This is part of Tommy, the first "rock opera." Tommy is about a young man who is deaf, dumb, and blind, but becomes a pinball champion and gains hordes of adoring fans. It was made into a play and ran as an off-Broadway production.
Like most songs on the Tommy album, "Pinball Wizard" was written by The Who guitarist, Pete Townshend. The album existed mostly in his head while they were recording it, and the other members of The Who had no idea how most of the story would end until they finished it. The only songs Townshend didn't write for the project were "Cousin Kevin" and "Fiddle About" (by bass player John Entwistle), and "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (by Keith Moon).
"Pinball Wizard" was written to impress a rock critic. Pete Townshend was very excited about the Tommy album, but the whole "rock opera" concept was a tough sell. The influential UK rock critic Nik Cohn was brought in to hear a rough mix of the album, and he wasn't impressed. On the spot, Townshend thought about how he could make it more accessible, and knowing that Cohn was a pinball fanatic, proffered that Tommy could be a pinball savant. Cohn loved the idea, so Townshend went home and banged out "Pinball Wizard." The ploy worked: Cohn gave the project a favorable review that helped build momentum for it.
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