Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CXLV--Elton John: Tiny Dancer

In all honesty, if I'd never seen the movie Almost Famous, there is no way "Tiny Dancer" would have been this week's featured tune.  I knew the song in a small way, but it was a minor hit from a thousand years ago.  But once you see the bus scene in Almost Famous where the band and its followers sing along, you'll never forget it--hell, the Beautiful Girl downloaded it from Kazaa (remember that one?) the very next day after she'd seen it.

Elton John is another in a long line of rock and roll stars whose resume is a bit long for a brief recap.  Nonetheless, he has released over thirty albums, sold over 300 million records, won five Brit Awards, five Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Tony.  He was elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, has numerous songwriting awards and honors with his partner, lyricist Bernie Taupin, has six albums on the Rolling Stone list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time," and has been given a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth.  He also had thirty-one consecutive years (1970-2000) with at least one single on the Billboard Hot 100, is the first person to ever have an album debut at #1 on the Billboard 200, and has the greatest selling single ("Candle in the Wind") ever in both the U.S. and the U.K (33 million copies).  And truth be told, since 1975 everything he's done has been utter shit to my ears, but much like Rod Stewart (who at least had "Downtown Train" in the eighties) that doesn't take away from the several great years he had from 1970-1975 (he was as big a rock star as there was in that time) that made him a rock and roll icon.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that John is a noted humanitarian and has done much in the battle against AIDS (including having the go to after party for the Academy Awards--surprisingly enough, I've never been), as well as being a leader in LGBT community and a voice for their equal rights.

While "Tiny Dancer" has become a classic and concert staple through the years, it didn't have typical success--originally released in 1972 from the 1971 album Madman Across the Water (one of the better album titles in the rock era), it only reached #41 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100 and was never even released as a single in the U.K. (thought it made it to #19 in Canada thanks to all the cool Canadian kids).  Still, it's been certified platinum here in the states and silver in the U.K. even though it was not a single (not exactly sure how that worked....).  Unlike many hit singles, as well, it clocks in at over six and a half minutes which is three and a half minutes longer than your average Top 40 radio usually played back in the day.

Lyricist Taupin has said the song was trying to capture the spirit of California in the early seventies as evidenced by the many beautiful women he met there--which I can attest to, though, being a dork, I never actually met them, I just admired them from afar.  In listening to it over the past couple of days, what stands out most to me is its simplicity--while there's a touch of guitar, some drums, and some strings, it's mostly John's piano playing which stays with you.  And then there's the vocals--John manages to convey both the joy and the sorrow that is at the heart of the song, and bounces from storyteller with the staccato breaks to emcee of the upcoming wonder to pop star extraordinaire as he's singing for the tiny dancer to hold him closer.  "Candle in the Wind" may have sold 33 million copies, but "Tiny Dancer" should have--it's Elton John's masterpiece and a timeless classic celebrating the loveliness that is women.

Liner Notes:  "Jesus freaks out in the street/Handing tickets out for God/Turning back she just laughs/The boulevard ain't that bad..."

Enjoy:

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