Copyright 1989, 2008 Paul Maclauchlan Permission granted to copy this information if credit is given Explanation of symbols: + Live * Non-LP B-side # guest appearance $ If you have this I would love to hear it!
US 45 - MCA 60172 (did not chart)
ENGLAND STUDIO SESSIONS - Trident Studios, Soho London
Elton John records songs for his second album (Elton John).
UK COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION
This song has not been released by any artist.
UK 45
DJM DJS 8217 (did not chart)
The song does not chart in spite of substantial airplay.
ENGLAND CONCERT - Revolution Club, London
Elton John performs with Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson
US 45
CONGRESS 6022 (did not chart)
ENGLAND STUDIO SESSIONS - Trident Studios, Soho London
Recording starts on the Tumbleweed Connection album.
UK RADIO - BBC - John Peel Concert $
Elton John with Hookfoot and The Chanter Sisters.
Hookfoot is: Caleb Quaye (guitar); Roger Pope (drums); Dave Glover (bass); Ian Duck (vocals).
Ballad Of A Well Known Gun is released in 1991 on a compilation CD called: BEFORE THE FALL - THE PEEL SESSIONS.
ENGLAND RECORDING SESSION - Aeolian Hall, BBC London Studio 2
Hookfoot; The Chanter Sisters (background vocals). Unknown Producer.
Broadcast April 12 1970 on the Dave Lee Travis show.
UK LP - ELTON JOHN
DJM DJLPS 406 (UK: #11;14 weeks)
- Elton John: Vocals & piano
- Bernie Taupin: Lyrics
- Gus Dudgeon: Producer
- Paul Buckmaster: Arranger
- Robin Geoffrey Cable: Engineer
- Steve Brown: Co-ordinator
- Recorded at Trident Studios, London, England
- Photography: Stowell Stanford; Art direction: David Larkham; Sleeve production: Jim Goff
Reviews:Melody Maker (April 25 1970): "...a truly great record."
Unreleased songs from these sessions include: Thank You Mama, All The Way Down To El Paso and I'm Going Home.
Buy
Elton John
CD
UK RADIO - BBC - Dave Lee Travis, DLT
Sundays 10am to noon.
Hookfoot; The Chanter Sisters (background vocals).
Recorded April 6, 1970, Aeolian Hall, Studio 2. Produced by: ? (commissioned by Paul Williams)Hookfoot is: Caleb Quaye (guitar); Roger Pope (drums); Dave Glover (bass); Ian Duck (vocals).
UK NEWSPAPER - Melody Maker
Article by Richard Williams asking: "Is this the year of Elton John?"
Realizing Elton John will need a tour to promote the album, he forms a band with Dee Murray (bass) and Nigel Olsson (drums). The band spends late April to mid August touring the UK and Europe.
ENGLAND CONCERT - The Pop Proms, The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London
Hosted by John Peel, the show featured Tyrannosaurus Rex, Pretty Things, Elton John and Heavy Jelly. Admission 25/- each night. Billed as a Musical Fair with "no actual seating" for 2,000 people. The Proms ran 6 nights, Monday through Saturday, with Elton appearing on Tuesday night.
This show marked the debut of Elton John's touring trio: Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson
Rocket Man book lists as June 21 1970, Melody Maker ad in CFATBDC album book shows April 21.
UK TV - Top Of The Pops
"I'd really like to do a couple of gigs a week, because that's how you sell yourself to people. Top Of The Pops doesn't really give anybody an idea of what you can do - in fact it gives them a totally wrong impression."
"Bernie always writes the words of a song first and then gives them to me and I write the tune. It always works perfectly and I think we gain from doing it that way. I can't write lyrics and I know what Bernie wants, so it always comes out right. We don't write a lot - generally it comes in spasms when we feel like it..."
"Bluesology would never let me sing, so I really only started when we were doing the first demos, and my voice improved - I hope - as I did more and more." (from Elton John: A Visual Documentary, original source unknown)
US 45
UNI 55246 (US: #92; 5 weeks)
Russ Regan (head of UNI Records): "It went to 90 with an anchor."
UK LP - This Man Alone - Edward
Woodward
DJM DJLPS 405
UK COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION
This song was featured in the film Friends, but not included on the soundtrack album.
