NBC aired an All-Star Tribute to Elvis Presley on Sunday, Feb. 17 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Elvis’ 1968 Comeback Special which aired on Dec. 3, 1968 on the very same network. The tribute special featured fantastic performances of Elvis classics performed by some of today’s biggest music stars like Blake Shelton, who also hosted the program, Carrie Underwood, Shawn Mendes, John Legend, Post Malone, Keith Urban and more.
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The special began with an interesting mashup of Elvis performing “Guitar Man” from the ’68 special and Shelton performing it from the studio in Los Angeles. It was a cool idea, but it didn’t quite work for me because the song, written by country music legend Jerry Reed, really doesn’t fit Shelton’s voice and ended with him being outshined clearly by Elvis a half century ago.

It was honestly the weakest performance of the entire two-hour special. Pretty much every other performance during the telecast was at the very least passable, with many being very entertaining covers. The only real issue is there really weren’t any artists who completely stepped out of the box and did these songs in a different, modern or unique way. All of the performances were pretty faithful to Elvis’ originals. I would’ve liked to have seen some of these fantastic artists put their own spin or arrangements on the songs.

One of my favorite performances of the evening came early on during the special from Rock Hall of Fame Legend John Fogerty who performed “Jailhouse Rock.” Surprisingly Fogerty was the only old rocker on the entire program. It would’ve been nice to see some of the other artists who were the first generation inspired by Elvis perform on the show.

It was also great to see singer-songwriter Mac Davis on the program. Davis wrote songs for Elvis such as “In the Ghetto,” “A Little Less Conversation” and “Memories.” Davis did an excellent performance of “Memories.” John Legend performed “A Little Less Conversation,” in a bit of a more soulful and slower performance than we’re accustomed to and it didn’t quite work as well for me, despite Legend’s terrific voice.

Among the other fascinating performances of the night were the beautiful vocals of Pistol Annies on “Love Me,” Alessia Cara on “Love Me Tender” and Darius Rucker on the soulful “One Night.”

One of the most surprising moments of the night was the collaboration between Keith Urban and Post Malone on “Baby, What You Want Me to Do,” which shows that Post Malone is more than just a pop-rapper selling millions and topping Billboard.

Jennifer Lopez was really the only performer of the special to get the sultriness of Elvis down pat with a nice rendition of “Heartbreak Hotel.” One of the most interesting things about the special is it wasn’t very showy, and Elvis was rock ‘n’ roll’s biggest showman in its early days.

There was a lengthy portion of the special toward the end where Carrie Underwood and Yolanda Adams brought the house down with great gospel numbers “How Great Thou Art,” “He Touched Me” and “You Never Walk Alone” showcasing the religious side of Elvis’ repertoire.

Other performers on the special included Shawn Mendes doing “Hound Dog,” Dierks Bentley doing “Little Sister,” Adam Lambert performing “Blue Suede Shoes,” Little Big Town harmonizing on “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” and Josh Groban knocking “It’s Now or Never” out of the park.

The show ended with another mashup of modern superstars performing with Elvis from the ’68 special on “If I Can Dream,” which Elvis famously debuted during that special as a finale for the show. The mashup was good performance-wise featuring Underwood, Mendes, Shelton, Post Malone and Rucker, but it kind of left me just wanting to see the entire Elvis performance from ’68. I think that would’ve been a better way to end the show. 

by Julian Spivey
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I don’t know how a 62-year old, balding man by way of Bakersfield and Kentucky became the biggest badass in this entire world, but Dwight Yoakam sure as hell has.

Yoakam ripped through a set of more than 20 songs, many of which are classics and some excellent new releases, in just under two hours on Sunday, February 17 at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Ark. in a smaller, theater type setup for the arena.
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It was an excellent display of Yoakam’s musicianship and showmanship with his “Dwight Dances” thrilling the audience throughout his entire set on Sunday evening.
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Yoakam began the night with a rip-roaring cover of Chuck Berry’s “Little Queenie,” no doubt a tribute to the legendary guitar God who passed away in 2017, replacing “Dim Lights, Thick Smoke & Loud Music,” which had been his opener the two previous times I’ve seen him perform.

After this opener it was one Yoakam hit after another for much of the remainder of the show with Yoakam and his incredibly talented band going into rocking versions of “Please, Please Baby” and his excellent Elvis Presley cover “Little Sister,” which he truly makes his own (as he does with most of his excellent cover songs).

One of the real highlights of this show for me was Yoakam’s performances of a couple of new songs that he released last year, the absolutely beautiful “Pretty Horses” and the creative “Then Here Came Monday,” which was co-written with the great Chris Stapleton.

