I could fill an album with songs by Elton John that I find more than amazing. Elton has the gift (together with Bernie Taupin) to write songs at a high pace. In barely five years, Elton released no less than eleven (!) albums – including the famous double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road from 1973 – and scored worldwide hits with songs like 'Rocket Man', 'Crocodile Rock', 'Daniel' and 'Bennie And The Jets'. No fewer than 11 songs (in 2019) by Elton John are in the Top 2000.
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John CH CBE, born Reginald Kenneth Dwight (25 March 1947), is an English pop singer, composer and pianist. To date, he has sold more than 300 million recordings. This makes him one of the best-selling artists of all time. The 1997 reissue of the single Candle in the Wind (originally from 1973), made following the death of British Princess Diana, sold more than 33 million copies. Of his singles, 56 reached the US top forty, sixteen the top ten, four the second place and nine the first. He won six Grammy Awards, two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe and a Tony Award.
Since the late 1980s, he has made a major contribution to the fight against AIDS. He is also a great advocate of the LGBT movement. In 1998, Elton John was knighted as a Knight Bachelor. In 2008, Billboard magazine placed him third in the Billboard Hot 100 50th Anniversary Charts, making Elton John the most successful male solo artist ever according to this list.
John was club owner of Watford FC from 1976 to 1987 and from 1997 to 2002. He is now honorary life president, and in 2014 a stand at the stadium was named after him.
In 2019, his first and only autobiography was published. “Me Elton John” came out shortly after the film Rocketman about his life.
When Elton John landed at Los Angeles airport in the early 1970s, he happened to meet John Lennon there. The ex-Beatle had just spoken very favourably about Elton John in the press, predicting a golden future for him as a new pop icon. In the arrivals hall, Lennon fell to his knees before Elton, shouting ‘it’s him, it’s him, it’s Elton!’ As a big Beatles fan, Elton felt very embarrassed but also honoured. Yet Lennon was right. Because forty years later, Sir Elton John has grown into an influential and very successful pop artist who has touched and moved millions of people with his songs.
Sunday Morning Classic: A Single Man
On 10 November 2019, the album "A Single Man" was played during the Sunday Morning Classics.
After releasing Blue Moves, Elton John realised that his songwriting was not quite what it used to be, so he took a two-year break hoping to rebuild the invaluable inspiration that had driven him for so many years. He even parted ways with his old lyricist Bernie Taupin and began working with a guy named Gary Osborne, hoping he could be a source of new inspiration. But all these moves were in vain – A Single Man is as desperately mediocre as Blue Moves, if not more. A downright boring album is A Single Man.
At the same time, it is still a somewhat likeable album. It opens with "Shine on Through", a piano ballad that starts off rather dull but picks up steam in the latter half when the brass and drums come in. "Return to Paradise" is another rather mediocre ballad, but it has a bit of a Latin flair that works well, although it loses some points due to its generic Spanish guitar and horn solo.
"I Don't Care" is such a good dance track and the best song on the album. It has a convincing beat to tap your toes to, and the melody is fun. And at least it’s not disco.
"Madness" is quite a fun song, especially in the punchy chorus, and turns out to be one of the highlights of the album.
Worse is 'Part-Time Love', with a rhythm that inspires me to nothing.
"Big Dipper" is a nice attempt to emulate the ragtime vibe that The Kinks once captured on Muswell Hillbillies. Although Elton's take is likeable, it still lacks the freshness that made Ray Davies' work such a smashing success. This is nowhere clearer than on “Georgia”, a feeble attempt to write a country-western song that 'immortalises' a homeland Elton John probably only visited on one of his tours. Although it is a nice song, 'It Ain't Gonna Be Easy' had no reason to last 8 minutes. Of course, it had enough stamina to last 4 minutes. Also, the 7-minute closer "Song For Guy" would have been more successful in a shorter version. Source: Wikipedia, Radio2 and Jan Liebregts Photo: free to use (Wikipedia)
www.eltonjohn.com
