Through his soulful lyrics, dramatic outfits and 31 total albums, Sir Elton John has left an everlasting impact on the music industry since he released his first song in 1970. Even in 2022, John is still releasing chart-topping songs.

Ahead of his highly anticipated performance at the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday, discover the stories behind the Rocketman’s songs and listen to a few of his greatest hits:

Your Song
Largely regarded as John’s first international hit, “Your Song” is an innocently romantic tune with an insecure narrator. In 1998, “Your Song” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and also made it onto Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Rod Stewart, Ellie Goulding and Lady Gaga have all sung covers of the song.

The inspiration behind “Your Song” has been the subject of much speculation throughout the years, but Bernie Taupin, John’s longtime songwriting partner, cleared up any confusion. Writing in a 2018 blog post, Taupin said, “I scribbled the lyric down on a lined notepad at the kitchen table of Elton’s mother’s apartment in the London suburb of Northwood Hills, breakfast time sometime in 1969. That’s it. Plain and simple.”

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart ft. Kiki Dee
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” maintained its position in the Top 10 for eight weeks after its release. The 1976 hit featured English singer Kiki Dee, and won two awards in 1977— the Ivor Novello Award for “Best Male Vocalist,” and “Best Pop Song” at the American Music Awards.

Prior to “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” Dee had previously collaborated with John on “Snow Queen” in 1976 and “True Love” in 1993. The duet was originally supposed to be performed between John and English singer Dusty Springfield, but Springfield became too sick to participate.

Rocket Man
The song, whose title became a character for John himself, “Rocket Man” was a collaboration between John and Taupin. The song was originally released in 1972, and in 2019, John’s biopic aired under the same title.

Over the years, many people speculated that “Rocket Man” was a grandiose metaphor for drug use, especially due to the line, “high as a kite.” But John and Taupin clarified in 2016 that the inspiration for the song came from Ray Bradbury’s short story, “The Rocket Man,” which detailed what futuristic life in space might look like.

“It was a pretty easy song to write the melody to, because it’s a song about space, so it’s quite a spacious song,” John said.

Tiny Dancer
Released in 1971, “Tiny Dancer” wasn’t an immediate hit. In fact, some radio stations refused to play the song because of its controversial lyrics, “Jesus freaks / Out in the streets.” But now, “Tiny Dancer” is internationally acclaimed, and Rolling Stone placed the anthem on its “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list in 2010.

The inspiration for “Tiny Dancer” sparked when John and Taupin traveled to California in the autumn of 1970, where they met women incredibly different from who they were used to back in England. The “Tiny Dancer” specifically is Maxine Feibelman, Taupin’s wife at the time — and as the lyrics go, “seamstress for the band.”

Bennie and the Jets
Released on John’s “Goodbye Yellowbrick Road” album, “Bennie and the Jets” was another Taupin-John combined work. The 1973 song was named one of Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

The narrator of the song is a fan of the imaginary band, “Bennie and the Jets,” and describes the avarice and flashiness of the performance and Bennie herself: “She’s got electric boots / a mohair suit.” Taupin explained that “Bennie and the Jets” was written as a subtle critique of the music industry in the 1970s.

John’s contribution to the song was very personal — Bennie is strikingly similar to John, in that they both lean into femininity and love gaudy, outrageous outfits. The song was a nod to glam rock, a trend in the United Kingdom defined by excess.

Cold Heart (with Dua Lipa)
John sampled his own songs in his new single with Dua Lipa, entitled “Cold Heart.” The 2021 song begins with John singing a reworked version of “Sacrifice,” bringing back his famous lyrics: “Cold, cold heart / Hardened by you / Some things look better, baby / Just passin’ through.” Following, Dua Lipa sings the chorus of “Rocket Man” to an upbeat rhythm, contrasting the original 1972 song.

“Cold Heart” already has one billion listens on Spotify. The collaboration further solidified John as a timeless musician, and brought the two artists together in a special way.

“This track is the culmination of a beautiful friendship with you Dua and I’m so happy we can now share it,” John said in a tweet. “I hope you all love it!”

Published on September 7, 2022 at 10:35 pm