Pretty much every Yoakam show is a tribute to his heroes and Bakersfield brethren Buck Owens and Merle Haggard as he fell in love with and adopted their specific sound of country music known as “The Bakersfield Sound.” Yoakam has now incorporated some of his heroes songs into his set as tribute to the late, great artists doing “The Bottle Let Me Down” and “The Fugitive” in honor of Haggard and incorporating Owens’ “My Heart Skips a Beat” and “Act Naturally” brilliantly into the middle of “Turn It On, Turn it Up, Turn Me Loose” after the line about dancing with a woman to “an old Buck Owens song.” Yoakam would also do fantastic covers of Lefty Frizzell’s “Always Late (With Your Kisses)” and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” which truly sounds like a new song the way Yoakam does it.

The crowd really loved Yoakam’s musical tributes to heroes, but it’s his own classics they mostly packed the smaller venue within a larger one to see. Yoakam just absolutely tore through hit after hit toward the end of his set giving the fans terrific performances of “Pocket of a Clown,” “Ain’t That Lonely Yet,” the Buck Owens-esque “Little Ways,” “It Only Hurts When I Cry” (which he did briefly mangle some of his lyrics to) and “Honky Tonk Man.”

Yoakam finished his excellent set with the fantastic one-two punch of two of his most energetic performances of his career “Guitars, Cadillacs” and “Fast as You,” which had many within the crowd on their feet doing their best “Dwight Dances” of their own in the aisles.

Yoakam left to uproarious applause before returning a couple of minutes later for the excellent one-song encore of Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds,” which has been a frequent encore closer for Yoakam for years.

Yoakam wasn’t the only highlight of the night as newcomer Dillon Carmichael, out of Kentucky and a part of a musical family (his uncles are John Michael Montgomery and Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry), showed off his terrific voice (reminiscent of Jamey Johnson) on excellent songs from his 2018 debut album Hell on an Angel like the album’s title track, “It’s Simple” (my favorite off the album) and “Dancing Away with My Heart” (which sounds like it could’ve been a John Michael Montgomery hit in the ‘90s). Carmichael also treated the crowd to absolutely fantastic covers of Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page” and Waylon Jennings’ “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line.”

It was certainly one amazing night of true country music at Verizon Arena on Sunday night. 

*This article was originally published on The Word's original website in 2014

by Julian Spivey

1. The Back of Your Hand

Writer: Gregg Lee Henry
Album: Population Me
Year: 2003

What? You’ve never even heard of “The Back of Your Hand,” you say? It was a not so warmly received single from Dwight Yoakam’s 2003 album “Population Me” that most novice Yoakam fans may never have heard, but it’s supremely beautiful in its tragedy and Yoakam’s mournful twang turns it into one of the most crushing songs I’ve ever heard performed. The lyrics and the brilliant reading of them by Yoakam will truly tear at the corners of your soul and the complexity of them is frankly unusual for a Yoakam tune. Uniquely enough Yoakam is a singer who acts and Gregg Lee Henry, the songwriter, is an actor who sings and writes beautiful songs. No wonder the song’s acting metaphors ring so true.    

2. Guitars, Cadillacs

Writer: Dwight Yoakam
Album: Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.
Year: 1986

“Guitars, Cadillacs” is the Dwight Yoakam song, and the one that I believe most will always associate him with and would likely agree upon as his best (“The Back of Your Hand” is a personal preference for me). “Guitars, Cadillacs” was Yoakam’s second single off of his debut album and his first original release. The song must have either been a blessing to those tiring of the Urban Cowboy movement of the early ‘80s or a little bit of a “what-the-hell-is-going-on-here?” moment by those not in tune with the rockabilly, country-rock sound of the late ‘50s. “Guitars, Cadillacs” does a terrific job at melding different influences on Yoakam from the raucous rockabilly to that bass line that’s almost ripped from an early ‘60s Buck Owens classic. It was a statement that something new and different had arrived on the country music scene at a time when country music desperately needed it.   

3. Streets of Bakersfield (with Buck Owens)

Writer: Homer Joy
Album: Buenas Noches From a Lonely Room
Year: 1988

“Streets of Bakersfield” must have been the ultimate career highlight for Dwight Yoakam in getting a chance to sing about not only his hometown, but with his hero Buck Owens. This song penned by Homer Joy is the perfect representation of the Bakersfield Sound, popularized in the ‘60s by Dust Bowl transplants like Owens and Merle Haggard. It’s a sound that greatly influenced Yoakam and this magical duet is a way of him paying tribute to it. I also love the message contained within the lyrics of this song … don’t judge people without getting to know them first. Yoakam has always been an outsider to mainstream country music and this song represents that better than just about any he’s recorded.

