When Elton John recorded "Bennie & The Jets" strictly as an album track he never considered it for a single and on his legendary "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" double LP that was full of great songs.

Bernie Taupin explains how he worked with Elton, "Sometimes I'll come up with a title and write the song around that, other times I'll come up with a first line or two. Basically it takes me very little time to write a song. If I find myself taking more than an hour to do it, I usually forget about it and try something else. I like to write quickly, I never like to waste any time. I never write half a song and come back to it later at all. It all has to be done all at once. I lose interest if I don't."

Of the 18 songs they chose for "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", they decided that "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" was a good choice for the first single peaking just outside the Top 10 at #12. Then the title track was issued and it peaked at #2 for three weeks while the Carpenters "Top Of The World" then Charlie Rich's "The Most Beautiful Girl" took the top spot.

The third single scheduled was "Candle In The Wind" the tribute to Marilyn Monroe, but that plan was scuttled by a Detroit DJ who had given heavy airplay to "Bennie & The Jets" on black radio where it exploded in popularity. MCA then stepped in and issued the single in the US with the response being overwhelmingly positive. That song reached #1 for one week in the US and heralded the soulful R&B sound of Elton John as another feather in his cap.

In the UK the song was not as warmly received and was relegated to the B side of "Candle In The Wind" which peaked at #11 UK. In 1976, as his contract with Dick James Music Records was ending they released "Bennie & The Jets" promoting it as an A side but the fire had already ended its chart life where the song crept up to #37 UK. It has remained a staple of FM radio classic rock stations. I don't know if you noticed but Lady Gaga's "Hey Girl" would be a good choice for me to mash this one up with, it's a natural! Actually I have been working on that one for a few years and just got back into it with some new technical stuff I picked up it is nearly complete....but I dare not post it until I get her express concurrence.

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