Elton John has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriter partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date. The one celebrated here, with an Authentic, First Presentation, gold RIAA White Matte, was released in the United States in August 1970, certified RIAA gold on 2/17/71, and achieved a peak Billboard chart position of #4.
Tony Richland was an aggressive independent record promoter who lent his name to John Lennon’s favorite of Harry Nilsson’s songs: “Mr. Richland’s Favorite Song“. Richland earned his reputation with efforts such as traveling up and down the West Coast with The Mamas and The Papas while living out of his car.
In his five-decade career John has sold more than 300 million records, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. He has more than fifty Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 US albums, fifty-eight Billboard Top 40 singles, twenty-seven Top 10, four No. 2 and nine No. 1. For 31 consecutive years (1970–2000) he had at least one song in the Billboard Hot 100. He has received six Grammy Awards, five Brit Awards – one for Outstanding Contribution to Music, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, a Disney Legend award, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004.
Elton’s back story, according to Wikipedia, is the stuff of musical dreams. At the age of 15, with the help of his mother and stepfather, Reginald Dwight became a weekend pianist at a nearby pub, the Northwood Hills Hotel, playing Thursday to Sunday nights for £35 a week and tips. Known simply as “Reggie”, he played a range of popular standards, including songs by Jim Reeves and Ray Charles, as well as songs he had written himself. A stint with a short-lived group called the Corvettes rounded out his time.
In 1964, Dwight and his friends formed a band called Bluesology. By day, he ran errands for a music publishing company; he divided his nights between solo gigs at a London hotel bar and working with Bluesology. By the mid-1960s, Bluesology was backing touring American soul and R&B musicians like The Isley Brothers, Major Lance, Billy Stewart, Doris Troy and Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles. In 1966, the band became musician Long John Baldry’s supporting band and played 16 times at The Marquee Club.
After failing lead vocalist auditions for King Crimson and Gentle Giant, Dwight answered an advertisement in the New Musical Express placed by Ray Williams, then the A&R manager for Liberty Records. At their first meeting, Williams gave Dwight a stack of lyrics written by Bernie Taupin, who had answered the same ad. Dwight wrote music for the lyrics, and then mailed it to Taupin, beginning a partnership that still continues. When the two first met in 1967 they recorded what would become the first Elton John/Bernie Taupin song: “Scarecrow”. Six months later Dwight was going by the name “Elton John” in homage to Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean and Long John Baldry.
The team of John and Taupin joined Dick James’s DJM Records as staff songwriters in 1968, and over the next two years wrote material for various artists, like Roger Cook and Lulu. Taupin would write a batch of lyrics in under an hour and give it to John, who would write music for them in half an hour, disposing of the lyrics if he couldn’t come up with anything quickly. For two years, they wrote easy-listening tunes for James to peddle to singers. Their early output included a contender for the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969, for Lulu, called “I Can’t Go On (Living Without You)”. It came sixth of six songs. In 1969, John provided piano for Roger Hodgson on his first released recording, the single “Mr. Boyd” by Argosy, a quartet that was completed by Caleb Quaye and Nigel Olsson.During this period, John was also a session musician for other artists including playing piano on The Hollies’ “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” and singing backing vocals for The Scaffold.
On the advice of music publisher Steve Brown, John and Taupin started writing more complex songs for John to record for DJM. The first was the single “I’ve Been Loving You” (1968), produced by Caleb Quaye, former Bluesology guitarist. In 1969, with Quaye, drummer Roger Pope, and bassist Tony Murray, John recorded another single, “Lady Samantha”, and an album, Empty Sky.
For their follow-up album, Elton John (celebrated here), John and Taupin enlisted Gus Dudgeon as producer and Paul Buckmaster as musical arranger. Elton John was released in April 1970 on DJM Records/Pye Records in the UK and Uni Records in the USA, and established the formula for subsequent albums; gospel-chorded rockers and poignant ballads. The first single from the album, “Border Song”, made into the US Top 100, peaking at Number 92. The second single “Your Song” made the US Top Ten, peaking at number eight and becoming John’s first hit single as a singer. The album soon became his first hit album, reaching number four on the Billboard 200 album chart.
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