4. I Sang Dixie

Writer: Dwight Yoakam
Album: Buenas Noches From a Lonely Room
Year: 1988

Dwight Yoakam is no stranger to absolutely crushing songs, most having to do with heartache or the betrayal of a love, but his ballad of a dying Southerner transplanted to the lonely in their nonstop busyness streets of Los Angeles is his most heartbreaking track. The narrator of the song is horrified by this old man being ignored by passersby, left alone to die in the hustle and bustle of it all, so he stops to comfort the man by singing the Southern anthem “Dixie.” It’s a poetically beautiful piece of not only one longing for home toward the very end, but also of a little bit of humanity alive in a place devoid of it. 

5. A Thousand Miles From Nowhere

Writer: Dwight Yoakam
Album: This Time
Year: 1993

“A Thousand Miles From Nowhere” is one of the finest in a long line of Dwight Yoakam songs about being treated cruelly by a lover and attempting to rid oneself from that pain and torture. This song contains some of the most heartbreakingly torturous lyrics Yoakam ever put to paper with lines like: “I’ve got bruises on my memory/I’ve got tear stains on my hands/And in the mirror there’s a vision/Of what used to be a man.” His plaintive, almost crying “Oh I”s scattered throughout the song really hit home the mournful balladry of the piece. It’s truly one of Yoakam’s finest vocals – and has gotten him nominated for Grammy Awards on two separate occasions: for his live performance on 1996’s “Dwight Live” and the acoustic version from his 2000 album “dwightyoakamacoustic.net.” 

6. Little Ways

Writer: Dwight Yoakam
Album: Hillbilly Deluxe
Year: 1987

“Little Ways” is Dwight Yoakam doing his best Buck Owens impression and it works effortlessly. Just listen to the enunciation of the first three words of the song “You’ve … got … your” and take a listen to the “I’ve … got … a …” from Owens’ 1964 hit “I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail.” The opening of “Little Ways” could easily pass for Owens. Yoakam does heart beaten into the ground heartbreak ballads better than just about anybody else with his mournful twang that makes everything sound painstakingly rough. There’s not a whole lot of difference between some of Yoakam’s mournful ballads like this, “Ain’t That Lonely Yet” and “You’re The One” other than different lyrics, but “Little Ways” with its Owens homage probably stands out at the top.

7. The Heart That You Own

Writer: Dwight Yoakam
Album: If There Was a Way
Year: 1990

Trying to pick out the most devastating Dwight Yoakam lyric would be like trying to decide which one of your kids is your absolute favorite … it’s not easy. However, I think I may have pinpointed which lyric that may be (at least for this time and place) and it comes from his 1992 single “The Heart That You Own.” “I pay rent on a rundown place/There ain’t no view, but there’s lots of space/In my heart, the heart that you own/I pay the rent, pay it right on time/Baby, I pay you every single dime/For my heart, the heart that you own.” That’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard, especially with the longing croon in which Yoakam delivers it. It’s a Merle Haggard-esque bit of songwriting and performing if I’ve ever heard it, which is to truly say it’s utterly brilliant in its melancholy. This song truly should’ve been a bigger hit than it was (only reaching number 18 on the country chart), but maybe its throwback appeal hurt it among the modern audience.      

8. Ain’t That Lonely Yet

Writer: Kostas & James House
Album: This Time
Year: 1993

“Ain’t That Lonely Yet” is a heartbreak ballad like many of Dwight Yoakam’s greatest songs, but one with a nice little twist and a quite powerful one, at that. The narrator’s had his heart broken by his lover, but now she realizes her mistake and wants him back, but he’s not about to fall for her game again. The phrase “ain’t that lonely yet” just hits home that it’s going to be one cold day in hell before he’s ready to accept her again. The ex-lover as a web-spinning spider metaphor in the second verse of the song is also one of the finest bits of poetics in Yoakam’s discography. 

9. Fast As You

Writer: Dwight Yoakam
Album: This Time
Year: 1993

“Fast As You” is Dwight Yoakam at his most suave, boastful and sexiest. Certainly the exact opposite attitude of all of the weepers he has that appear on this very list – and yet the inspiration for this song is basically the same as the weepers. However, this time Yoakam isn’t crying or moaning over being treated poorly by his love, but is bound and determined to keep up in the treachery of love without bounds. It’s an eye-for-an-eye relationship song. “Fast As You” is Yoakam at his most rollicking and unabandoned and must be one of the performances to see from him live in concert. 

10. I Want You to Want Me

Writer: Rick Nielsen
Album: Tomorrow’s Sounds Today
Year: 2000

Dwight Yoakam’s cover of the popular 1977 Cheap Trick rock song “I Want You To Want Me” is one of his coolest covers and the one cover I’ve ever heard that is world’s better than the original version. Granted I’m not too keen on cheesy arena rock bands like Cheap Trick, but I think Yoakam is able to strip away the cheesiness of this track and turn it into something that’s more yearning for love than begging for it. I believe this yearning comes out in Yoakam’s one-of-a-kind twang that only he seems truly capable of conjuring. That one difference is key to the song and truly makes Yoakam’s version the definitive version for me.

