Ten Great Elton John Songs by Ten Different Guitarists

I decided to post a collection of Elton John songs whose main guitar part is played by ten different guitarists. These songs showcase the mix of guitar and piano where you hear how well Elton plays piano with many guitarists. Elton’s lyricist Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics for six of the songs. We’re beginning with one of Elton’s most popular songs.

Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting - Davey Johnstone (1973)

It opens with Davey Johnstone’s charging guitars. It’s mainly guitars you hear at the start. Elton soon brings in his piano with a glissando just before the chorus. This glissando is repeated at the same spot throughout the song. Davey really rocks powerfully with all the guitars he plays on this song. Elton’s piano playing supports Davey well. Right at the end of the song, his rock & roll piano parts offer a good contrast with Davey’s guitars.

Street Kids - Caleb Quaye (1975)

Caleb Quaye & Davey Johnstone both play rhythm guitars. Davey also plays slide guitar. It opens with a guitar effect and then all the instruments come in including Elton’s piano which is mixed in well. Elton is singing aggressively. There are these strong guitar riffs throughout the song I’m assuming is played by Caleb. Caleb gives us a long creative guitar solo. The solo is so rock sounding yet it seems like he’s taking inspiration from jazz the way he changes notes so fast. This is a hard rocking guitar & piano song.

Earn While You Learn - Tim Renwick (1978)

Though this song appears as a bonus track on 1983’s “Too Low For Zero” album due to being a B-Side from that time, it was recorded during the sessions for the 1978 album “A Single Man”. This instrumental is written solely by Elton. It opens with “Earn While You Learn” (the song title) spoken by someone and then Tim’s guitar riff before being joined by all instruments.

When all instruments come in, we get Elton’s keyboards. Elton’s keyboards include prominent organ and synth parts with his piano underneath everything. At about the two minute mark, Tim plays his riff again with Elton’s piano coming in louder and Tim giving a guitar solo. This happens again later on without another guitar solo. This is powerful melodic instrumental rock. Elton gives good rock piano parts including a glissando in the last quarter of the song.

Two Rooms At The End Of The World - Steve Lukather (1980)

The guitar is played by Toto guitarist Steve Lukather. Steve’s guitar matches well with Elton’s electric piano. The drums drive this song as there are brief moments of just drums and Elton’s vocals. Just before the one minute mark, horns come in. The horns give a musical presence throughout the song. It’s nice how Steve’s guitar doubles with the horns and there is a section of good back and forth between guitar & horns. Elton gives an interesting electric piano solo. During Elton’s solo, the guitar & horns come in and out of it. Bassist Reggie McBride does some slap bass playing making his instrument more noticeable.

Dear John - Richie Zito (1982)

This song features another Toto member which is their late great drummer Jeff Porcaro. The lyrics are written by Gary Osbourne who Elton had written with during this period. This is a rock & roll song featuring guitars by Richie Zito. Richie played guitar in Elton’s band in the brief period in the early 80s when Davey Johnstone wasn’t in the band. There is a piano solo featuring synth flourishes by James Newton Howard. Richie’s guitars give a driving energetic presence.

Runaway Train - Eric Clapton (1992)

Elton & Bernie co-wrote this song with Olle Romo who plays drums on it. Eric plays lead guitar and sings this duet with Elton John. Elton’s piano is low in the mix. The rhythm guitar is played by Elton’s guitarist Davey Johnstone. The song has a guitar opening which is soon taken over by Eric’s aggressive lead guitar part. The singing goes back and forth between Elton and Eric. Eric then plays a guitar solo in the middle of the song which is followed by Elton’s organ solo. Eric adds guitar flourishes to the organ solo. There are other similar organ parts in the song. I’m not sure if Elton is playing them. The last chorus is sung by Elton. Eric brings his signature blues rock sound to this song.

If You Were Me - Chris Rea (1993)

After so many intense rock songs, we’re now going to something gentle. This is a duet with singer Chris Rea who wrote the song, produced it and played the guitars & keyboards alongside Max Middleton. The song opening is keyboards which includes electric piano. There are subtle guitars. After Elton & Chris sing, Elton’s piano comes in. Chris’ guitar parts are both acoustic & electric. This seems to be a pop song with blues elements. Chris gives a blues vibe with his guitar playing including his solo.

Birds - Rusty Anderson (2001)

I had written a blog post about this song three years ago. This country rocker opens with drumming following the mix of Elton’s piano and Rusty Anderson’s guitar riff. Once Elton starts singing, the guitar stops and we can make out harmonium which Elton plays in addition to his piano. Just before the chorus, David Channing’s dobro (a type of acoustic guitar) comes in which remains for the song. Rusty’s guitar comes in throughout the song including a rocking solo. Elton also provides a piano solo. Rusty concludes the song with good rock guitar playing.

