Here’s hoping these facts don’t burn out like a candle in the wind.
“Your Song”
John’s first album, Empty Sky (1969), flopped in both the U.S. and the U.K. Still, he got a gig as the opening act for Three Dog Night. One of the songs he performed on that tour was “Your Song,” which he planned to include on his next album. Only problem: So did Three Dog Night, who planned to release their version as a single. At the last moment, though, the band changed their minds. Why? They thought John did the song (which he co-wrote) better. It turned out to be John’s breakthrough hit, reaching #8 in the U.S., his first of 59 top 40 hits.
“Bennie and the Jets”
A surprise hit on R&B radio stations, this song earned John an invitation in May 1975 to perform as the lead act on Soul Train, only the second white artist ever to do so. (The first was David Bowie.)
“Candle in the Wind”
This song, first written to eulogize Marilyn Monroe, has been released as a single three times, each more successful than the last. The studio version from the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road didn’t even make the charts when it came out in 1974, but a live version reached #6 in 1987. In 1997 John performed a new version at the funeral of Princess Diana with special lyrics by his longtime writing partner, Bernie Taupin. A recording of that song (John performed it only once) spent 14 weeks at #1 and became the bestselling single of all time. (Proceeds went to charity.)
“Rocket Man”
When this song was released in the Soviet Union, it was retitled “Cosmonaut.”
“Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)”
It’s about Elton’s friend John Lennon, who was murdered in 1980. In an interview on Inside the Actors’ Studio, John said that he hardly ever plays the song live anymore because it makes him too sad. But he noted that he has performed it at Madison Square Garden in New York, where he dueted with Lennon in 1974 on the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”—Lennon’s final concert appearance.
“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”
Elton John wanted an all-star chorus for the backing vocals. He managed to land Carl Wilson and Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys, the Captain and Tennille, Dusty Springfield, and members of America. The mix sounded terrible, so all were jettisoned except Wilson, Johnston, and Tennille. (The horn section was provided by Tower of Power.)
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”
John has performed in all 50 states. The 50th: Vermont (2008), home of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, which commemorated the event with a flavor called “Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road”—chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cookie dough, butter brickle, and white chocolate chips.
“Levon”
In 2010 John and his partner David Furnish became parents to a boy born on Christmas Day to a surrogate mother. They named him Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John. “Levon” is a John song, which includes the lyric, “He was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas day.” (The song, in turn, was named after Levon Helm of The Band, although the song isn’t about him.)
“Honky Cat”
The only hit song in history that features a duck call solo (performed by John’s drummer, Ray Cooper).
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”
Kiki Dee and John recorded this duet in 1976 as an homage to Motown greats Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. It was John’s first #1 single in the U.K. Other stars with whom John recorded the song: Miss Piggy (on The Muppet Show), Minnie Mouse (on Totally Minnie), and RuPaul (on John’s Duets album).
“That’s What Friends Are For”
John sang on this 1985 hit single benefiting AIDS charities along with Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight. He was the producers’ third choice for the slot, after George Michael and Rod Stewart both turned it down.
