Sir Elton John was on the charts a while ago with a single called “Looking Up,” and it made us realize that Elton’s been on the charts for nearly half a century. This song may or may not be a number one song, but it’s a great opportunity to remind everyone of his top selling songs.
“Crocodile Rock” was released in 1972 and was Elton’s homage to the early days of doo-wop, using the piano in familiar cords to woe his fans. The song is a tribute to one of Elton’s early American influencers, Del Shannon.
“Lucy in the Sky” was a Beatles’ cover hitting Top 10 in 1974. A few months later, his ode to the Philadelphia Tennis Club (pal Billie Jean King) “Philadelphia Freedom” reached number one, while “Island Girl” ad “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” with Kiki Dee hit the top spot in early 1975.
“Bennie and the Jets” is an interesting song in that Elton was against every releasing it as a single, yet CKLW, the Canadian AM powerhouse, played until the label released it as a radio single worldwide.
Incidentally, the Beatles, Elvis, Stones, Madonna, Big Crosby, then U2 and Elton is the widely accepted list of #1 song artists ranked by tunes from the top.
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