Essential Elton John: Counting down the Rocket Man’s 30 best songs
As Elton John prepares to bid Farewell From Dodger Stadium (and from touring), we look back on his greatest tracks of all time
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Four years after it kicked off in September 2018, Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour has its final North American dates this November. The site of these last U.S. shows can’t help but stir memories of Elton’s phenomenal imperial phase of the 1970s. They’re held at Dodger Stadium, the venue where he gave two concerts in 1975, not long after releasing Rock Of The Westies, his second number-one album that year. The concerts marked the peak of Elton-mania, but his fame never subsided, and he spent the next five decades in constant motion, playing shows and releasing records at a rate that puts both his contemporaries and disciples to shame.
It’s such a rich, prolific career that it’s sometimes necessary to take a step back and listen to the songs at the bedrock of his legacy—songs usually composed in conjunction with his lifelong collaborator, lyricist Bernie Taupin. On November 20, Disney+ will stream Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium—the Rocket Man’s historic final bow. The A.V. Club saw this as a welcome opportunity to revisit a catalog that has few peers in popular music. Here, we count down (and rank) Elton’s most essential songs.
72 Comments
Empty Garden shoulda coulda been up in this list. ;(
Yeah, that’s the one song that I feel like is an omission. There are a ton of songs that I love that weren’t on the list, like “The Retreat” and “Curtains” (and plenty of others) but I can chalk those up to these lists being subjective and a lot of those songs not being particularly well-known.
Growing up my parents wanted me to take piano and my only reference point was Elton John. And listen…Elton has some great songs but I wouldn’t say his mid-80s persona was exactly considered cool to teenagers what with his dressing up like Donald Duck and only knowing songs like Crocodile Rock and Candle in the Wind. He was old lady music. So I resisted and have regretted it since.The real tragedy though is that Crocodile Rock came out the year after Tumbleweed Connection which is my favorite of his albums.
Glad to see that Tony Danza song in there
“His Four Good Songs (Plus Twenty-Six)“
What about Sacrifice? It’s a hit again. I would think that would be somewhere at the bottom of the list.
One of the many terrible songs that were the first UK number 1 for an otherwise talented artist. See also “I Just Called to Say I Love You” and “Uptown Girl”.
I don’t think it’s fitting to mention “Rocket Man” without also mentioning its most ineffable interpretation:
In a parallel universe, Trump is reprising this nightly in a seedy lounge, having been jailed for fraud in his 30s. Shatner’s cadence makes it an easy fit.
This is one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen.
I don’t use obscure adjectives like “ineffable” lightly.
It pairs well with this.
Leonard Nimoy: The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins – Full Album Version – YouTube
I’ve never understood what the fuck he was trying to do. Was he serious?? Did the moment call for a way out-there hipster joke?? It’s totally nuts.
I feel that way about Shatner’s entire career.
, 1983’s Too Low For Zero marked the first time Elton John collaborated with Bernie Taupin on a full album since 1986. How would they manage that without a time machine?
Candle in the Wind is just gluuuurgh . It was tolerable if a bit treacly the first time , but by the time it was recycled for Diana , it was just aawwwwwfull.
Pleased to see Bennie & The Jets near the top, but I’d have had it number 1 personally.
That’s probably one of my least favorite of Elton’s hits from the 70’s. It’s catchy, but I could do without the stuttering.
Yeah that little interlude knocks down quite a few notches on my list. Saturday Night’s probably my favorite of his.
It’s catchy, but I could do without the stuttering.
Yeah, what is it about stuttering in rock songs? “My Generation”, “Bad to the Bone”, “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet”, “My Sharona”…. I guess they all have a teenage-angsty point of view but a little goes a long way.
In the case of “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”, Randy Bachman was making fun of his brother’s actual stutter. “My Generation” seems like an imitation of a stutter also. The rest (including “Bennie”) seem to be not so much stuttering as using the repeated syllables as a rhythmic device – though George Thorogood’s really having fun with it; it’s difficult to cover that song’s vocals!
I also think Song for Guy should be in here somewhere.
I thought he did legally change his name to Elton Hercules John?
Some personal favourites that aren’t on here:“Sad Songs (Say So Much)“ – I have a soft spot for songs about people listening to songs (see also: Paul Williams, “Just an Old Fashioned Love Song”). It’s on my list of songs that always cheer me up.
“Empty Gardens (Bye Bye Johnny)“ – possibly the best of the subgenre of “John Lennon tribute songs”? Maybe. One of the best IMO. Anyway, the outro always gets me a little choked (“Johnny, can’t you come out to play in your empty garden?”)“I’ve Seen That Movie Too” – just a lovely little gem tucked away on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
Ditto on Empty Gardens.
Little Jeanie
Sad Songs is a huge miss in this list.
Probably because people old enough to remember the 80s remember it as a jean commercial ditty.
i am old enough to remember the 80s, and i still think that song is awesome.
Totally agree on Empty Gardens and I’ve Seen That Movie Too and I’d add I Feel Like A Bullet In The Gun Of Robert Ford to my list of ridiculous omissions. To be honest – and I know this stuff is clickbait – but this list feels like someone just stuck a pin in a list. Throway chaff like Step Into Christmas? Are you kidding?
The line in Empty Garden that gets me every time is “A gardener like that one / No one can replace.” It’s so innocent, and the delivery has an almost childlike earnestness to it.
I have a soft spot for songs that I didn’t know were actually songs and not just jingles…
Harmony is the one that’s missing for me. Great song and hasn’t been killed by excessive radio play.
Agreed.
1. Tiny Dancer and Your Song are great songs.
2. I don’t want to hear either of them ever again.
3. (Obviously) Profit.
Glad to see 11-17-70 mentioned in the list; that is an amazing live album. Sixty Years On is my favorite. It’s amazing the sound that just piano, bass guitar, and drums could produce.
Good list. I’d probably have “I’m Still Standing” a bit higher, and I’d also have liked to see “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” somewhere on the list, but… I’m not sure where?
I remember being blown away by “All the Young Girls Love Alice” when I was a kid. I don’t know all these songs so have no opinion if it should have made the list or not, but it’s been one of my faves for a long time.
Thank you for including “Blue Eyes”, one of my faves.
“Tiny Dancer” should have been #1. Going through this list it reminds me of how much of his stuff sounds same-y. Great artist, but perhaps a bit over-praised.
I would have made room for “Daniel”. And I know it doesn’t count here, but I always loved his cover of “Pinball Wizard”.
Me, too. His cover is pretty arguably more well-known than the original.
Who sang the original
“Daniel” is the one that’s really missing for me. Like the best Elton John (and Bernie Taupin especially) songs, it has this way of sounding nostalgic and poignant but not cloying (alright that sounded too much like a narcissistic music critic but best way I can describe it).
70s Elton is the best Elton, but nothing from The Lion King?
Correct on both counts.
“An unofficial comeback from an artist who never went away, 1983’s Too Low For Zero marked the first time Elton John collaborated with Bernie Taupin on a full album since 1986.” Um, what?I never noticed before how much those large glasses he wore in the 70s looked almost like a scuba mask.And seriously, nothing from The Lion King?
Missing the following:* Burn Down the Mission* Where to Now St. Peter?* Grey Seal
Us Grey Seal stans should have a convention or something. My second favorite track on the album.
Here’s the 30 best songs not on this list:All Across the HavensBilly Bones and the White BirdBorder SongCaptain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt CowboyClub at the End of the StreetDanielEgoEmpty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)First Episode at HientonGrey Seal (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road version)HarmonyHigh Flying BirdHoliday InnI Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)I’ve Seen That Movie TooThe King Must DieThe Last SongLady SamanthaMy Father’s GunRock and Roll MadonnaRoy RogersSailsThe ScaffoldSixty Years OnSkyline Pigeon (Piano Version)Something About the Way You Look TonightThis Song Has No TitleThis Train Don’t Stop There AnymoreWestern Ford GatewayWhere to Now, St. Peter?
