Elton John, The #3 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Eight

 

(Continued from Part Seven)

John performed at Live Aid in Wembley Stadium in 1985.  Elton brought George Michael on stage to sing "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me".

 

John released the album Ice On Fire in 1985.  This was a revolutionary song in the time of the Cold War, when the ridiculous Berlin Wall divided East and West Germany.  Most on the Eastern side listened to Free Europe and identified with the sentiments of not being able to see people they cared about because they couldn't cross the wall.  "Nikita" was another of Elton's strongest songs, reaching the Top 5 in every civilized nation in the world except the U.S., where it reached #7.

 

"Cry To Heaven" is another worthy song.

 

Elton joined Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight for the #1 smash "That's What Friends Are For" in 1986, which raised money for HIV and AIDS research.  It won Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.  

Sir Elton was granted a coat of arms in 1987.  The shield above includes piano keys and records.  The Spanish motto, el tono es bueno,  includes a pun on his name, translated it means "the tone is good".  The steel helmet faced forward and with its visor open indicates that John is a knight.

 

Sir Elton's live version of "Candle In The Wind" reached #2 on the AC chart and #6 overall in the United States and #5 in the U.K.  He was once again nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammys.

EJ ran his total to 26 sold-out performances at Madison Square Garden in New York City with five more in 1988.  Ever the collector, 2,000 of Sir Elton's memorabilia netted $20 million at a Sotheby's auction in London.

In 1988, John released the album Reg Strikes Back.  "I Don't Wanna' Go On With You Like That' rose to #1 in Canada and #1 on the Adult chart and #2 Popular in the U.S.

"A Word In Spanish" was a strong follow-up, holding down #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart.  It was recorded early in 1988 at producer James Newton-Howard's house in Los Angeles and features the multi-talented Johnstone playing a Spanish-flavored acoustic guitar.  The protagonist is in an imagined movie scene with a would-be lover, but he doesn't know how to tell the woman how he feels.  He is reminded of a movie he once saw and although he doesn't understand the Spanish words, he mimics the actor hoping it will work for him too.

 

The following year, John released the album Sleeping with the Past, which yielded the #1 Adult smash "Healing Hands".

Unbelievably, Sir Elton recorded his first #1 in his native country with "Sacrifice" in 1990.  When it was finished, Elton and Bernie were both confident it would be big, as Bernie revealed to Music Connection before the song was released:

              It's a simple lyric, but it's an intelligent adult

              lyric.  It's basically about the rigors of adult

              love, and it's a million miles away from 

              "Your Song".  Elton came up with a brilliant

              melody, and his performance on it gives it a

              lot of integrity and meaning.  It's not a 

              surface song, and I think you'll probably see

              that one in the coming months becoming a 

              big, big hit.

Although "Sacrifice" achieved a peak of #3 on the Adult chart, it's #13 ranking overall makes it another of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.  Listeners in Ireland and Norway had much better ears, taking the song to #2, while it reached #3 in the Netherlands.

 

"Club At The End Of The Street" was another solid effort with adults, reaching #2.  Taupin told Music Connection in 1989 how he came up with the song:

               What I would do is I'd take a song like a

               Drifters song and I'd try to write a

               Drifters-type lyric.  There's a song on the

               album called "Club At The End Of The 

               Street", which is probably the straightest

                emulation of one of those songs.  When

                you hear it, it has the feel of a song like

                "Under The Boardwalk".  It's a real

                 Drifters-style song.  So what I would do

                 is I'd make notes for Elton at the bottom

                 of the lyric sheet, like "Think Drifters, 

                 think this or think that."

 

"Blue Avenue" is another of Elton's best on the album and describes his failed marriage to Renate Blauel.

 

Elton teamed with Soul superstar Aretha Franklin for the #3 Adult smash "Through The Storm".

 

Sir Elton released the compilation album The Very Best of Elton John, which included the new song "You Gotta' Love Someone", #1 not only in Canada but a #1 song among Adults for five weeks in the U.S.

Tune in for Part Nine on Inside The Rock Era!