elton john song meanings

... Elton John – Someone Saved My Life Tonight. According to John’s longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin (who wrote the lyrics of this song), he was inspired to write the lyrics of “Daniel” after reading an article published in Time magazine about the touching story of several Vietnam War veterans who back home to the United States in the hope of … The rapid release of Tumbleweed Connection established a pattern of frequent releases that John maintained throughout his career. Elton John Song Meanings. The decline in his record sales was also due to his exhaustion. In terms of sales and lasting popularity, Elton John was the biggest pop superstar of the early '70s. Refresh your page, login and try again. Breaking Hearts (Ain't What It Used to Be), Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Cold As Christmas (In The Middle Of The Year), Funeral for a Friend (Love Lies Bleeding), Ho! In August, he gave his first American concert at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, which received enthusiastic reviews, as well as praise from Quincy Jones and Leon Russell. Songs Performed By Elton John. "Mama Can't Buy You Love," a song he recorded with Philly soul producer Thom Bell in 1977, returned him to the Top Ten in 1979, but that year's Victim of Love was a commercial disappointment. One of their collaborations, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. That year, he returned to live performances, first by jamming at the Live Stiffs package tour, then by launching a comeback tour in 1979 accompanied only by percussionist Ray Cooper. In 1981, he signed with Geffen Records and his second album, Jump Up!, became a gold album on the strength of "Blue Eyes" and "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)," his tribute to John Lennon. No, I don’t think I did.”, Review: Taron Egerton Shoots for the Moon in Elton John Biopic Rocketman. Please check your email to confirm your subscription. “When I saw the lyrics, I knew it had to be an off-the-wall type song, R&B-ish or funky,” John explained to Rolling Stone. "Rocket Man" began a four-year streak of 16 Top 20 hits in a row; out of those 16 -- including "Crocodile Rock," "Daniel," "Bennie and the Jets," "The Bitch Is Back," and "Philadelphia Freedom" -- only one, the FM hit "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," failed to reach the Top Ten. Though he failed his Liberty audition, he was given a stack of lyrics left with the label courtesy of Bernie Taupin, who had also replied to the ad. Elton John and longtime musical collaborator Bernie Taupin are credited with creating some of the most powerful piano ballads of the 1970s. Honky Chateau began a streak of seven consecutive number one albums -- Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (1973), Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973), Caribou (1974), Greatest Hits (1974), Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975), Rock of the Westies (1975) -- that all went platinum. After studying for six years, he left school with the intention of breaking into the music business. He and Taupin signed a record-breaking publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music in 1992 for an estimated 39 million dollars. Inspiration. John followed it quickly in late 1970 with the concept album Tumbleweed Connection, which received heavy airplay on album-oriented radio in the U.S., helping it climb into the Top Ten. Elton John and longtime musical collaborator Bernie Taupin are credited with creating some of the most powerful piano ballads of the 1970s. In a surprise move, he married engineer Renate Blauel in 1984; the couple stayed married for four years, although John later admitted he realized he was homosexual before his marriage. Initially marketed as a singer/songwriter, John soon revealed he could craft Beatlesque pop and pound out rockers with equal aplomb. His versatility, combined with his effortless melodic skills, dynamic charisma, and flamboyant stage shows, made him the most popular recording artist of the '70s. Released in the summer of 1970, Elton John began to make inroads in America, where it appeared on MCA's Uni subsidiary. Recorded with his touring band -- bassist Dee Murray, drummer Nigel Olsson, and guitarist Davey Johnstone -- and featuring the hit singles "Rocket Man" and "Honky Cat," Honky Chateau became his first American number one album, spending five weeks at the top of the charts. Tagged: Rock | The 1970s | The 1980s | The 1990s | The 2000s | Adult Contemporary | Groups from England | Singer-songwriters | Blue-eyed Soul . Here Are All the 2020 Billboard Music Awards Winners So Far. But it was 1983's Too Low for Zero that began his last great streak of hit singles, with the MTV hit "I'm Still Standing" and the Top Ten single "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues." For his second album, John and Taupin hired producer Gus Dudgeon and arranger Paul Buckmaster, who contributed grandiose string charts to Elton John. Mouthwatering recipes, handy kitchen tips, and more delivered to your inbox. What's the Argument for the Electoral College? ), Related: Get Your First Peek at Taron Egerton as Elton John. “It was a cry for help, and Bernie wrote it about him,” Egerton says of his favorite John song. Slow down. John co-wrote this rouser in homage of his good friend, tennis pioneer and philanthropist Billie Jean King. But through it all, John remained a remarkably popular artist, and many of his songs -- including "Your Song," "Rocket Man," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" -- became contemporary pop standards. Refresh your page, login and try again. Per Egerton, Taupin wrote this ballad after an in-despair John contemplated suicide, feeling trapped in a loveless relationship. It looks as though you’ve already said that. Some insiders claim the culprit was Taupin’s then-wife, Maxine Feibelman—again. Please try again. Goodbye, Norma Jean. In 2006, John and Taupin released The Captain & the Kid, a sequel