Rock This House - B.B. King (2005)

This song is another duet with a singer-guitarist. Unlike the previous two who are English, the late B.B. King is American, specifically African-American. This song was recorded with the Elton John Band. Davey Johnstone plays the rhythm guitar and B.B. King plays the lead guitar. The song opens with Davey’s guitar riff before all the instruments come in. B.B.’s guitar is in the right speaker. This is a cover song by blues singer Jimmy Rogers which gives off a blues rock vibe. Both B.B. and Elton give solos. They sound like they’re having so much fun rocking this house. I like how there are horn parts in this song.

Take This Dirty Water - Doyle Bramhall II (2013)

This is an americana song primarily in the gospel genre with some country, soul and blues elements. In this song, the guitar has a supportive role. Elton’s piano opens the song. Doyle soon gives his guitar flourishes. Elton sings “in and out of everything” which reflects how Doyle’s guitar keeps coming in and out of the song. Around the three minute mark, Doyle gives a short guitar solo. I like the optimistic feel of this song. Elton sings so soulfully with good gospel sounding backing vocals.

Many of these songs are guitar driven and have a harder rocking sound. They show how great a rock performer Elton John is. In addition to rock there are also elements of pop, blues, gospel, soul and country. Interestingly, the duets all go in a blues direction. The Elton John Band guitarists who played on these songs are Davey Johnstone, Caleb Quaye, Tim Renwick & Richie Zito. Davey is the only guitarist who also plays rhythm guitar on some tracks as he’s Elton’s original and long-time guitarist. I hope to hear more rocking songs like this from Elton in the future.

Ten Powerful Rock Ballads by Elton John

I’m a fan of Elton John so I decided to write an article highlighting ten powerful rock ballads by Elton

John. I like piano in rock music, and the piano in these songs is played by Elton who’s the world’s

most successful singing pianist. I featured some of his hit songs in this list. I tried to select songs that

are both rock and ballad. If you don’t agree with my assessment of a song being a rock ballad, I

hope you’ll at least be interested in the song. All these songs are composed by Elton John with lyrics

written by his lyricist Bernie Taupin. I mention some of the musicians who played on these songs in

this post, most of which are Elton John’s band members as well as session musicians he’s worked

with. The most prominent member is Elton John’s guitarist Davey Johnstone who appears on eight

of the ten tracks. We begin with a song from the most popular period of Elton John’s career. 

Candle in the Wind (1973)

This song is part of Elton’s most successful studio album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and was

recorded with the original Elton John band line-up of Davey Johnstone (guitars), Dee Murray (bass)

and Nigel Olsson (drums). The piano is most prominent in the verses. It has both acoustic and

electric guitars. The electric guitars give the song a rock feel, featuring the great guitar riff played

throughout the song. This is one of Elton’s most well known songs which is a showcase of his

melodic songwriting skills. I would like to see Elton record a whole album with just the four

instruments in this song (piano, guitar, bass, drums) and nothing else (meaning no keyboards,

percussion, strings, horns, etc) except backing vocals.  

The Fox (1981)

It opens with a piano which is soon joined by harmonica. After that Elton sings, with subtle drumming

by Nigel Olsson. A few guitar notes by Richie Zito are played. Dee Murray’s bass gets a bit louder.

After about a minute the drumming gets more intense with the guitar parts played a bit more. This

song has a country/americana element with the harmonica giving a sound different to the usual Elton

song, but at the base it has the traditional Elton John song structure. This song is a good example of

Elton mixing his own style with something different. This song’s rock elements come most

prominently from Elton’s great piano playing.

Healing Hands (1989)

This is my favourite Elton John song. It opens with Jonathan Moffett’s drums which is joined by the

piano four seconds later. The piano is joined by Davey Johnstone’s guitar and there is some

synthesizer parts. The guitar parts may not be very loud, but they do have a rock feel. Elton plays a

great piano solo that rocks at about the two and a half minute mark. Elton does great powerful

singing and I really like the optimistic message of the lyrics. I love the lyric "There’s a light, where the

darkness ends" in it.   

Amazes Me (1989)

The song has good backing vocals in the opening part and later on in the song. Elton delivers soulful

strong vocals. Davey plays rock guitar throughout the song. There is suddenly an intense guitar solo

giving the song a sudden jolt which contrasts with what was heard before with its stronger rock feel.

Near the end it is good to hear Elton sing the chorus line "could be this tune" very expressively unlike the previous instances.

The One (1992)

This is an epic long rock ballad going on for five minutes and fifty three seconds. It starts off simple

and slow, and the song gets more intense about fifty seconds in with the drums. In the first chorus

there is an acoustic guitar part. The piano and the drums give some rock in the chorus. The second

verse starts off slower with subtle drumming and then brings back the intense drumming and some

electric guitar comes in. Elton delivers a good piano solo which is supplemented with synthesizer.

