The Who's "Tommy" was released in the UK 50 years ago today

Posted By: Staff
May 23, 2019 @ 6:00 am
Music News

Geffen/UMG

Geffen/UMGToday marks the 50th anniversary of the U.K. release of one of the most lauded albums in rock history, The Who‘s Tommy. The rock opera tells the tale of a young man who becomes deaf, dumb and blind as a child after witnessing his father kill his mother’s lover, and who goes on miraculously to become a pinball champion and then, after regaining his senses, a spiritual guru.

Tommy‘s arrival came at a transitional period for The Who, one that saw the group’s members, particularly guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend, looking for a new musical direction after several years together as a well-received quirky pop-rock act.

“Tommy was the first time that we really tackled the idea of doing an album as a piece of art,” explains Townshend in the 2013 documentary Sensation: The Story of Tommy. “It was meant, in a sense, to hold a mirror to what we were doing at the time and what was happening to us.”

One of inspirations for Tommy was Meher Baba, an Indian guru whose teachings Townshend had begun following. Townshend’s story also was influenced by the traumas the people of his generation had experienced through the wars of the 20th century.

Explaining the Tommy character, Townshend said, “I was looking for an analogy to the fact that it seemed to me that we are deaf, dumb and blind, if you like, with respect to our spiritual genome. Whatever it is in us that drives us spiritually is effectively deaf, dumb and blind.”

The best-known song from Tommy was “Pinball Wizard,” which reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other memorable songs from the album include “The Acid Queen,” “I’m Free” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” which includes the famous refrain “See Me, Feel Me.” The album reached #4 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified double-platinum in the U.S.

Tommy, of course, has been presented in a variety of incarnations over the years, including the 1975 Ken Russell film. Perhaps most notably, Townshend collaborated with theater director Des McAnuff to adapt Tommy into a stage musical that went on to win five Tony Awards in 1993.

Last year, Who singer Roger Daltrey mounted a solo tour that featured a full performance of Tommy with orchestral accompaniment. A live album titled The Who’s Tommy Orchestral, featuring highlights from two shows from the trek, will be released on June 14.