11. You’re The One

Writer: Dwight Yoakam
Album: If There Was a Way
Year: 1990

“You’re The One” is like many of Dwight Yoakam’s heartbreak ballads, but with a nice bit of screw you thrown in to it for a twist. The narrator of the song is talking about all of these truly horribly things that his lover has done to him, but reveals that she’s been repaid with a little bit of her own medicine. Yoakam’s truly unique drawling voice fits the tone and mood of this song so well and that makes both the narrator’s pain and his unflinching “I don’t care” attitude when the tables are turned on his ex stand out so brilliantly. 

12. It Only Hurts Me When I Cry

Writers: Dwight Yoakam & Roger Miller
Album: If There Was a Way
Year: 1990

You can just tell by listening to the lyrics of Dwight Yoakam’s “It Only Hurts Me When I Cry” that Roger Miller played a huge role in the writing of it. In fact, this was one of the very last songs the legendary Nashville songwriter penned before his death in 1992 at the early age of 56 from lung and throat cancer. Just the phrasing in the chorus: “The only time I feel the pain/Is in the sunshine or the rain/And I don’t feel no hurt at all/Unless you count when teardrops fall/I tell the truth ‘cept when I lie/It only hurts me when I cry” is straight out of Miller’s brilliant playbook. Also, out of the legend’s playbook is how this song can be so almost peppy in its sadness. It must have been such an honor for Yoakam to pen a song with one of the genre’s greatest songwriters of all-time.  

13. Carmelita (with Flaco Jimenez)

Writer: Warren Zevon
Album: Partners
Year: 1992

“Carmelita” is one of my favorite covers by Dwight Yoakam and was initially done for famed Tejano accordionist Flaco Jimenez for his 1992 album “Partners,” and can be found on Yoakam’s anthology set “Reprise Please Baby: The Warner Bros. Years.” The song was written and recorded by the terrific singer-songwriter Warren Zevon for his 1976 self-titled album and is about a man wanting to be consoled by his girl while having a bad time being strung out on heroin, a rather bold choice for Jimenez and Yoakam to cover. With all due respect to Zevon, who’s a personal favorite of mine, I believe this version thanks to Yoakam’s yearning delivery and Jimenez’s Latin flavor is the perfect version of “Carmelita.”

14. Honky Tonk Man

Writers: Johnny Horton, Tillman Franks & Howard Hausey
Album: Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.
Year: 1986

I’ve long said that nobody does covers like Dwight Yoakam and this was the very first sign of that. Many covers are almost too loyal to the originals for their own good, but Yoakam always makes a cover sound like a Dwight Yoakam song and does so while also somehow remaining true to the original’s roots. His first single back in 1986 was cover of Johnny Horton’s 1956 single “Honky Tonk Man.” Horton’s version is classic, but doesn’t have that certain cool swagger that Yoakam gives it. The song went to number three on the charts and introduced the world to a guy who was ready to do traditionalism his own way.  

15. Suspicious Minds

Writer: Mark James
Album: Honeymoon in Vegas (Movie Soundtrack)
Year: 1992

“Suspicious Minds” is one of the coolest and best songs that Elvis Presley ever recorded and Dwight Yoakam being the incredibly cool cat that he is and supreme Elvis fan cut this tune for the soundtrack to the 1992 movie “Honeymoon in Vegas” and in some ways seemed to have one-upped even the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll (not bad, considering Rolling Stone ranked Elvis’ version as one of the 100 greatest songs of all-time). It’s a song that just fits the Dwight Yoakam modus operandi – narrator trapped in a less than ideal relationship in which trust issues are key. The best Yoakam version of this song appears on the terrific anthology set “Reprise, Please, Baby” (2002), in which 22 of the 25 songs on this list appear. Elvis is likely one of the most covered artists of all-time and to this date this is the very best cover of an Elvis song I’ve ever heard.    

16. Pocket Of a Clown

Writer: Dwight Yoakam
Album: This Time
Year: 1993

The shuffling tune “Pocket of a Clown” has some truly great imagery and is probably one of Dwight Yoakam’s best written songs with lines like: “Inside the pocket of a clown/Is a sad place to hang around/Just watching smiles turn into frowns/Inside the pocket of a clown.” And, then Yoakam’s tailored worn pining on the chorus just hits home the somberness of the whole thing. It’s amazing to me that the song wasn’t more of a hit than it was; failing to reach even the top 20 in 1994.

