Artist Survey #16: Elton John

[Dawn]

This week's featured artist is:

Elton John



Favorite Elton John songs:
1. Philadelphia Freedom
2. Mama Can’t Buy You Love
3. Don't Go Breaking My Heart
4. Your Song
5. Island Girl
6. Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
7. I’m Still Standing
8. Crocodile Rock
9. Little Jeannie
10. Nobody Wins
11. Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)
12. Daniel
13. Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting
14. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
15. Tiny Dancer

Most underrated song(s): Nobody Wins, Sartorial Eloquence, Elderberry Wine

Any songs you feel are overrated? Nikita

Best vocals: Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word

Best instrumentation: Crocodile Rock

First Elton John song you can remember hearing: Crocodile Rock

Favorite album: Probably Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Favorite album cover: Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy

First 45 you owned: Philadelphia Freedom
First LP: Greatest Hits Vols. 1 & 2 (multi-set)
First cassette: none
First CD: Greatest Hits Vol. 2

[SAT-I need more room!!]

20. Daniel
19. The Bitch is Back
18. Harmony
17. Rocket Man
16. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
15. Don’t Let the Sun Go Down
14. Someone Saved My Life Tonight
13. Tiny Dancer
12. Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
11. All the Girls Love Alice
10. Levon
9. Perfect Day w/Collective Soul
8. Amoreena
7. Where to Now St. Peter?
6. Island Girl
5. Bennie and the Jets
4. Philadelphia Freedom
3. Burn Down the Mission
2. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart w/Kiki Dee
1. Grey Seal

Underrated-Amoreena, Where to Now St. Peter?

Overrated-Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting, any 80's song

Vocals-Bennie and the Jets

Instrumentation-Grey Seal

First heard-Probably Your Song

Fave album-Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Fave cover-Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

First 45-none (just hand me down of Croc Rock/Elderberry Wine
First LP-Caribou (it was .10 at a used record store)
First cassette-Greatest Hits Volume II
First CD-Classic Elton John (from McDonalds)

[Ken]

Woo Hoo!!

Favorite Elton John songs:
1.Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting
2.Ballad Of A Well Known Gun
3.Grow Some Funk Of Your Own
4.High Flying Bird
5.Rocket Man
6.Empty Garden
7.Levon
8.Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy
9. Harmony
10.Blue Eyes
11.Daniel
12.Crocodile Rock
13.Teacher I Need You
14.Funeral For a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding
15. The Bitch is Back
16.Ticking
17.Dixie Lily
18.Sad Songs (Say So Much)
19.Eldeberry Wine
20.Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock N Roll)
21.Someone Saved My Life Tonight
22.Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
23.Madman Across The Water
24.Hercules
25.Mona Lisa's and Mad Hatters
26.Grey Seal
27.Bennie & The Jets
28.(Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket
plus many more!

Most underrated song(s): Mona Lisa's & Mad Hatters

Any songs you feel are overrated? I can't think of any right now.

Best vocals: Harmony

Best instrumentation: Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding

First Elton John song you can remember hearing: Rocket Man

Favorite album: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road , Don't Shoot Me , Caribou , Tumbleweed Connection , Honky Chateau etc - sorry, it's hard to pick just one

Favorite album cover: Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy

First 45 you owned: either Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me or The Bitch is Back - Still have 'em
First LP: The 1974 Greatest Hits
First cassette: none
First CD: Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy

[lora]

Favorite Elton John songs:

Candle in the Wind (1997)
Bennie and the Jets
Crocodile Rock
Don't Go Breaking My Heart
I'm Still Standing
The Bitch Is Back
Tiny Dancer
There are still MANY that I don't know!

Most underrated song(s): don't know

Any songs you feel are overrated? not a one

Best vocals: Tough one. I don't feel familiar enough to know.

Best instrumentation: Crocodile Rock

First Elton John song you can remember hearing: Definitely Crocodile Rock. That song was a staple in my childhood.

Favorite album: don't know

Favorite album cover: no idea

First 45 you owned: none
First LP: none
First cassette: none
First CD: None here either. I plan to get something fairly soon. Elton's way up on my list.