Elton’s part at the end of the song is similar to his piano solo which is soon joined by a good rock

guitar part. The guitars on the song are played by Adam Seymour and Davey Johnstone. I assume

that the electric guitar parts are played by Davey, but I don’t know for sure. This song is reminiscent

of "Candle in the Wind" as both songs have acoustic & electric guitars and a rock guitar part, but no

guitar solo.

Believe (1995)

It opens with piano and subtle acoustic guitars. Drums soon join in. There is an orchestra and some

electric guitars. Near the end of the first verse, the electric guitars become more prominent which are

a strong part of the chorus. The electric guitars give the song a rock element. There is also a good

electric sitar solo by Davey Johnstone. This song can be described as a power ballad. 

Something About the Way You Look Tonight (1997)

This is his biggest hit as it was paired together with "Candle in the Wind 1997". It opens with all

instruments featuring a memorable opening played by the orchestra doubled on guitar. After that

piano is the dominant instrument which it continues to be during most of the verses. It features organ

by Paul Carrack. It has a great melody. About three minutes in, there is a good guitar solo played by

Davey Johnstone or John Jorgenson (who were both in Elton’s band on this album). Following that

there are some more prominent guitar parts.

I Want Love (2001) 

This song comes from his great 2001 comeback album "Songs from the West Coast". The album

had a back to the 70s approach, yet also is the most modern sounding album he’s made. The album

featured session musicians and his original two band members Davey Johnstone (guitar) and Nigel

Olsson (drums) who are both on this track. It opens with the great piano opening that’s joined by the

acoustic guitar played by Bruce Gaitsch. Interestingly, Bruce co-wrote Richard Marx’s 1987 hit rock

song "Don’t Mean Nothing" that I like. We hear some bass guitar notes, Nigel Olsson’s drums and

about twenty seconds later Davey Johnstone’s rocking electric guitar parts come in. There is a

bridge which gives a good change to the melody followed by Davey’s great guitar solo. This is one of

Elton’s best songs showcasing his strength in writing a melodic rock ballad.

Tinderbox (2006)

This song has a 70s Elton feel and also features both original band members Davey Johnstone

(guitars) and Nigel Olsson (drums). There is both acoustic and electric guitars, with the electric

guitars coming in at about the two minute mark. The bridge has more guitars and rocks well. There

is also good organ on the song by Elton’s late keyboardist Guy Babylon who died in 2009. His late

bassist Bob Birch is also on the track. Bob plays noticeable bass notes in the opening part as he’s

the only instrument other than piano in that section. Bob Birch died in 2012. The album "The Captain

& the Kid" that it's from is the last Elton John studio album that they both appeared on.

Candlelit Bedroom (2013)

This is a very Elton John song, having his signature piano based rock ballad sound. Doyle Bramhall

II’s guitar joins in about a minute in giving a good addition to the song. About two and a half minutes

in, there a rocking guitar solo which is good to have. We then go back to the chorus. It’s fitting that

this song list both opens and closes with a candle song which interestingly were released forty years

apart.  

I hope you enjoyed reading this list of Elton John rock ballads. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts

on any of these songs. If you enjoyed this article, you may be interested in my previous article "Sci-Fi

Elton John Songs".

Sci-Fi Elton John Songs

As a fan of both sci-fi and Elton John, I decided to write an article listing sci-fi Elton John songs where I give my thoughts on them. This list includes his two hit songs “Rocket Man” and “Bennie And The Jets”. All these songs have the lyrics written by Elton’s songwriting partner Bernie Taupin. Let’s begin.

Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long Long Time) - 1972

This song comes from the album “Honky Chateau”. It was the first album Elton recorded with his

band featuring newest member Davey Johnstone on guitar. This song deals with an astronaut on

Mars who misses the earth and his wife. It’s a light pop rock song, with Davey’s guitar parts being

mainly an acoustic one and the good electric slide guitar effects that appear most prominently on the

chorus. The song does a good job conveying the loneliness of space.

Bennie And The Jets - 1973

This song is from Elton’s most successful studio album “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” about a rock

band in the future called Bennie And The Jets led by a female singer named Bennie. The band are

supposed to be androids from what I understand. The song’s narrator is a fan of this band. This a

rock song that is piano driven and it has a good piano solo in it. There are electric and acoustic

guitars, with the electric guitar being low in the mix and the acoustic guitar being louder in the mix at

one point.