17. Rapid City, South Dakota

Writer: Kinky Friedman
Album: Why The Hell Not … The Songs of Kinky Friedman
Year: 2006

“Rapid City, South Dakota,” a Kinky Friedman song that Dwight Yoakam covered for a Freidman tribute album, is an unusual Yoakam song for a couple of reasons. It’s unusual because it’s a story song, which is something you don’t typically get from Yoakam, more in tune with heartbreak ballads and honky tonk swingers. This story aspect of “Rapid City, South Dakota” is part of what makes it so intriguing. The topic of the story is what might have made it controversial had it been released as a single to country radio. The narrator of the story, “a ragged kid with overalls” who’s escaping Rapid City, South Dakota mighty fast with the girl he impregnated left behind. Not to worry though, he’s left her with the name of a doctor in Chicago that can take care of the issue. Friedman called the song the “first pro-choice country song,” which makes it a rather unique and brave cover for Yoakam. The emotions of the story come out brilliantly in Yoakam’s twangy delivery.   

18. Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn It Loose

Writer: Kostas & Wayland Patton
Album: If There Was a Way
Year: 1990

“Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn It Loose,” from 1990’s “If There Was a Way,” is quite possibly Dwight Yoakam’s most upbeat heartbreak song as the narrator opts to dance his blues away with a stranger in a honky tonk rather than crying in his beer. When you do as many heartbreakers as Yoakam does it’s probably hard to put a new or different spin on the topic, but this song co-written by Kostas and Wayland Patton does the trick perfectly. The song includes one of the best instrumental interludes of any Yoakam song, as well, featuring Scott Joss’ mandolin solo after the first chorus. The Buck Owens reference in the song’s second verse surely must have been a key in Yoakam choosing this song.

19. This Drinkin’ Will Kill Me

Writer: Dwight Yoakam
Album: Hillbilly Deluxe
Year: 1987

Dwight Yoakam’s “This Drinkin’ Will Kill Me” is a song that I’ve heard performed in many different variations from its original album appearance on “Hillbilly Deluxe,” the 1981 demo version from the “Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.” Deluxe Edition reissued in 2006 and the acoustic version from “dwightyoakamacoustic.net” … and it’s sounded perfect every single time. Based on the fact that it was one of his 1981 demos, five years before his debut album, this must be one of Yoakam’s oldest songs and it shows that he had a rare and unique talent at an early age. “This Drinkin’ Will Kill Me” includes one of Yoakam’s best and countriest choruses with the supremely written: “Death can come from this broken heart/Or it can come from this bottle/So why prolong the agony/Hey, bartender, I think I’ll hit the throttle.” Despite liking all the variations of this song, I do believe that the best performance is from his 1981 demo session, it’s a little less chaotic than the album version and a little more emotional than the acoustic take.

20. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Writer: Freddie Mercury
Album: Last Chance for a Thousand Years: Dwight Yoakam’s Greatest Hits from the 90’s
Year: 1999

As mentioned on number 15 above, and number 21 below, Dwight Yoakam is quite the Elvis Presley fan. “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” is not an Elvis song, but rather a Queen song that became the group’s first American number one single in 1980. However, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” is a song that I always felt sounded like it could have been an Elvis song in its rockabilly style, and upon doing some research have found out that Queen frontman Freddie Mercury did in fact write it as a tribute to the late Presley. I think it’s this Elvis-esque quality of the tune that enamored Yoakam and led him to cut it himself. It’s another one of those effortlessly cool Yoakam cover songs that some could argue is, in fact, better than the original.

21. Little Sister

Writers: Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman
Album: Hillbilly Deluxe
Year: 1987

Buck Owens is likely Dwight Yoakam’s biggest musical influence and hero, but you can tell throughout the years that Yoakam is a huge fan of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll Elvis Presley. Yoakam has recorded numerous Elvis songs over the years like “Suspicious Minds,” “Mystery Train” and this song, “Little Sister,” which Elvis took to number five on the Billboard Top 40 chart in 1961. With no disrespect intended toward The King, Yoakam tends to find a way to spice up and improve on Presley’s classics and this is prime example. Some people would probably find it mighty hard to out sexy Elvis Presley, but Yoakam manages to do just that by infusing some serious swagger few but him could muster.  

22. The Late, Great Golden State

Writer: Mike Stinson
Album: Population Me
Year: 2003

Like “The Back of Your Hand,” at number one on this list, “The Late, Great Golden State” is a little played single from Dwight Yoakam’s 2003 album “Population Me,” that is frankly a hidden classic from Yoakam’s discography. It’s a great representation of the California sound not only represented by the Bakersfield Sound, but also by California rock groups like Creedence Clearwater Revival. I think the line from the song “I ain’t old, just out of date in the late, great Golden State,” despite being written by someone else, is a terrific line for this time in Yoakam’s career were he couldn’t care less if were played on country radio, but is content to record the kind of music he wants to record.    

