Tag Archives: Crocodile Rock

Music Monday: Oct 2, 2023

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Bruce quote 2023

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

One of Sir Elton John’s most revered records is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, his first double LP, his seventh studio album and the one widely regarded as his crowning achievement, was released September 29, 1973. (That is according to EJ’s Instagram page, although his website lists the date as “October 5, 1973, on MCA Records in the US and Canada”). It hit the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 Albums chart for the last eight weeks of 1973. As of 2020, it has reportedly sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.

Between the title track (which peaked at #2 in December 1973), today’s three featured songs (see below for stats), his ode to Marilyn Monroe, “Candle In The Wind” (which was re-written in 1997 to honor his friend, Princess Diana. That version spent 14 weeks in the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 that year) and all the other incredible tracks on this record, it is easy to see why it is one of EJ’s most successful and well loved albums.

elton-john-goodbye-yellow-brick-road

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

It bears mentioning that Goodbye was the second album he released in 1973. In January he and Taupin gave us, Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (a #1 record for two weeks in March 1973), which gave us gems like “Daniel” (which peaked at #2 in June 1973) and “Crocodile Rock” (a #1 song for three weeks in February 1973). Both of these songs, especially “Daniel”, were the main reason I purchased EJ’s “Greatest Hits” (1974), the first album I ever bought myself. They began the soundtrack of my life. And my love affair with John-Taupin music has never waned.

Elton_John_-_Don't_Shoot_Me_I'm_Only_the_Piano_Player

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

As if the golden anniversary of these two albums were not enough to celebrate, both men remain as vital and active today as they ever were. EJ just retired from the road but is still doing music collaborations, hosting his Aids Foundation Oscar gala each year and his “Rocket Hour” radio show on Apple Music. He and his husband, David Furnish, have been together since 2005, married since 2014 and are raising two sons. Last month Taupin released his autobiography, “Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton, and Me”. I just received my copy and cannot wait to read the journey from Taupin’s perspective. He and and his wife, Heather, will be married 20 years in 2024 and have two daughters.

Thank you, Elton and Bernie, for every record, every note and every word. I cannot imagine the universe without the two of you in it. “How wonderful life is” with your presence in my world and everyone else’s.

bernie book
bernie

(Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Elton John: “Bennie And The Jets” (1973, written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It hit #1 for one week in April 1974).

Elton John: “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” (1973, written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It peaked at #12 in September 1973).

Elton John: “Harmony” (1973, written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin).

Stay safe and well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 316

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Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

Shakespeare music

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Today in 1973 Elton John’s sixth studio album, Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only The Piano Player, was released. It contained his first US #1 record “Crocodile Rock” and the heartbreaking tale of “Daniel”, which is the first record I ever bought of John’s. I played that 45 for hours at a time and did not come close to tiring of it. But one day I did get curious about the B side so I gave that a listen. And it was one of the best discoveries of my young life to that point.

I found a beautiful moving song that instantly became my new favorite by John and his magnificent lyricist, Bernie Taupin. It dates back to 1968 when it was released as a single in the UK by another artist. It is on John’s 1969 UK debut album, Empty Sky, which did not get released in the US until 1975. That version features a different arrangement with John playing a harpsichord and an organ. Today’s rendition features him on the piano & was slated to be included on the LP released 48 years ago today. Somehow it did not make the final cut. It finally appeared on John’s 1992 Rare Masters release.

If you have followed John as long as I have you know he was one of the first artists to lead the fight for AIDS research which continues to this day with his AIDS Foundation Academy Award Party started in 1993. But back in 1984 when a 13 year old boy from Indiana named Ryan White was one of the first children diagnosed with the disease after a blood transfusion, John reached out to him & became his friend. When White died from the illness in 1990, John performed today’s pick at the funeral.

He had a record on the US Hot 100 charts for 31 consecutive years from 1969 to 2000 and even though today’s track is not included in that staggering statistic, I think it is one of the most beautiful songs of his career. I cannot imagine a day of my life without the music of Elton John & Bernie Taupin.

“For this dark and lonely room
Projects a shadow cast in gloom
And my eyes are mirrors
Of the world outside“.

Taupin and John 1968

Bernie Taupin (L) and Elton John (R) circa 1969. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Elton John: “Skyline Pigeon” (1968, written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.