Ten Songs Featuring Elton John Sidemen

This post is about Elton John’s backing band who are known as the Elton John Band. I decided to select ten songs I like which feature at least one Elton John band member. One Elton song is of course included. I previously featured the Bob Seger song in my article on Bob Seger piano songs. To maintain a connection with Elton’s music all these songs feature piano.

Magic by Pilot - David Paton (1974)

This is by the Scottish rock band Pilot. David Paton had been a bassist for Elton in the 1980s. He plays bass and sings this song. It opens with intense guitars. Piano then appears which has a supporting role in this song. There is an orchestra and the guitars are understated in sections and are stronger in other parts of the song. There is an intense guitar solo about the three-quarter mark. David sings cheerfully in this fun pop rocker. This song reminds me of Elton’s “Rock Of The Westies” album with it sounding like “Dan Dare (Pilot Of The Future)”.

Bad Blood by Neil Sedaka - Nigel Olsson (1975)

This is a fun pop song. Elton provides prominent backing vocals echoing Neil in the words “bad” and “blood”. Elton and Neil also sing sections together which sounds good. Elton’s drummer Nigel Olsson plays the drums, who provides a good beat. Neil plays piano and this song sounds like an Elton song. David Foster plays clavinet which has a good presence. An Elton song this brings to mind is “Dark Diamond” featuring clavinet played by Stevie Wonder.

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John & Kiki Dee - Elton John Band (1976)

This is one of Elton’s most popular songs, a duet with Kiki Dee. The Elton John Band at the time (Caleb Quaye, Davey Johnstone, James Newton Howard, Ray Cooper, Kenny Passarelli & Roger Pope) played on the song, though my understanding is that Davey does not appear on it. This is a catchy pop song with elements of soul. There is an orchestra in the song. The guitars make a more prominent presence in parts of the song. Elton and Kiki sing well together and it’s even more impressive as they recorded their parts separately. The Elton John Band plays in a gentle, relaxing way.

Year of the Cat by Al Stewart - Tim Renwick (1976)

This soft rock song opens with piano. Alan Parsons who produced this also produced “Magic” by Pilot making him the only producer to produce two songs on this list. Tim Renwick who plays guitars on it would be the main guitarist on Elton’s “A Single Man” album a few years later and briefly be in Elton’s band in the early 80s. Tim plays both acoustic and electric guitars, playing a unique acoustic guitar solo followed by an electric guitar solo. Following this, there is a saxophone solo which comes back later at the end of the song. This is similar to the Elton songs “Burn Down The Mission” and “Blues For Baby And Me” that also feature an orchestra.

It’s A Laugh by Daryl Hall & John Oates - Caleb Quaye, Kenny Passarelli & Roger Pope (1978)

Guitarist Caleb Quaye, bassist Kenny Passarelli & drummer Roger Pope joined Daryl Hall & John Oates after Elton John. The album featured guest guitarists, so it’s possible that the lead guitar part isn’t played by Caleb, but I’m writing assuming it’s him. This fun rock song opens with Roger’s drums which goes into a saxophone intro. Caleb plays light rocking electric guitar parts which add power to the song. The piano sounds like the piano in an Elton song. I wonder if Daryl is playing it as he often plays piano. An Elton song I’m reminded of is “Elderberry Wine”.

Hey Deanie by Eric Carmen - Nigel Olsson & Richie Zito (1978)

The song opens with Eric singing the chorus with backing vocals and claps. Elton’s drummer Nigel Olsson and future guitarist Richie Zito play on this song. Nigel and Richie would play together with Elton in the early 80s when they would both be in the Elton John Band. This could be an Elton John rock & roll song with its brilliant rock & roll piano. There are some glissandos. Horns are featured in parts of the song. Nigel gives rock drumming similar to what he’s played for Elton before.

Do You Still Dream? by Chris Rea - David Paton (1981)

The dark rock song opens with piano. There are light electric piano parts that come in and out of the song. The acoustic and electric pianos sound well together. The guitar gives a good presence with there being a guitar solo at the end of the song. A little after a minute when it becomes a full band song, David Paton’s bass gives deep bass notes which are tied with the drums. The guitar solo at the end of the song adds a good contrast to what we heard before. This is a bit like the Elton song “Cry To Heaven”. Both of them are 80s rock songs made in England.

Love’s The Last To Know by Bob Seger - Davey Johnstone (1982)

Bill Payne’s piano starts off the song. Bill is the keyboardist of southern rock band Little Feat. Little Feat is one of Elton’s influences. Elton’s guitarist Davey Johnstone plays an acoustic guitar. He comes about a third into the song with the drums and plays a good supporting role. Bob sings gently, changes to intensely once the strong drumming comes and transitions back to gentle singing in the last section. This song is a bit like an Elton ballad with it reminding me of his 2006 rock ballad “Blues Never Fade Away” (also featuring Davey) that is mostly piano in the first half with intense drumming in the second half.

The Language of Love by Dan Fogelberg - Kenny Passarelli (1984)

I get heartland rock vibes from this track. It features a good mix of guitars and keyboards (piano & organ). Dan Fogelberg sings with a rock voice and also plays lead guitar. His guitar solo is aggressive. Kenny Passarelli who was mentioned previously plays bass. Kenny’s playing is subtle and suits the rock style of this song. Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles sings harmony vocals. This song’s lyrics remind me of Bernie Taupin’s lyrics for Elton’s 1995 “Made In England” album such as its hit single “Believe”.