23. A Heart Like Mine

Writer: Dwight Yoakam
Album: 3 Pears
Year: 2012

Dwight Yoakam’s latest album 2012’s “3 Pears,” which broke the record for most weeks at number one on the Americana music chart, proved just how unique of an artist Yoakam truly is mixing different musical styles into one to create one of the best received “country” albums of that year. “A Heart Like Mine” is the standout track from the album and sounds incredibly retro, like it could have been a hit song on Top 40 radio in the ‘60s. It’s Bakersfield Sound meets psychedelic rock and it produced one of the most unique tracks Yoakam has recorded.   

24. Close Up the Honky Tonks 

Writer: Red Simpson
Album: Dwight Sings Buck
Year: 2007
 
You knew it was only going to be a matter of time before Dwight Yoakam recorded a complete tribute album to his Bakersfield music idol Buck Owens. Yoakam released “Dwight Sings Buck” the year after the Country Music Hall of Famer passed away in 2006 featuring some of the icon’s biggest hits like “Act Naturally” and “Together Again,” but the best cover off of the album proved to be the lesser known “Close Up the Honky Tonks,” written by Red Simpson and featured on Owens’ 1964 “Together Again” album, but not released as a single. Yoakam turns the plaintive song about a man losing his love to the bright lights and hot action of the local honky tonk into a six-plus minute epic equipped with some of the finest steel guitar you’ve heard in years.
 
25. Try Not to Look So Pretty 

Writers: Dwight Yoakam & Kostas
Album: This Time
Year: 1993
 
“Try Not to Look So Pretty” is one of those quintessentially heartbreaking Dwight Yoakam ballads. It’s beautiful in its simplicity of a man trying to steer clear of a wily, dangerous woman because he knows she’s bad for him, but she’s just too darn pretty to turn down. It’s Merle Haggard-esque in both its performance and lyrical content. It’s also solid proof that Yoakam would have been just as popular in the ‘50s and ‘60s as he was in the ‘80s and ‘90s. 

by Julian Spivey
Elton John brought his Farewell Yellow Brick Road retirement tour to Tulsa’s BOK Center on Saturday, Feb. 9 with a night filled with almost three hours of greatest hits and fan-favorites. It was truly a magical night of music for longtime Elton John fans, many saying goodbye to the legend.
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Elton John was in a gracious and loving mood celebrating his beloved fans as much throughout the night as they were celebrating him. On multiple occasions he thanked them for their love over the last half century of incredible music and you could tell this night, as I’m sure every single night on this long farewell tour – that’s really in its early stages – he’s enjoying himself thoroughly.

Elton John began his show with the fan-favorite 1973 hit “Bennie and the Jets” and the night never slowed down from there.

While the show was filled with numerous greatest hits that all fans know by heart, he also managed to throw in some album cuts that are personal to him and you could tell not everybody in the audience recognized, but unlike many other shows were fans take the time to go to the bathroom or concessions they remained in their seats and enamored by these performances. One such performance was “Burn Down the Mission” from Elton’s 1970 Country and Western tinged album Tumbleweed Connection. The incredibly theatrical “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding,” with his first of two costume changes of the night and rolling fog throughout the stage was another of these great album cut performances during the show.

The great thing about a legacy artist like Elton John, especially during a farewell tour is you’re going to get so many great songs and performances thrown at you in rapid succession that there’s not going to be any downtime or lagging moments in the show and that was obvious from the start.

When you’re getting classics like “Tiny Dancer” and “Rocket Man” within the first handful of songs on the setlist you know you’re going to be in for a truly special show.
Elton John took some time in the middle of the show to explain how three simple words completely turned around his life when he was going through some rough times in the late ‘80s and those words were “I need help.” He sought out that help, got sober and it led to great things like the formation of his AIDS charity that has done so much to help those with the disease. He thanked the audience for their support of the charity and performed the song “Believe,” which he wrote about the cause.

One of my favorite performances of the evening was of the 1971 hit “Levon,” which included a very extended and rocking instrumental solo at the end featuring Elton’s always incredibly piano playing and a fantastic guitar solo by Davey Johnstone, who’s been with Elton’s band for nearly 50 years.

Other truly great performances – although, let’s be honest, they all really were – included “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues,” “Sad Songs (Say So Much),” “Take Me to the Pilot,” “Daniel,” “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” and the beautiful “Candle in the Wind.”

Elton John finished his set with a terrific one-two punch of “Crocodile Rock” and “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” which had the entire sold-out crowd on their feet and dancing.

