Elton John's Greatest Hits

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Elton John's Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by Elton John
Released 8 November 1974
Recorded January 1970-January 1974
Genre Rock, pop, glam rock
Length 47:40
Label MCA, Polydor (US/Canada), DJM
Producer Gus Dudgeon
Elton John chronology
Caribou
(1974)		 Elton John's Greatest Hits
(1974)		 Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
(1975)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 5/5 stars [1]
Robert Christgau (B+) [2]

Elton John's Greatest Hits is the ninth album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released on MCA Records, catalogue MCA 2128, in November 1974. Spanning the years 1970 to 1974, it compiles ten of John's singles, with one track variation for releases in North America and for Europe and Australia. It topped the album chart in both the United States and Great Britain, staying at number one for ten consecutive weeks in the former nation and the eleven weeks in the latter. It is his best-selling album to date, being his first to have received an RIAA Diamond certification for US sales of more than 16 million copies and has sold over 32 million copies worldwide.

Contents

[edit] Contents

The single "Bennie and the Jets" appeared on the American and Canadian edition of the album, which had topped the charts in both nations but had not been a single in the United Kingdom. It was replaced by "Candle in the Wind" for the U.K. and Australian edition, having been a hit in both of those countries but never released as a single in the U.S. and Canada. The 1992 reissue contains eleven tracks, with both songs included.

"Border Song," an album track on Elton John outside of the U.S. and Canada, went to #92 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and to #34 on the Canadian RPM national singles chart as a single in 1970.[3] All other songs made the Top 40 in the UK and the US, most also making the top ten, with "Bennie and the Jets" and "Crocodile Rock" topping the chart in the States. John would wait until 1976 to top the singles chart in the UK, via his duet with Kiki Dee, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart."

With only ten tracks total, the compilers left off several other hit singles from the time period. "Tiny Dancer" and "Levon" from the Madman Across the Water album made it to #41 and #24 respectively as singles in the U.S., and "The Bitch Is Back," his most recent single, was a #4 in the U.S. and topped the chart in Canada. Although all of these charted higher than "Border Song," it may have been included because it was the first Elton John single to chart in any market. Of the ten selections for the North American album, two ("Crocodile Rock" and "Bennie and the Jets") had been U.S. #1 hits; in Canada, five (these two plus "Daniel", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me") had been chart-toppers.[4][5]

In 2003, Elton John's Greatest Hits was ranked at number 135 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The first of his many compilation albums, later ones include Elton John's Greatest Hits Volume II, Elton John's Greatest Hits 1976-1986, and Elton John's Greatest Hits 1970-2002.

[edit] Track listing

All lyrics written by Bernie Taupin, all music composed by Elton John.

Original North American Version
No. Title Album Length
1. "Your Song"   Elton John 4:00
2. "Daniel"   Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player 3:53
3. "Honky Cat"   Honky Château 5:12
4. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"   Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 3:14
5. "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting"   Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 4:55
6. "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long Long Time)"   Honky Château 4:40
7. "Bennie and the Jets"   Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 5:10
8. "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me"   Caribou 5:33
9. "Border Song"   Elton John 3:19
10. "Crocodile Rock"   Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player 3:56

[edit] 1996 Mercury reissue

  1. "Your Song"
  2. "Skyline Pigeon"
  3. "Daniel"
  4. "Crocodile Rock"
  5. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
  6. "Take Me to the Pilot"
  7. "Rock n' Roll Madonna"
  8. "Candle in the Wind"
  9. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee)
  10. "Honky Cat"
  11. "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"
  12. "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)"
  13. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me"
  14. "Border Song"
  15. "It's Me That You Need"

[edit] Chart positions

Year Chart Peak
position
1974 Billboard 200
1
1975
1975 Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart
1
1974 UK Albums Chart
1[6]
1975

[edit] Certifications

Country Provider Certification
(sales thresholds)
Canada[7] Music Canada Diamond
(1,000,000 units)
France[8] SNEP Gold
(100,000 units)
United Kingdom[9] BPI Platinum
(300,000 units)
United States[10] RIAA 16x Multi-Platinum
(16,000,000 units)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Thomas, Stephen. "Greatest Hits - Elton John". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r10465. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
  2. ^ "CG: elton john". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=elton+john. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
  3. ^ Library and Archives Canada. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.4700&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=msnvgu5v4a643al8ugim1ea684
  4. ^ List of RPM number-one singles of 1973
  5. ^ List of RPM number-one singles of 1974
  6. ^ "Number 1 Albums – 1970s". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080209095720/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/all_the_no1_albums.php?show=3. Retrieved 16 June 2011. 
  7. ^ "Gold & Platinum Database Results" (ASPX). Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=&ica=False&sa=Elton&sl=&smt=0&sat=-1&ssb=Certification. Retrieved 12 July 2011. 
  8. ^ "Les Certifications depuis 1973" (in French) (PHP). InfoDisc. Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. http://www.infodisc.fr/Certif_Album.php.  Find "JOHN E." on the drop-down menu to see certifications.
  9. ^ "Certified Awards Search" (ASPX). British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. 
  10. ^ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database" (PHP). Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database. 

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Rollin' by Bay City Rollers		 UK number-one album
23 November 1974 - 1 February 1975		 Succeeded by
His Greatest Hits by Engelbert Humperdinck
Preceded by
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll by The Rolling Stones		 Billboard 200 number-one album
30 November 1974 - 7 February 1975		 Succeeded by
Fire by Ohio Players
Preceded by
Serenade by Neil Diamond		 Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
20 January - 23 February 1975		 Succeeded by
Living in the Seventies by Skyhooks
Elton John
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Billboard Year-End number one albums (1970–1989)
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