Honky Chateau

Certain Songs #390: Elton John – “Rocket Man”

December 10, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Honky Chateau
Year: 1972

Well, yeah, “Rocket Man.” First off, this is the greatest song that Elton John & Bernie Taupin ever wrote. And, of course, it was a massive hit single around the world.

As I’ve pointed out previously, songs about SPACE were prevalent in the early 1970s, and “Rocket Man” could have easily been a novelty song instead of a timeless classic.

Certain Songs #389: Elton John – “Honky Cat”

December 9, 2015 by Jim Connelly

Album: Honky Chateau
Year: 1972

My first “favorite artist” was Elton John. I don’t know why, exactly. Probably because his singles were ubiquitous just as I was discovering the radio. But so a lot of people’s singles, so why 10-year-old Jim fixated on Elton John is somewhat of a mystery.

So I’m going to guess that it was three things: his voice, which still sounds like noone else’s; his melodic sense, which was peaking out at just that point, and his musical eclecticism.

None of Elton’s singles sounded like the other ones.