to 1975's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. Taupin insists he wrote the anthem about the first trip he and John took to L.A. and the free-spirited women they met there, so eager to be part of the music scene and their inner circle. He could dip into soul, disco, and country, as well as classic pop balladry and even progressive rock. By the summer of 1968, he had begun recording singles for release under his own name. By the time the two met six months later, Dwight had changed his name to Elton John, taking his first name from Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean and his last from John Baldry. Have a Spookily Entertaining Season at Home With the 50 Best Halloween Movies of All Time, Lizzo Wants You To 'Remain True To Who You Are'—Watch Her Empowering Billboard Music Awards Acceptance Speech. Usually, these songs were more rock- and radio-oriented than the tunes he and Taupin were giving to other vocalists, yet neither of his early singles for Philips, "I've Been Loving You Too Long" and "Lady Samantha," sold well. Dwight began playing piano at the age of four, and when he was 11, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. That year, he revealed in an interview in Rolling Stone that he was bisexual; he would later admit that the confession was a compromise, since he was afraid to reveal that he was homosexual. A Step Too Far 0 interpretations; 1986. Whoops! The lyrics, which were written by Elton’s longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin, see the narrator express his love in a purely innocent and beautiful way to his significant other. The following year, Captain Fantastic became John's first album to enter the American charts at number one. Though John has said the pounding anthem stands as his statement about “still being relevant and successful in the early 1980s,” Taupin has a different story: He claims he wrote the lyrics “as sort of a kiss-off to an old girlfriend.”. On this soaring ballad, Taupin contrasted childhood memories of watching The Wizard of Oz with his exasperation of opulent superstar lifestyle. Your use of this website constitutes and manifests your acceptance and others. “It’s about a guy who’s just bored doing the same thing,” running his thriving “cartoon balloon” business. What Percentage of TV Time Consists of Commercials? See the the Fashion and Fun From the 2020 Billboard Music Awards—Including Kelly Clarkson's Showstopping Looks! Dwight became frustrated with Baldry's control of the band and began searching for other groups to join. Dwight wrote music for Taupin's lyrics and began corresponding with him through mail. Slow down. No, despite the words, John doesn’t have a brother named Daniel. 1998. Related: Taron Egerton on Filming Rocketman and His Blossoming Friendship With Elton John. Sorry, comments are currently closed. But Egerton says, “I’ve heard it’s about Bernie’s first wife,” Maxine Feibelman, who was, indeed, a “seamstress for the band.” (And the song was dedicated to her on the album, Madman Across the Water, so there’s that. Unlike many pop stars, John was able to sustain his popularity, charting a Top 40 single every single year from 1970 to 1996. (Who'd Be a Turkey at Christmas), I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever), I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford), I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, I Heard It Through the Grapevine (Marvin Gaye cover), I Meant to Do My Work Today (A Day in the Country), If There's a God in Heaven (What's He Waiting For? Released in 2001, Songs from the West Coast was a return to form for John, who found critical success for the first time since the '80s. In 1961, he joined his first band, Bluesology, and divided his time between playing with the group, giving solo concerts at a local hotel, and running errands for a London publishing house. Your use of this website constitutes and manifests your acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy, Cookie Notification, and awareness of the California Privacy Rights. Taupin’s lyrics were inspired by comic books, sci-fi movies and the German photographer Helmut Newton. But he later admitted, “Did I say to myself, ‘I’m going to sit down and write a song about my childhood watching the mods fight the rockers’? Peaking at number eight on the U.S. charts and going double platinum, the album became his most successful record since Blue Moves and sparked a career renaissance for John. In terms of sales and lasting popularity, Elton John was the biggest pop superstar of the early '70s. 1 women’s tennis player, she played on a pro team called the Philadelphia Freedoms. Pursuant to U.S. An email has been sent to you. of our. Thanks for signing up! In June of 1969, he released his debut album for DJM, Empty Sky, which received fair reviews, but no sales. Over the next two years, the duo wrote songs for pop singers like Roger Cook and Lulu. “And [he] just wants to get away, but he can’t,” John once explained. In 1994, John collaborated with lyricist Tim Rice on songs for Disney's animated feature The Lion King. John's 1995 album Made in England continued his comeback, peaking at number three on the U.K. charts and number 13 in the U.S.; in America, the album went platinum. You seem to be logged out. John didn't become a Rocket recording artist himself, choosing to stay with MCA for a record-breaking eight-million-dollar contract in 1974. Get ’Em Here! Ad Choices. When he wrote the music, he dropped the last verse to Taupen’s lyrics, which explained Daniel was a Vietnam vet who couldn’t find peace after the war and decided to leave America. Your account was created. Despite this long-term commitment, Elton pursued other projects: he published an autobiography called Love Is the Cure in the summer of 2012 and around the same time, the Australian dance duo Pnau reworked many of his classic '70s recordings on the Good Morning to the Night album. Taupin, however, has denied it. Empty comment. 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