Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me - Elton John (1974) 9/16/21

In January of 1974, Elton John had a 10-day break in his touring schedule, so he headed off to Caribou Recording Studios in Colorado, where he and his collaborator, Bernie Taupin, were somehow able to write and record an entire album!

With such a small time frame, they had to work incredibly fast, cut a lot of corners, and use takes that were ALMOST perfect--but not quite.

When the album (named "Caribou" after the studio) was released in May, the first single was a case in point. Elton was not happy with ANY of his vocal takes on "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," and the background singers--originally intended to be a choir--had to be scaled back to just 3 people.

The choir was SUPPOSED to be made up of Dusty Springfield, Cat Stevens, Gerry Beckley of America, Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night, The Captain (Daryl Dragon) and (Toni) Tennille, as well as Beach Boys Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson and Bruce Johnston.

Unfortunately, producer Gus Dudgeon just didn't have enough time to perfect the "mix," so he scaled it back to just Carl, Bruce and Toni. (The Captain provided some keyboard work). This was fine with Elton, since he wanted it to sound like the Beach Boys were backing him in the first place.

(Note: The Captain & Tennille were once part of the Beach Boys touring band.)

It may have been imperfect and slightly messy, but "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" was a BIG hit: #2 on Billboard's Hot 100, #3 on the Adult Contemporary Chart--and a "Great Song of 1974!"

But then, in 1991, Elton topped himself with a NEW version of the song: a duet with George Michael, recorded live at Wembley Stadium--with background vocals by Kiki Dee and Andrew Ridgely. THIS version went to #1 in 10 countries, and was a top 5 hit in 7 more!

"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me:" a "Great Song" TWICE for Elton John!

1974:

1991: