Tiny Dancer (1972) 8/5/20

Today's video is a “must see!”

If you've been following my “Great Songs of the '70s” blog for any length of time, you know that I usually mention the chart positions of the song du jour. But chart position does not always indicate greatness. Historically, several chart toppers songs weren't all that “Great” to begin with. (I'm sure we can all name a few. “My Ding-a-Ling” by Chuck Berry--#1 in 1972 comes to mind.)

By the same token, there are several “Great” '70s songs that, for one reason or another, barely made the charts—if at all---only to become MORE popular with each passing year. Some have become classics!

Today's “Great Song” is a case in point.

When it was released in 1972, it squeaked into the Top 40 at #35 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, and just missed the Top 40 (#41) on the Hot 100. In Canada, it fared slightly better: #20 & #19 on the matching charts, respectively.

At 6:12, many radio stations felt it was too long, and never played it in the first place—which obviously didn't help with chart positions, but in the ensuing 48 years, more and more oldies and classic rock stations (not to mention satellite channels) have been playing it on a regular basis, giving the impression it was a bigger hit than it was.

That's okay, because “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John has ALWAYS been a Great Song!

Elton wrote it with his longtime collaborator, Bernie Taupin. The song was about Bernie's wife at the time, Maxine Feibelman, who was not only an “LA Lady” and a ballet enthusiast, but the seamstress for Elton and his band!

So in this case, the charts don't tell the story—the song itself does.

(Raise your hand if you've been known to sing: “Hold me closer, Tony Danza!”) :-)

From 1972: a “Great Song from Elton & Bernie—thanks to Maxine!