“Way to Blue”Demo 1968
He cut this demo for a fellow struggling songwriter
named Nick Drake. Within a few years, Elton was a
jet-set star, and Drake had died in obscurity.“I Saw Her Standing There”Bside 1975
At a 1974 New York show, Elton duetted with Lennon
on what Lennon introduced as “a number of an old
estranged fiance of mine called Paul” – sadly, it was
the last public concert performance of his lifetime.“Mama Can’t Buy You Love”Single 1979
Like the Bowie ofYoung Americans,Elton fled to
Philadelphia in search of soul. He partnered with R&B
master Thom Bell for his biggest and best hit in years.“Little Jeannie”From ‘21 at 33’ 1980
A summer jam with the chorus, “I want you to be my
acrobat.” Why was he in such rough shape? Well, the
album had a song called “White Lady White Powder”.“Elton’s Song”From ‘The Fox’ 1981
A surprisingly stark confessional about growing up
gay. The lyrics came from out-and-proud punk-rocker
Tom Robinson, author ofGlad to Be Gay.“Wrap Her Up”From ‘Ice on Fire’ 1985
If you ever wonder exactly how insane the Eighties
were: Elton sang this ode to hetero sex with, of all
people, George Michael. Naturally, it was an MTV hit.“BorntoLose”From ‘Duets’ 1993
Elton sang with pals like Tammy Wynette and Kiki Dee
on this collaborative LP, but the unlikely standout is
this country-blues ballad with Leonard Cohen – these
two had chemistry for days.“TheyCallHertheCat”From ‘Peachtree
Road’ 2004
Elton serenades Atlanta, his adopted hometown, with
a Dixie-fried ode to a trans Delta diva: “She got hips
like Mick/She’s a Rolling Stone ”“Postcards Fro
Nixon”From ‘Th
and the Kid’ 2006
A sequel toCaptain
that’s a superb por
1970s California.“Oscar Wilde G
From ‘The Diving B
2013
An elegiac tribute
from one great
English queen
to another.Great moments from Elton’s
less-memorable albumsHe’s weird and
he’s wonderful:
Eltonin1974.Loose Glitter
was seven minutes of
morbid angst and butterfly
symbolism. But it was so
undeniable, it became a
smash anyway.The Union
2010A labor-of-love duet with
one of Elton’s Sixties
heroes, Leon Russell,
capping a career that just
ended with Russell’s death
in November 2016. “I slept
and drank Leon Russell,”
Elton said in 1973. He paid
back the favour 40 years
later on songs like “Gone
to Shiloh”, which stands as
a tribute to them both.GOING
DEEPERElton John
1970
Elton was still finding his
voice as a buttoned-down
singer-songwriter. This
album gave him his first
hit with “Your Song”, but
other highlights, including
“Take Me to the Pilot”,
show off his weirdo side.
And the gospel-blues
piano raunch of “No Shoe
Strings on Louise” might
even have helped inspire
the ballads on Side Two of
the Rolling Stones’Exile
on Main Street.Don’t Shoot
Me I’m Only the
Piano Player
1973
Don’t Shoot Me is pure
razzle-dazzle, or as Elton
put it, “a very happy
album, very ultrapop”. He
scored his first Number
One with the sock-hop
romp “Crocodile Rock”,
but got sentimental with
tear-jerkers like “High
Flying Bird” and “Daniel”.Rock of
the Westies
1975
A farewell to the fi rst
golden era. There’s only
one ballad here, yet what a
ballad: “I Feel Like a Bullet
(in the Gun of Robert
Ford)”, Elton’s best
Western, and a breakup
lament that should have
been a hit.Jump Up!
1982
Elton’s New Wave album is
his strangest ever: It has a
touching John Lennon
tribute, “Empty Garden(Hey Hey Johnny)” and his
bonkers synth-pop Bowie
clone, “I Am Your Robot”.Too Low for Zero
1983
Elton won over the New
Romantic kids with a
pansexual video for “I’m
Still Standing”, and
crooning one of his fi nest
ballads, “I Guess That’s
Why They Call It the
Blues”.The One
1992
Elton’s fi rst post-rehab
album set him up as a
Nineties-rock elder
statesman. The highlight
here is “Runaway Train”,
his rhinestone-blues duet
with Eric Clapton.Wonderful
Crazy Night
2016
After 50 years in the game,
Elton can still bring it in
style. He and Taupin pen
upbeat chestnuts, and the
bluesy roots move “I’ve
Got 2 Wings”.Ju ne, 2017GETTY IMAGES