulge him in his narcissism and megalomania, has made him retreat into himself again.” MG “We’re Not Gonna Take It” was whittled down to “See Me Feel Me” for the singles-friendly radio market with the “immortal refrain ‘see me, hear me, touch me, feel me’ taking on iconic proportions.” CS
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First posted 3/23/2008; last updated 9/5/2025. |
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