Tommy (soundtrack)

This article is about the 1975 film soundtrack. For the 1993 theatre soundtrack, see Tommy (original cast recording).

Tommy
Soundtrack album by The Who
Released	19 March 1975
Recorded	January–March 1974
Studio	Ramport and Eel Pie, London
Genre	Hard rock art rock progressive rock
Length	90:35
Label	Polydor
Producer	The Who
The Who chronology
Odds & Sods (1974) Tommy (1975) The Who by Numbers (1975)
Singles from Tommy soundtrack
"Pinball Wizard" Released: 12 March 1976

Tommy is a soundtrack album by The Who with contributions from numerous artists. The soundtrack was used in the 1975 Tommy film that was based on the original album that was released by The Who in 1969. Pete Townshend oversaw the production of this double-LP recording that returned the music to its rock roots, and on which the unrecorded orchestral arrangements he had envisaged for the original Tommy LP were realised by the extensive use of synthesiser.

The soundtrack LP also employed many leading sessions musicians including Caleb Quaye, Phil Chen and Nicky Hopkins (who also receives a "Special Thanks" in the album credits for help with the arrangements) as well as members of The Faces' Ronnie Wood and future Keith Moon replacement Kenney Jones. Although the music for this song is performed by "The Elton John Band", as he was calling his musical team, the film depicts John being backed by The Who (dressed in pound-note suits). According to the album's back cover credits, the song was the only one not produced by Townshend, helmed instead by Elton's producer, Gus Dudgeon. Townshend performs additional synthesizer and/or guitar on all tracks. Credits to "The Who" indicate performances by Townshend, John Entwistle and Moon jointly, regardless of vocalist.

Track listing

All songs are written and composed by Pete Townshend, except where noted. (For narrative, see Tommy (1975 film).)

Bonus track on CD reissues (CD 1)

No.	Title	Performer	Length
1.	"Overture from Tommy"	Pete Townshend	5:01

LP side one (cassette side 1, CD 1)

No.	Title	...	Length
1.	"Prologue – 1945"	Pete Townshend and John Entwistle	2:55
2.	"Captain Walker/It's a Boy"	Pete Townshend, Margo Newman and Vicki Brown	2:38
3.	"Bernie's Holiday Camp"	Oliver Reed, Alison Dowling and Ann-Margret	3:42
4.	"1951/What About The Boy?"	Ann-Margret and Oliver Reed	2:49
5.	"Amazing Journey"	Pete Townshend	3:19
6.	"Christmas"	Ann-Margret, Alison Dowling and Oliver Reed	3:59
7.	"Eyesight to the Blind" (Willie "Sonny Boy" Williamson)	Eric Clapton	3:21

LP side two (cassette side 1, CD 1)

No.	Title	...	Length
1.	"The Acid Queen"	Tina Turner	3:47
2.	"Do You Think It's Alright? (1)"	Ann-Margret and Oliver Reed	0:57
3.	"Cousin Kevin" (John Entwistle)	Paul Nicholas	3:07
4.	"Do You Think It's Alright? (2)"	Ann-Margret and Oliver Reed	0:46
5.	"Fiddle About" (John Entwistle)	Keith Moon	1:40
6.	"Do You Think It's Alright? (3)"	Ann-Margret and Oliver Reed	0:29
7.	"Sparks"	Instrumental	3:07
8.	"Extra, Extra, Extra"	Simon Townshend	0:37
9.	"Pinball Wizard"	Elton John	5:22

LP side three (cassette side 2, CD 2)

No.	Title	...	Length
1.	"Champagne"	Ann-Margret and Roger Daltrey	4:43
2.	"There's a Doctor"	Oliver Reed and Ann-Margret	0:29
3.	"Go to the Mirror"	Jack Nicholson, Roger Daltrey and Ann-Margret [1]	3:49
4.	"Tommy, Can You Hear Me?"	Ann-Margret	0:55
5.	"Smash the Mirror!"	Ann-Margret	1:22
6.	"I'm Free"	Roger Daltrey	2:36
7.	"Mother and Son"	Ann-Margret and Roger Daltrey	2:36
8.	"Sensation"	Roger Daltrey	2:49 [1]

LP side four (cassette side 2, CD 2)

No.	Title	...	Length
1.	"Miracle Cure"	Simon Townshend	0:23
2.	"Sally Simpson"	Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey	5:38
3.	"Welcome"	Roger Daltrey, Ann-Margret and Oliver Reed	4:15
4.	"T.V. Studio"	Ann-Margret and Oliver Reed	1:14
5.	"Tommy's Holiday Camp" (Keith Moon)	Keith Moon	1:29
6.	"We're Not Gonna Take It"	Roger Daltrey with the vocal chorus	4:46 [1]
7.	"See Me, Feel Me/Listening to You [1] "	Roger Daltrey with the vocal chorus	4:19 [1]

The Who:

• Roger Daltrey – vocals for (grown up) "Tommy" ("Young Tommy" vocals by Alison Dowling)
• John Entwistle – bass, brass overdubs
• Keith Moon – drums, vocals for "Uncle Ernie"
• Pete Townshend – guitars, synthesizers, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals for "Narrator"

"Overture from Tommy"

• The Who

"Prologue – 1945"

• John Entwistle – brass overdubs
• Pete Townshend – all other instruments

"Captain Walker/It's a Boy"

• Pete Townshend – all instruments

"Bernie's Holiday Camp"

• The Who

"1951/What about the Boy?"