This is a great list!Skyline Pigeon (Piano Version)I’m a sucker for the harpsichord version, especially the weird, avant-garde-ish decision to have the vocals entirely in one channel and the harpsichord entirely in the other for the first half of the song. Perhaps weirdest of all, it works when the second half brings in the organ and the music and vocals are in a more traditional stereo arrangement.
Yeah, Being an “old school” EJ fan. (Captain Fantastic being the first vinyl I ever purchased back when it, and I, were kind of new.) I agree with most of the list, but given the expanse of the discography, I could probably rustle up 60 more choices that IMO would be equally as valid, depending on my mood of the day. But the flip side being there’s some real stinkers on a deep dive as well. (“Ho, Ho, Ho who’d be a turkey at Christmas”, anyone?) Thanks for letting me waste an hour visiting some old friends. Not that I don’t have access to anything I want to hear, thanks technology, the article/slideshow gave me a REASON. 🙂
I was wondering if there was going to be any love for Lady Samantha. Stumbled across it on a old collection of his songs. I get hooked every time I hear it.
I’m Gonna Love Me Again also deserves some love.As does his Lion King work.
I personally love “Amy.” With a blistering Jean-Luc Ponty violin solo!Thank you for the affectionate tone to this list. Some wonderful choices.
32(!) point slide show? Nope!
The absence of Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word is inexcusable
What? No “I Believe in Love?” That song is operatic ballad rock!
Well, being old I need to go with the original version of Madman Across The Water with Mick Ronson. My favorite album is Tumbleweed Connection, despite the fact that it’s a cheesy Western. Luckily, the deluxe version has the aforementioned version of Madman.
Seems a lot of people, and this article and author, forgot all about 2 of EJ’s albums I really like- Captain Fantastic, and Rock of the Westies. Lots of interesting tracks on these 2 that are unlike most other pablum.
Even though Elton is said to have called this song “crap,” Captain Fantastic’s closer ‘Curtains’ is in my Elton Top 10 and one of his and Bernie’s most overlooked gems!
So many better suggestions in the comments, adding Blues For Baby And Me off Don’t Shoot Me…, Curtains/We All Fall In Love Sometimes and Writing, from Captain Fantastic.. I Feel Like A Bullet (In The Gun Of Robert Ford) from Rock Of The Westies, Roy Rogers, and Harmony from Goodbye Yellow Brick (which always reminds me of Billy Joel’s Honesty) and so many more—I was young and remember getting every album listening from beginning to end until I had them all memorized.
Nice Songs how can i get these songs to download
Music royalty
If I remember right, much like Kate Bush with Stranger Things, Tiny Dancer got a revival due to the bus sing along in the film Almost Famous.
There’s no escaping the fact that Bernie Taupin is an almost absurdly shitty lyricist. The thing you remember from a hit Elton John song is the melody, and that’s Elton’s doing. (“Philadelphia Freedom” gets my vote for the best, partially because Taupin manages to keep himself in check. But it’s really catchy and the arrangement just soars.)“Candle in the Wind” is garbage, by the way.
“Come Down in Time” should be on the list.
This list was neither requested, necessary, nor interesting.
Bowie did ‘Space Oddity’… Elton John went out to get the same producer (Gus Dudgeon) and instructed him to make ‘Rocket Man’ just like it. In 1974, Bowie goes to Sigma in Philly and does the ‘Young Americans’ album with Lennon on 2 tracks. In 1975, Elton John comes up with “Philadelphia Freedom” with a B-Side that’s a duet with Lennon. According to producer Chris Thomas, Elton’s “I’m Still Standing” was Bowie’s “Modern Love” re-written and re-structured, after Elton John had heard the first broadcast of said song. None of these are earth shattering but I never see them mentioned in articles about John’s body of work whereas Bowie is always written about as a thief, etc.
Elton has some great tunes. Great performer, even if the Louisiana swamp accent is a weird choice for an Englishman. But god, those awful lyrics. The man who rhymes “Eat, drink and be merry” with “come along weeth me” should be in music jail forever. You know who you are Bernie.