Honky Cat
| "Honky Cat" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Elton John | ||||
| from the album Honky Château | ||||
| B-side | "Slave" | |||
| Released | 31 July 1972 | |||
| Recorded | Château d'Hérouville, Hérouville, France, January 1972 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:13 | |||
| Label | Uni (USA), DJM (UK) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Elton John, Bernie Taupin | |||
| Elton John singles chronology | ||||
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"Honky Cat" is a song composed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin. It was used as the opening track for John's fifth studio album, Honky Château, released in 1972.[3]
"Honky Cat" was also released as the A-side of John's thirteenth single.[3] The single reached No. 31 in the United Kingdom, and fared better in the United States, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 just as John launched an American tour in September 1972.[4]
A live version of the song was released on the Here side of the Here and There live set in 1976 (and its expanded CD version in 1995), and a solo piano version appeared on the EltonJohn.com "Live in Madison Square Garden" Vol. 1 limited edition CD, recorded in October 1999.[citation needed]
Lee Ann Womack covered the song on the 2018 tribute album Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.
Reception
In 2018, Dave Simpson of The Guardian ranked the song #48 on his list of the 50 greatest Elton John songs.[5] The following year, Justin Kirkland of Esquire ranked the song #27 on his list of the 30 best Elton John songs, calling it a "funky, horn-laden hit" and writing that "it's hard to compare the odd mix of electric piano and wheezing saxophone to any other single in Elton's songbook."[6] Winston Cook-Wilson of Spin called it John's "most underrated" single.[7]
Chart performance
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2018) |
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Personnel
- Jacques Bolognesi – trombone
- Jean-Louis Chautemps – saxophone
- Alain Hatot – saxophone
- Elton John – Fender Rhodes electric piano, acoustic piano, vocals
- Davey Johnstone – banjo
- Ivan Julien – trumpet
- Dee Murray – bass
- Nigel Olsson – drums
References
- ^ a b c Woodstra, Christopher (2008). All Music Guide Required Listening: Classic Rock. Backbeat. p. 105. ISBN 978-0879309176.
- ^ Pollock, Bruce (2005). Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 148. ISBN 978-0415970730.
- ^ a b Mason, Stewart. "Honky Cat - Elton John". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- ^ Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1991). Rock Movers and Shakers: An A-Z of People Who Made Rock Happen. Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0874366617.
- ^ Simpson, Dave (13 September 2018). "Elton John's 50 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ^ Kirkland, Justin (29 May 2019). "The 30 Best Elton John Songs, Ranked". Esquire. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ^ Cook-Wilson, Winston (31 May 2019). "10 Essential Elton John Deep Cuts". Spin. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ^ Flavour of New Zealand, 22 January 1973
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1994). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990. Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-089-X.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles 9/30/72". Retrieved 2 February 2015.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2000). Pop Annual 1955-1999. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 978-0898201420.
External links
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