Elton then left the stage, for his final costume change, before coming out for an incredible encore dressed in a blue kimono. The encore was my favorite part of the entire show, as it so often is with all-time great superstar musicians saving their biggest and often most beloved hits for the end. Elton began the encore solo on piano and performed his very first hit song from 1970 “Your Song,” which has always been my favorite song of his. It was so beautiful I’m frankly surprised that I didn’t cry during the performance. Elton then fittingly performed “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” with the entire band to a deserving standing ovation before dropping his kimono to reveal his retirement tracksuit with his name embroidered on the back and getting upon one of those stairlift type contraptions that help older people get upstairs and riding away into the sunset or rather his yellow brick road. It was such a great way to end an incredible experience and night of wonderful music.

by Julian Spivey
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Year of the Queens
This year’s Grammy Awards were dominated by female performances during the telecast. Of the 17 performances on the biggest night in music of the year only three of them didn’t include a stellar female performance. If you look at my ranking of every performance from best-to-worst at the bottom of this page you’ll see the top 10 performances of the night, in my opinion, were female led. And, this is no small matter, because just last year there was outrage over the lack of females winning awards at the Grammys and while two of the four biggest awards of the night went to men, nay man (both Song and Record of the Year went to Childish Gambino for “This Is America” winner were dominant in many of the genre categories, even ones where women don’t frequently or almost never win like Cardi B winning Rap Album of the Year and St. Vincent winning Best Rock Song. Kacey Musgraves won Album of the Year for Golden Hour becoming the first woman not named Adele or Taylor Swift to win the honor in the last decade. Last year Recording Academy President Neil Portnow infamously said: “Women need to step up” and that’s part of the reason why he’s soon to be out the door. Women did step up Neil and they stepped all over your show on Sunday night.

Grammys Need to Bring In Big Stars
While the Grammys certainly rocked with all the great female performances it did miss a bit of star power. In fact, the two most nominated musicians this year – Drake and Kendrick Lamar – didn’t perform. Lamar wasn’t there and Drake only made a brief appearance to accept his honor for Best Rap Song for “God’s Plan” before basically calling winning a Grammy pointless and having his mic either intentionally cut off or simply because producers thought his speech was over and were going to commercial (it’s hard to tell because of a long pause he took). Childish Gambino who would win two of the night’s biggest honors in Song of the Year and Record of the Year was also nowhere to be seen. It’s been theorized that many hip hop honors have begun boycotting the Grammys for its lack of support for the genre in the overall Album of the Year category, especially after last year when favorite Lamar lost the award to Bruno Mars controversially. I understand you can’t force artists to attend or perform on the Grammys telecast, but it’s not a good look at all for the Recording Academy when the most heralded artists of the night don’t actually show.

Brandi Carlile Stuns
Brandi Carlile was my favorite Grammy nominee this year, receiving six nominations (the most of any female performer), for her fantastic album By the Way, I Forgive You and song “The Joke.” Carlile swept the Americana category winning Best Americana Album, Best American Roots Song and Best American Roots Performance. She was also nominated for three of the biggest honors of the night: Album, Record and Song (a huge breakthrough for Americana artists) but lost those to Kacey Musgraves and Childish Gambino. I believe Carlile’s performance of “The Joke” on the telecast was the best of the night and it’s incredible knowing that her stellar performance will boost her career and get her name and music to many who’ve never heard it before. I believe her performance on the Grammys can do for her what Sturgill Simpson’s performance and Album of the Year nomination two years ago did for him.

Country at the Grammys Compared to Country Radio
Anybody who follows the genre of country music knows that there’s been a fight for years regarding what’s being played on country radio formats. Country radio mostly plays men, the younger the better, who all sort of sound alike. It ignores women almost altogether, despite there being a ton of talent and barely even plays men like Chris Stapleton because they’re frankly too country for country radio. It does this because they claim to have statistics that say this is what people want to listen to. The Grammys over the last few years have done a better job at picking Country Album of the Year than country industry awards like the ACMs and CMAs. The last four Country Album of the Year Grammy winners Kacey Musgrave’s Golden Hour, Chris Stapleton’s From A Room, Vol. 1, Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth and Stapleton’s Traveller have received very little airplay on country radio, and in the case of Musgraves latest release and Simpson almost nonexistent airplay. Despite this fact country radio doesn’t seem to care. So, kudos to the Grammys. Hopefully country radio will learn one of these days.

Cutting Acceptance Speeches Off
Like I said before I’m not 100 percent sure whether the cutting off of Drake’s mic during his acceptance of Best Rap Song was intentional or accidental, but I do know that the cutting off of Best New Artist Dua Lipa’s speech was intentional and it was rude as hell. As was the attempted playing off of “This is America” producers during the Record of the Year acceptance and Kacey Musgraves during her acceptance of the biggest honor of the night Album of the Year. I understand that the telecast was running long and at three hours and 45 minutes was the longest in my memory, but it’s just disrespectful to do that to these artists you’re rewarding. Notice that the Grammys didn’t even attempt to play off outgoing President Neil Portnow, who’s so full of himself he threw his own little going away party including tribute video. If you want to cut the show down how about these frivolous moments that absolutely no one tunes in for?