[Triple J]

Favorite Elton John songs:
1. I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That
2. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
3. Crocodile Rock
4. Don't Go Breaking My Heart (with Kiki Dee)
5. Bennie And The Jets
6. I’m Still Standing
7. Who Wears These Shoes?
8. I Want Love
9. Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting
10. Philadelphia Freedom
11. Rocket Man
12. Candle In The Wind (live)
13. Honky Cat
14. The Club At The End Of The Street
15. Healing Hands
16. I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
17. Sad Songs (Say So Much)
18. I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford)
19. Your Song
20. Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)

Most underrated song(s):
Some of the above,
Madman Across The Water - Ya betta get yer COAT, dear! Hah, I love that!
Blue Eyes
Flames Of Paradise (with Jennifer Rush)
A Word In Spanish
Sacrifice
El Dorado

Any songs you feel are overrated? Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, Wrap Her Up

Best vocals: Bennie And The Jets

Best instrumentation: Philadelphia Freedom

First Elton John song you can remember hearing: Gee, I really can't say... maybe "Don't Go Breaking My Heart?"

Favorite album: Greatest Hits 1970-2002

Favorite album cover: Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy (totally agree!)

First 45 you owned: none
First LP: Mom had a few, like "Yellow Brick," "Honky Chateau," and "Don't Shoot Me, I'm Just the Piano Player"
First cassette: none
First CD: Greatest Hits 1976-1986

[djdave]

Oh yeah! Great 70's shot of Elton.
But ever since his early YL polls, I've always thought to myself, "SAT, was Elton THAT bad in the 1980's?" (I even took my complaint straight into the Click's past Elton tourney) Dif strokes, dif folks...

Favorite Elton John songs: (another huge list for me, loosely taken from my 1994 CRAZY list, but slightly re-arranged--I am not meaning to shout, I just list titles in CAPS on my lists)
#1. PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM (pretty much ALWAYS been my top fave!)
2. MAMA CAN’T BUY YOU LOVE (always been in my top 5 ever since current)
3. BENNIE AND THE JETS (just dropped out of the top 2 after quite a while)
4. BLUE EYES (not even top 20 fave in 1994)
5. DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART (with Kiki Dee)
6. YOUR SONG
7. I’M STILL STANDING
8. CROCODILE ROCK (was #2 as recent as 1994)
9. ISLAND GIRL
10. I DON’T WANNA GO ON WITH YOU LIKE THAT (of ones I've seen at least clips of, his best video)
11. DANIEL
12. LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS
13. LITTLE JEANNIE
14. NOBODY WINS
15. GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD
16. THE BITCH IS BACK
17. DON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME (with George Michael)
18. ROCKET MAN
19. CANDLE IN THE WIND (1997)
20. CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE TONIGHT
21. HONKY CAT
22. SAD SONGS (SAY SO MUCH)
23. SATURDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT FOR FIGHTING
24. CLUB AT THE END OF THE STREET
25. BELIEVE
26. DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME (original)
27. THE ONE
28. CANDLE IN THE WIND (1973)
29. WRAP HER UP
30. I GUESS THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES
31. CIRCLE OF LIFE
32. SACRIFICE
33. EMPTY GARDEN
34. NIKITA
35. SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD
36. LEVON
37. DON’T GO BREAKIN’ MY HEART (newer version with RuPaul)
38. BITE YOUR LIP (GET UP AND DANCE!)
39. TINY DANCER
40. ELDERBERRY WINE
I think I'll stop there...

Most underrated songs: Nobody Wins (ABSOLUTELY!), Bite your Lip, Elderberry Wine, Jamaica Jerk Off, In Neon, Act of War (with Millie Jackson, 1985), Written In the Stars (with LeAnn Rimes)

Any songs you feel are overrated? Funeral for a friend (sorry, could never understand its appeal, radio keeps it playing...), maybe some 90's tunes, but not as much as Funeral...

Best vocals: Blue eyes, followed by Your Song

Best instrumentation: Mama can't buy you love (easily)

First Elton John song you can remember hearing: hmmm...probably Your Song, it seems I vaguely recall this on AM radio in 1973...I think I also vaguely recall hearing Honky Cat in 1973 also.

Favorite album: definitely Goodbye Yellow Brick Road!
Followed by Don't shoot me, Honky Chateau, and Captain Fantastic.

Favorite album cover: Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player! (Best title too)

First 45 you owned: Mama can't buy you love (plain beige looking MCA 45, after the black/rainbow days, but before the sky blue/rainbow days)
First LP: Incredibly, none
First cassette: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2 (one cassette)
First CD: The recent 2 CD anthology 1970-2002.

[lora]

Thanks Dave! You made me realize a few faves I'd forgotten!

Written In The Stars
I Don't Want To Go On With You Like That (didn't know the title)
And, of course, the Lion King stuff. All of those are great.