Been There, Done That by Christopher Cross - Matt Bissonette (1995)

The song opens with an electric piano. After a while an acoustic piano soon comes in. There are rocking guitars. The bass is played by Elton’s bassist Matt Bissonette. Matt’s bass notes are really deep. There is a strong guitar solo at around the two and a half minute mark. It has the signature Christopher Cross soft rock sound. An Elton song this is a bit like is “Spiteful Child”. Both of them have acoustic piano, electric piano, electric guitars and similar synths.

Hope you enjoyed these songs. I was celebrating classic rock music through the lens of my Elton John fandom. Elton has featured talented musicians in his band who made great contributions to popular music. Thanks to all Elton John band members including the ones not featured in this article for their work as sidemen.

Ten Great Electric Piano Rock Songs

I decided to write an article about electric piano rock songs. This article is my 75th blog post. I feature a mix of major hits, minor hits, album tracks and an outtake from classic rock artists. This article is similar to my previous articles “Ten Great Piano Rock Songs by Ten Different Singers” and “Ten Great Electric Piano Elton John Songs”. We’re going back five decades.

Ride Captain Ride - Blues Image (1970)

It opens with an interesting electric piano effect. A synth effect briefly appears before going away when the singing starts. The singing is accompanied by electric piano, bass and drums. A few other instruments briefly come in during the first verse. The song gets more rocking during the chorus featuring additional instruments. After the first chorus, there’s a light guitar solo with prominent electric piano accompaniment. The song concludes with a rocking guitar solo.

Empty Pages - Traffic (1970)

It opens with the combination of organ and electric piano. Steve Winwood sings the song and plays electric piano & organ. There is another organ part played by Chris Wood. The organ is loud in parts of the song giving a dramatic effect. Close to the two minute mark, there is a long electric piano solo. The opening notes of the solo remind me of a similar part Elton John played in his song “Dreamboat”. A little after the three minute mark, Steve Winwood lightly sings along to the melody for about 20 seconds before resuming the chorus. This is the only song on the list not to feature any guitar. That doesn’t prevent the song from rocking as it rocks well with its keyboard parts.

Midnight Creeper - Elton John (1973) 

The song has a horn intro and then the intense guitars played by Elton’s guitarist Davey Johnstone are in the forefront. The horns come back in the chorus. The chorus is catchy. At the two minute mark, there is a prominent horn part, followed by Davey’s guitar solo. During the guitar solo, there is back and forth between the guitar and the horns. There is another guitar solo at the end of the song. This solo features prominent interjections by the horns. While Elton’s electric piano isn’t the loudest instrument, he gives good accompaniment with his rock playing.

Black Night - Bob Seger (1975)

This is an intense rocker with some musical similarities to the previous song. It’s an example of the Bob Seger rock sound. It opens with the guitars which are driving the song. We soon hear some accompaniment from the electric piano. Just after a minute there are a few prominent notes by the electric piano. A bit before the halfway mark, there’s an electric piano solo. After the last verse, the song seems to stop and then comes back for a guitar solo. Bob features the same effect in “The Fire Down Below” which was released the following year.

New Kid In Town - Eagles (1976)

The song opens with the electric piano which is instantly joined by acoustic guitars. The acoustic guitars are the loudest instrument, but the electric piano provides good accompaniment. Soon, the electric guitars and organ appear. Glenn Frey sings in a gentle warm way. Don Henley’s backing vocals provide good support. A rockier electric guitar comes at the three minute and 21 second mark. This song has a slight Mexican influence which can be heard in some of its guitar parts. 

All For Leyna - Billy Joel (1980)

Following the opening electric piano notes, we are soon joined by strong guitars. Billy plays a good electric piano effect which comes throughout the song. This song rocks so well and Billy gives us great rock electric piano playing. Just after the three minute mark, a prominent synth part also played by Billy appears. It goes away and comes back at the end of the song.

You Make My Dreams (Come True) - Daryl Hall & John Oates (1980)

The song opens with Daryl’s electric piano. He soon starts singing. Daryl expresses his excitement in his soulful singing. There is an instrumental break just after the halfway mark featuring a more prominent guitar part. This is a fun light pop rock song that mixes electric piano and guitar well.

All Right - Christopher Cross (1983)

It opens with a mix of guitar and synth and soon the electric piano appears. The electric piano is most prominent during the verses. Michael McDonald’s backing vocals are heard during the choruses. There is a powerful guitar solo by Steve Lukather making the song rock more. The electric piano accompanies the solo well. This song has a good mix of electric piano, synth and guitar.

Goin’ Home - Toto (1989)

This is an unreleased song from 1989 until it was released in 1998. The song opens with electric piano notes played by David Paich which is soon joined by all the instruments. There are backing vocals sung which is followed by original Toto lead singer Bobby Kimball’s vocals. They have two call and responses which also happens in the second verse. Similarly, during an instrumental section, there is a call and response between Steve Lukather on guitar and David Paich on electric piano. This song has a fun energetic feel.

When I See You Smile - Bad English (1989)

The song opens with Jonathan Cain’s electric piano. John Waite sings with minimal subtle instrumental accompaniment that includes acoustic guitar and keyboards. The song then has the addition of heavy guitars, drums and synth just before the chorus which continues going into the chorus. The second verse starts off similar to the first verse, but with added drums. The song then goes through the same musical changes which happened in the first verse. At about the three quarter mark, we have a strong guitar solo by Neil Schlon. The song closes with the same electric piano notes that opened it.

I tried to feature a balance of different types of rock in this article. They include pop rock, soft rock, hard rock and progressive rock. Also, there is a form of popular rock music known as yacht rock which is on this list. The term was coined in the 2000s, but it refers to music in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The songs on this list I’d classify as yacht rock are the ones by the Eagles, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Christopher Cross and Toto. Electric piano may not be a common rock instrument, but it has a long and diverse history in the genre.