ENGLAND CONCERT - The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London
ENGLAND STUDIO SESSION - Abbey Road Studios, St John's Wood London - The Hollies
Elton John plays piano. The song Perfect Lady Housewife appears on The Hollies November 1970 album Confessions Of The Mind.
UK TV - BBC In Concert
"The Greatest
Discovery"; "My Songs"
BELGIUM CONCERT - Knokke Festival
Elton John wins top honours in a music contest.
ENGLAND CONCERT - Marquee Club, Wardour Street London
Elton John headlined, supported by Business.
ENGLAND CONCERT - Lyceum Theatre, London
Santana concert, plus Elton John, Litherland's Brotherhood and Dr. Strangely Strange. Tickets 20/-.
UK 45
DJM DJS 222 (did not chart)
The single's press release features quotes from the press:
Don Short (Daily Mirror) - "Time to hail a new genius in the commercial folk world."
Anne Nightingale (Daily Sketch) - "As singer/songwriter he is emerging as one of the most fascinating new talents around."
Robert Partridge (Record Mirror) - "He is probably Britain's first real answer to Neil Young and Van Morrison."
Richard Williams (Melody Maker) - "John is a brilliant composer (in partnership with Bernie Taupin) and a fine singer."
Mark Williams (International Times) - "Elton John shares the distinction of creating music which strikes that rare balance between brilliance and honest originality."
ENGLAND CONCERT - The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London
ENGLAND RECORDING SESSION - Aeolian Hall, BBC London Studio 2
Dee Murray (bass); Nigel Olsson (drums); unknown background vocals. Produced by: Malcolm Brown; Engineered by: Mike Harding & Mike Franks
Broadcast July 2 1970, on Stuart Henry, Sounds Of The Seventies show.
ENGLAND CONCERT - St. Mary's College, Twickenham
ENGLAND STUDIO SESSIONS - Sound Techniques, Chelsea
Elton John demo recordings of songs from Witchseason Music Publishers, written by some of England's top folk songwriters. These recordings would be circulated amongst other artists and record label A&R men in hopes that they would be recorded. Vocals by Elton John and Linda Peters (later to become Linda Thompson).
UK RADIO - BBC - Stuart Henry, Sounds Of The
Seventies
Thursdays 6 to 7pm
Dee Murray (bass); Nigel Olsson (drums); unknown background vocals.
Recorded June 25 1970, Aeolian Hall, BBC London Studio 2. Produced by: Malcolm Brown; Engineered by: Mike Harding & Mike Franks
ENGLAND CONCERT - Hampstead Country Club, London
Elton John headlines the show, supported by Aquila.
ENGLAND CONCERT - Speakeasy, London
US LP - ELTON JOHN
UNI 93090
Same songs as UK LP
Buy
Elton John
CD
US LP - The Games (Original Soundtrack Recording)
Viking LPS 105
US 45
Viking VIK1010 (withdrawn, did not chart)
From the film soundtrack to The Games. Non Elton B-side. See the Internet Movie Database listing.
Elton:
"Actually From Denver To LA was withdrawn, so if you've got a copy it's worth a small fortune. It was a 25 quid session I did at Olympic Studios and I just sang the song, and it was for the Michael Winner movie The Games. and that's it."
"When the film was released Elton John had just become successful in the States and so they thought "Ahh ha!" and rushed it out, but we quickly put an injunction on it and stopped it."
UK ALBUM - The Last Puff - Spooky
Tooth
Island
ENGLAND RECORDING SESSION - Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue, London
Dee Murray; bass; Nigel Olsson; drums; unknown background vocals. Produced by: Jeff Griffin
Broadcast August 26 1970, Bob Harris, Sounds Of The Seventies show.
Elton's last conventional pre-recorded session.
ENGLAND CONCERT - Krumlin Fest, Barkisland Halifax
ENGLAND CONCERT - Yorkshire Jazz, Folk and Blues Festival, Krumlin
Elton John, Pretty Things, Juicy Lucy and The Groundhogs.
Chris Charlesworth in Melody Maker gives Elton John a rave review. Elton is the star of the show due to his enthusiasm despite bad weather conditions. Passing bottles of brandy to the audience doesn't hurt their appreciation of his musicianship.
17 date US tour.