[55dodger]

Favorite Songs
1. Madman Across the Water
2. Tiny Dancer
3. Your Song
4. Levon
5. Empty Garden
6. Crocodile Rock
7. Don't Go Breaking My Heart
8. Daniel
9. Rocket Man
10. Elderberry Wine
Underrated: Madman Across the Water
Overrated: None I can think of
Vocals: Your Song
Instrumentation: Crocodile Rock
First song: Your Song
Album: Madman Across the Water
Album Cover: Don't Shoot Me, I'm Just the Piano Player
First 45: Your Song
Album: Don't Shoot Me, I'm Just the Piano Player
Cassette: don't know
CD: Greatest Hits, Vol I

[Dawn]

SAT-Laney's said:

Instrumentation-Grey Seal

First LP-Caribou (it was .10 at a used record store)

First CD-Classic Elton John (from McDonalds)

Grey Seal is excellent, one of my favorite Elton album tracks.

10 cents for Caribou - that was a great find!

The Classic Elton John CD - was that mainly his '70s material, or the newer songs?

[SAT-I need more room!!]

Dawn said:

The Classic Elton John CD - was that mainly his '70s material, or the newer songs?

The Classic stuff of course! LOL! I think the only really BIG hit singles were Your Crocodile Rock, Honky Cat and Saturday Night's Alright.

The others were-
Tiny Dancer
Levon
Burn Down the Mission
Madman Across the Water
Take Me to the Pilot
Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
Friends


Ok, I just fixed my response!

[Dawn]

Ken said:

Woo Hoo!!

Favorite Elton John songs:
1.Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting
2.Ballad Of A Well Known Gun
3.Grow Some Funk Of Your Own
4.High Flying Bird
5.Rocket Man
6.Empty Garden
7.Levon
8.Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy
9. Harmony
10.Blue Eyes
11.Daniel
12.Crocodile Rock
13.Teacher I Need You
14.Funeral For a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding
15. The Bitch is Back
16.Ticking
17.Dixie Lily
18.Sad Songs (Say So Much)
19.Eldeberry Wine
20.Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock N Roll)
21.Someone Saved My Lofe Tonight
22.Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
23.Madman Across The Water
25.Mona Lisa's and Mad Hatters
26.Grey Seal
27.Bennie & The Jets
28.(Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket
plus many more!

Most underrated song(s): Mona Lisa's & Mad Hatters

Any songs you feel are overrated? I can't think of any right now.

Best vocals: Harmony

Best instrumentation: Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding

First Elton John song you can remember hearing: Rocket Man

Favorite album: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road , Don't Shoot Me , Caribou , Tumbleweed Connection , Honky Chateau etc - sorry, it's hard to pick just one

Thanks, Ken!

Looking at your list, I see several I should have included among my favorites also. Madman Across the Water has become more and more of a fave recently of mine, and as I mentioned to Adam, Grey Seal is great as well.

I definitely want to start getting some of his early albums on CD - lots of great material from that time!

[Dawn]

Lora said:

Favorite Elton John songs:

Candle in the Wind (1997)

I remember watching Diana's funeral and being moved by Elton's heartfelt performance of the song. Even after all this time, it's still hard to believe she's gone.

[Dawn]

TripleJ said:

Most underrated song(s):
Some of the above,
Madman Across The Water - Ya betta get yer COAT, dear! Hah, I love that!
Blue Eyes

Madman Across the Water - as I mentioned to Ken, great track! Blue Eyes is nice also - I haven't heard it very often over the years, but it always brings back good memories of when I first started high school.

[Dawn]

SAT-Laney's said:

The Classic stuff of course! LOL! I think the only really BIG hit singles were Your Crocodile Rock, Honky Cat and Saturday Night's Alright.

The others were-
Tiny Dancer
Levon
Burn Down the Mission
Madman Across the Water
Take Me to the Pilot
Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
Friends


Ok, I just fixed my response!

Sounds like a cool CD! That's good that they included some of the great album tracks like Mission,Take Me to the Pilot, and Mona Lisas on there.

[Dawn]

DJ said:

Most underrated songs: Nobody Wins (ABSOLUTELY!), Bite your Lip

First 45 you owned: Mama can't buy you love (plain beige looking MCA 45, after the black/rainbow days, but before the sky blue/rainbow days).

I love Nobody Wins! I have the 45, but was disappointed that it wasn't included on any of his hits collections. You're right about Bite Your Lip being underrated - I don't remember hearing it at all until I picked up a copy of the 45 back in the early-to-mid '90s.

I remember those beige labels back in '78-'79 - I always wondered why they went with that plain design for those few years. The rainbow and clouds design is my favorite - very cool!