I’ve Seen The Saucers - 1974

This song comes from the “Caribou” album. EIton’s opening piano notes which is used throughout the song is reminiscent of his opening piano notes from his 1973 rock classic “Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding”, however this song goes in a completely different direction to that one. The narrator is describing the saucers he’s seen. He claims to have not only seen them but has been taken by them as well. This song has more electric guitar than the previous two, and it’s the first song on this list not to have any acoustic guitar. The trend of a song whose guitar parts are only electric continues on the next two songs.     

Dan Dare (Pilot Of The Future) - 1975

This song is from the “Rock of The Westies” album. It’s about the British comic book series Dan Dare which I confess to having not read. This song rocks harder than the previous three. This is the first and only song on the list to have a guitar solo which is played with a talk box. A talk box is a device that allows a musician to modify their instrument parts with their voice. Davey Johnstone’s talk box guitar parts are featured throughout the song. The song also features conventional electric guitar played by Caleb Quaye. This song has a few things in common with “Rocket Man” as it mentions Mars and a rocket.

I Am Your Robot - 1982

This song comes from the “Jump Up” album. It rocks even harder than the previous one being the hardest rocking song on this list. It’s the fastest song on this list as well. It opens with an electronic effect that is probably a synthesizer and is then joined by the other instruments led by Richie Zito’s guitar. The lyrics aren’t strong as some of it is a bit silly. It seems to be about a robot who is in love with a woman who could be a client of his. He mentions that he is programmed to love her. Despite some lyrical weaknesses, this song works very well musically. The piano and guitar parts go well together and there are good synthesizer parts on the song. Having “I Am Your Robot” after “Dan Dare” is a good fit as they are the songs that rock the strongest on this list.

Look Ma, No Hands - 2001

This song comes from Elton John’s comeback album “Songs From The West Coast” which was compared with his early work. It’s fitting to end with this song as it has both Davey Johnstone and Nigel Olsson like the first song “Rocket Man”, and it sounds musically similar to that song too. Like “Rocket Man”, this song is pop rock and has both acoustic and electric guitars. It’s a piano driven song which features a piano solo by Elton. This song is about a person telling all his achievements to his mother trying to get her appreciation. It’s only sci-fi parts are two lines about having been in Roswell when the Martians were there. It gives the impression that the aliens really came to Roswell in the universe where this person sings in, though he could be simply saying it in reference to the Roswell theory or just believes in the Roswell incident without seeing it himself. I think this is probably the best song on this list.

So that’s the sci-fi songs Elton has done. I hope I didn’t miss any other sci-fi songs of his. Let me know if I did. Regarding the song lyrics, the three songs that go after each other (“I’ve Seen The Saucers”, “Dan Dare” and “I Am Your Robot”) seem to be humorous. I think the lyrics for “Bennie And The Jets” seem unusual, but it’s of a higher quality than those other three and consider the first and last song (“Rocket Man” and “Look Ma, No Hands”) to both have strong lyrics.

I’ll mention common themes throughout these sci-fi songs. Mars is one as it is the main subject of “Rocket Man”, is mentioned in “Dan Dare” and “Look Ma, No Hands” mentions the Martians of Roswell. Robots are part of two songs dealing with the apparent robotic band in “Bennie And The Jets” and the robot character in “I Am Your Robot”. Spacecrafts are a part of “Rocket Man”, “Dan Dare”, “I’ve Seen The Saucers”, “I Am Your Robot” and “Look Ma, No Hands” due to the Martians of the Roswell story coming in a spacecraft.

I’ll now list some interesting statistics about these songs. The first three songs feature the original Elton John Band line-up of Davey Johnstone (guitar), Dee Murray (bass) and Nigel Olsson (drums). Davey plays on all tracks except “I Am Your Robot” which comes from the brief period when Davey wasn’t in the Elton John Band. The guitarist Richie Zito on “I Am Your Robot” was Elton’s guitarist in the early 80s. Davey shares the guitar parts with Caleb Quaye (a member of the Elton John Band during that period) on “Dan Dare” and with David Channing on “Look Ma, No Hands” where Davey plays electric guitar and David plays acoustic guitar. Both “Dan Dare” and “I Am Your Robot” feature keyboards by now famous film composer James Newton Howard who was in the Elton John Band when those albums were made. Dee Murray plays bass on all songs except “Dan Dare” featuring Kenny Passarelli on bass (Elton’s then bassist making his first appearance on an Elton album there) and the last one “Look Ma, No Hands” which has bass played by Paul Bushnell. Nigel Olsson plays drums on all songs except “Dan Dare” which featured drums by Roger Pope who was then in the Elton John Band and “I Am Your Robot” which has drums played by Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro. The last song and the first song both feature Davey Johnstone and Nigel Olsson. Regarding the producers of the songs, the first four songs was produced by Gus Dudgeon, “I Am Your Robot” was produced by Chris Thomas and “Look Ma, No Hands” was produced by Patrick Leonard.