• Nicky Hopkins – piano
• Mike Kellie – drums
• Mick Ralphs, Caleb Quaye – guitar
• Chris Stainton – organ

"Amazing Journey"

• Phil Chen – bass
• Nicky Hopkins – piano
• Tony Newman – drums

"Christmas"

• Nicky Hopkins – piano
• Vocal chorus – backing vocals

"Eyesight to the Blind"

• Eric Clapton – vocals and guitar
• Kenney Jones – drums
• Arthur Brown – vocals

"Acid Queen"

• Tina Turner – vocals
• Kenney Jones – drums
• Nicky Hopkins – piano
• Ronnie Wood – guitar

"Do You Think It's Alright?" (1, 2, and 3)

• Phil Chen – bass
• Graham Deakin – drums
• Nicky Hopkins – piano
• Alan Ross – acoustic guitar

"Cousin Kevin"

• Tony Newman – drums
• Dave Wintour – bass

"Fiddle About"

• The Who

"Sparks"

• The Who

"Extra, Extra, Extra"

• Kenney Jones – drums
• Alan Ross – acoustic guitar
• Tony Stevens – bass

"Pinball Wizard"

• Elton John – lead vocals and piano
• Davey Johnstone – guitar
• Dee Murray – bass
• Nigel Olsson – drums
• Ray Cooper – percussion

"Champagne"

• The Who

"There's a Doctor"

• Kenney Jones – drums
• Alan Ross – acoustic guitar
• Chris Stainton – piano
• Ronnie Wood – guitar

"Go to the Mirror"

• Richard Bailey – drums
• Phil Chen – bass
• Nicky Hopkins – piano
• Caleb Quaye – guitar

"Tommy, Can You Hear Me?"

• Nicky Hopkins – piano
• Alan Ross, Chris Stainton – acoustic guitar

"Smash the Mirror!"

• Kenney Jones – drums
• Alan Ross – acoustic guitar

"I'm Free"

• Nicky Hopkins – piano
• Kenney Jones – drums

"Mother and Son"

• Pete Townshend – all instruments except bass (John Entwistle)

"Sensation"

• Phil Chen – bass
• Nicky Hopkins – piano
• Alan Ross – acoustic guitar

"Miracle Cure"

• Kenney Jones – drums
• Alan Ross – acoustic guitar
• Tony Stevens – bass

"Sally Simpson"

• Phil Chen – bass
• Eric Clapton – guitar
• Graham Deakin – drums
• Nicky Hopkins – piano

"Welcome"

• Pete Townshend – all instruments

"T.V. Studio"

• Pete Townshend – all instruments

"Tommy's Holiday Camp"

• Gerald Shaw – organ

"We're Not Gonna Take It"

• Nicky Hopkins – piano
• Mike Kelly – drums
• Alan Ross – acoustic guitar
• Fuzzy Samuels – bass
• Chris Stainton – organ
• Caleb Quaye – guitar
• Vocal chorus – backing vocals

"See Me, Feel Me/Listening to You"

The Who, plus:

• Nicky Hopkins – piano
• Chris Stainton – organ
• Vocal chorus – backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts 1975 weekly chart performance for Tommy Chart (1975) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [2] 6 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [3] 2 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [4] 11 Italian Albums ( Musica e Dischi ) [5] 7 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [6] 5 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [7] 15 UK Albums (OCC) [8] 21 US Billboard 200 [9] 2 2007 weekly chart performance for Tommy Chart (2007) Peak position Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [10] 91

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Tommy Chart (1975) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [11] 22 Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [12] 15 US Billboard 200 [13] 17

Certifications

Certifications for Tommy

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [14]	Gold	50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [15]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA) [16]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Notes:
   1. The length 2:49 is the length of "Sensation" on the LP and 8-track; the cassette and CD feature a lead-in verse sung by Pete Townshend and a guitar solo (labeled parts 1 and 2 of 3), making it 4:37
   2. The soundtrack album's liner notes give Oliver Reed a vocal credit for "Go to the Mirror" even though his vocals are only on the film version of the song—not the soundtrack-album version. The song book for the soundtrack album, however, correctly attributes the concluding verses' vocals solely to "Mother" (Ann-Margret).
   3. "See Me, Feel Me/Listening To You" is the name given in the song book for the soundtrack album; the soundtrack album itself, counterintuitively, calls it "Listening To You/See Me, Feel Me". Also, the original 1993 CD version, curiously, splits the last two tracks at the onset of the "Listening To You" movement, leaving the "See Me, Feel Me" movement with "We're Not Gonna Take It". Times given here, however, represent the correct split between the two songs. The 2000 remastered version has the song-book track labeling and the correct split on the CD.
2. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 282. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
3. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6136a". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
4. "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack – Tommy - the Movie" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
5. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 18 March 2023. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "Tommy".
6. "Charts.nz – Soundtrack – Tommy - the Movie". Hung Medien. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
7. "Norwegiancharts.com – Soundtrack – Tommy - the Movie". Hung Medien. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
8. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
9. "The Who Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
10. "Spanishcharts.com – Soundtrack – Tommy - the Movie". Hung Medien. Retrieved July, 8 2023.
11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 427. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
12. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6489a". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
13. "Top US Billboard 200 Albums - Year-end 1975". BestSellingAlbums.org. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
14. "Canadian album certifications – Soundtrack – Tommy". Music Canada.
15. "British album certifications – Soundtrack – Tommy-Ost". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
16. "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Tommy". Recording Industry Association of America.