US CONCERT - The Troubadour, West Hollywood CA
Elton John: piano; Dee Murray: bass; Nigel Olsson: drums
Elton John's American debut performance. Introduced by Neil Diamond:
"I know the album and I love the album and I have no idea what these people are about to do. I want to take my seat and enjoy this with you."Elton was wearing a beard, bell-bottom jeans and a red shirt with "Rock And Roll" spelt in white letters. Elton was co-headliner with David Ackles. The set lasted about an hour. Leon Russell was in the audience. Elton played nightly through August 30.
The photo used for the Honky Chateau album cover was taken backstage on this night.
Robert Hilburn wrote in the August 27th Los Angeles Times:
- Rejoice. Rock music which has been going through a rather uneventful period recently, has a new star. He's Elton John, a 23-year-old Englishman,whose debut Tuesday night at the Troubadour was, in almost every way, magnificent.
- ... His music is so staggeringly original that it is obvious he is not merely operating within a given field (such as country or blues or rock) but, like Randy Newman and Laura Nyro among others, creating his own field... He has, to be sure, borrowed from country, rock, blues, folk and other influences, but he has mixed them in his own way. The resulting songs are so varied in texture that his work defies classificatlon . . .
- While his voice most often resembles Jose Feliciano, there are at times touches of Leon Russell and Mick Jagger...
- John's songs are co-written by lyricist Bernie Taupin, whose lyrics often capture the same timeless, objective spirit of the Band's Robbie Robertson . . .
- Beyond his vocals, melodies and arrangements there is a certain sense of the absurd . . . that is reminiscent of the American rock stars of the mid-1950s . . .
- By the end of the evening, there was no question about John's talent and potential.
- Tuesday night at The Troubadour was just the beginning. He's going to be one of rock's biggest and most important stars.
Kathy Orloff, Chicago Sun Times
- "He was a major star before the end of his first set."
- "The future seems incredibly bright for John."
John L. Wasserman, San Fransisco Chronicle
- "He had hardly opened his mouth when it was apparent that he is going to be a very, very big star."
John Gibson, Holywood Reporter
- "It's not often that someone gets a standing ovation at the Troubadour, but Elton John did - twice."
In 1990 Rolling Stone Magazine rated this show as among the twenty concerts that changed rock and roll.
UK RADIO - BBC - Bob Harris, Sounds Of The Seventies
Wednesdays 6 to
7pm
Dee Murray; bass; Nigel Olsson; drums; unknown background vocals.
Recorded August 13 1970, Playhouse Theatre, Northumberland Avenue. Produced by: Jeff GriffinElton's last conventional pre-recorded session.
US CONCERT - The Troubadour, West Hollywood CA
US CONCERT - The Troubadour, West Hollywood CA
US CONCERT - The Troubadour, West Hollywood CA
US CONCERT - The Troubadour, West Hollywood CA
US CONCERT - The Troubadour, West Hollywood CA
US 45
UNI 55246 (US: #92; 5 weeks)
Reissue.
US CONCERT - Troubadour, San Francisco CA
US CONCERT - Playboy Club, New York NY
A poorly attended "lunchtime" show. Elton didn't go on until 2:30 or 3:00, after everyone had gone back to work.
US CONCERT - Electric Factory, Philadelphia PA
After being told off by Jerry Fisher (MCA controller) about the amount of money being spent on sandwiches and calling Elton John "Regan's Folly", Russ Regan (head of UNI) went to Elton to tell him about the incident. Elton said, "Tonight we're going to burn the city of Philadelphia down."
Elton and the band played Burn Down The Mission last, performing for 20 minutes, on and under the piano. The buzz created by this show sold 10,000 Elton John albums in Philadelphia by the next day.
The Band attended the show, flying down from New England after their show.
UK NEWSPAPER - Melody Maker
An article reports that Elton John is storming the US on his current tour. Elton is quoted in an interview with Richard Williams on playing with Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray, "It's a real band now, and the boys have helped me a lot. It's so tight now, but in a year's time it will be unbelievable. America did our confindence a lot of good and I don't ever have to tell them what to do because we all know what we're doing. There are some songs with very broken rhythms, but they just play them without having it explained to them."
ENGLAND CONCERT - Royal Albert Hall, London
Might have been October 5.
ENGLAND STUDIO SESSIONS - Trident Studios, London
Session for the Friends soundtrack.
US 45
UNI 55265 (US: #8; 14 weeks)
Elton John performs a short US tour.
US CONCERT - The Boston Tea Party, Boston MA
Elton John's first appearance in Massachusetts.
UK LP - TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION
DJM DJLPS
410 (UK: #6; 20 weeks)
- All songs by Elton John (keyboards & vocals) & Bernie Taupin (lyrics), except Love Song by Lesley Duncan.
- Paul Buckmaster: arranger
- Gus Dudgeon: producer
- Robin Geoffrey Cable: engineer
- Recorded at Trident Studios
- Co-ordination: Steve Brown
- Cover photograph by Ian Digby-Owens; Art direction & sleeve design: David Larkham; Inside sleeve photography: Ian Digby-Owens, Barrie Wentzell & David Larkham.
Elton: "I like Empty Sky because of its naivety. Elton John because it was panic stations, Tumbleweed Connection because aside from the bits I don't like, there are bits I do like. It was funky and in retrospect, it was quite a bold step to take after the Elton John album."
Songs recorded for the album, but not included: Madman Across The Water, Rolling Western Union, Rock Me When He's Gone and Sisters Of The Cross
US CONCERT - The Boston Tea Party, Boston MA
US CONCERT - The Boston Tea Party, Boston MA
US CONCERT - The Electric Factory, Philadelphia PA
US CONCERT - The Electric Factory, Philadelphia PA
US CONCERT - The Mill Run Theater, Baltimore MD
US CONCERT - Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino CA
[Swing
Auditorium]
Exact date unknown. The show was opened by Sweathog, followed by Elton John and closed by the headliner, Leon Russell.
US CONCERT - Fillmore West, San Francisco CA
4 night stand. The Kinks and Elton John top the bill that includes jazz-rock band Ballin' Jack and Juicy Lucy. Poster with David Singer artwork.
US CONCERT - Fillmore West, San Francisco CA
US CONCERT - Fillmore West, San Francisco CA
US CONCERT - Fillmore West, San Francisco CA
US CONCERT - Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica CA
[Country Comfort]
This date, as shown on the bootleg album, is incorrect, the Fillmore West date is confirmed.
US RADIO - WABC-FM Live Broadcast, A&R Studios, New York City NY
Elton John's first appearance in New York. This radio broadcast was circulated extensively as a bootleg tape and record. This "forced" the release of the 17-11-70 (UK) and 11-17-70 (US) albums in 1971.
Buy
11-17-70
CD
US RECORD RELEASE PARTY - Odetta
Elton sings a duet with Odetta at a party celebrating her latest release.
UK TV - The David Frost Show
Broadcast from New York City
US CONCERT - Fillmore East, New York City NY
Elton John shares the bill with Leon Russell and Mckendree Spring for 2 shows. Elton arranges for Bernie Taupin to meet Bob Dylan backstage.
US CONCERT - Fillmore East, New York City NY
Elton John shares the bill with Leon Russell and Mckendree Spring for 2 shows. Bob Dylan returns with his wife Sarah, Paul Simon and John Phillips. Melody Maker headline: "Dylan Digs Elton!"
UK NEWSPAPER - Melody Maker
Elton John's first British tour as a headliner is announced, running from January 2 1971 to March 28 1971. A US tour will follow April 1 1971 through May 15 1971, then Europe for three months and a massive US tour from September to November.
UK LP - Confessions Of The Mind - The
Hollies
Parlophone PCS 7116
US CONCERT - Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim CA $
Elton John performs wearing Mickey Mouse ears.
US TV - The Andy Williams Show
ENGLAND CONCERT - Roundhouse, London
The Who headline a charity show, with Elton John playing support. Pete Townshend dedicates Tommy Can You Hear Me to Elton and predicts a promising future for him.
ENGLAND RADIO - BBC NIGHT RIDE
On the 1988 CD: 21 YEARS OF ALTERNATIVE RADIO 1
CANADA 45 - Nite People
Page One (London Records)
POF 174
US LP - Birds Of A Feather - The
Chanter Sisters
Page One 027
Elton John played piano on this album. What were the tracks?
UK MAGAZINE - Record Mirror
1970 Pop Poll Results - British Section: Most promising singer/group: #5. Elton John. #1: Blue Mink; #2: Dana; #3: Pickettywitch; #4: Juicy Lucy. Other notables: #11: Plastic Ono Band; #15: Led Zeppelin; #16: Black Sabbath; #18: David Bowie; #20 Badfinger.
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