Performance Slot Timing
The Grammys during rehearsals truly should learn better placements for certain performances to avoid beautiful, understated performances like Kacey Musgraves’ “Rainbow” being held directly before great, upbeat theatrical performances like Janelle Monae’s “Make Me Feel.” This would allow both performances to get their respected due. I remember a few years ago when my favorite performance of the entire Grammys telecast was Best New Artist nominee Brandy Clark performing a beautiful rendition of “Hold My Hand” with country legend Dwight Yoakam and immediately following was a raucous performance mashup by Imagine Dragons and Kendrick Lamar. How many people are going to remember a great song after viewing such a raucous performance? The Grammys could easily schedule these performances to better fit the artists and songs being performed.

Grammy Mashups
I have no clue why the Red Hot Chili Peppers were on the Grammys telecast this year. I have nothing against the group, but they weren’t nominated for anything and it wasn’t a part of a tribute. I really believe the Grammys either 1) asked Post Malone who he wanted to perform with (as if a guy nominated for Album of the Year needs that) or 2) demanded Post Malone play with RHCP. Post Malone performed snippets of his songs “Stay” and “Rockstar” before Red Hot Chili Peppers came out to perform “Dark Necessities,” which is more than two years old, with Post Malone somewhat chiming in. The Chili Peppers being there on Sunday night was completely unnecessary. Maybe the Grammys felt they had to include a rock act somehow? The mashups between Shawn Mendes and Miley Cyrus on Mendes’ “In My Blood” and St. Vincent and Dua Lipa mix-mashing their respective “Masseduction” and “One Kiss” together were better received, but why not let eventual Best New Artist Dua Lipa have a performance alone and St. Vincent be able to perform her Best Rock Song of the Year winning song alone and Mendes perform his Song of the Year nominated song alone? We don’t have to have these mashups and added star power like Cyrus to enjoy them. And, if you claim you don’t have time you let host Alicia Keys cover other people’s songs on multiple pianos for at least 10 minutes. There’s your time.

Rock Album & Pop Vocal Album Not on Telecast
Do you know who won Best Rock Album at the Grammy Awards this year? Probably not, because it wasn’t telecast on the show. The winner was Greta Van Fleet for From The Fires. Ariana Grande’s win for Best Pop Vocal Album for Sweetener also wasn’t telecast. It was probably initially supposed to be before she backed out of performing last second because producers and her couldn’t come together on a song choice. Hey guys, let the talent choose what they want to perform! Major genres should always have their biggest honors of the year telecast – in my opinion this includes Albums for Rock, Pop, R&B, Rap and Country.
 
History & Tidbits
Childish Gambino became the first rap artist (at least his winning song was rap based) to win both Song of the Year and Record of the Year for “This Is America.”

Cardi B became the first solo female rapper to win Best Rap Album for “Invasion of Privacy.”

There were multiple ties at the Grammys this year, with the highest profile one coming for Best Rap Performance where it was shared by Anderson Paak for “Bubblin’” and Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future and James Blake for “King’s Dead.” 

by Julian Spivey

Album of the Year: “By the Way, I Forgive You” by Brandi Carlile
Brandi Carlile receiving an Album of the Year nomination for By the Way, I Forgive You, my favorite album overall of 2018, feels like a win on its own right. For what’s essentially an Americana album to make it to the biggest category of the show is outstanding. This is the album for those of us fans who absolutely adore stellar songwriting. Album of the Year at the Grammys seems wide open this year and the voting body can always surprise people, but I feel like the album unfortunately is one of the biggest longshots. I think artists like Drake, Cardi B and Janelle Monae are going to split votes and the winner could easily be Kacey Musgraves for Golden Hour.  

Song of the Year: “The Joke” by Brandi Carlile
Song of the Year is an award that goes to the songwriters of the song and I just can’t imagine there being a better songwriter in this category than Brandi Carlile, who co-wrote the incredibly anti-bullying message “The Joke” with twins Phil and Tim Hanseroth. Like her nomination for Album of the Year I believe “The Joke” winning Song of the Year would be a major longshot, but damn would it be nice to see. My predicted winner is “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, from the excellent film “A Star is Born,” which was co-written by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt. “Shallow” is my second favorite song in the category this year. 

Best New Artist: Margo Price
I’m kind of conflicted about this one because I’d love to see Margo Price win this honor, but I also don’t feel like she deserved to be nominated because she’s been around a few years and had two albums out already. The Grammys have seemingly adjusted their rules for this award stating an artist is qualified if they have just broken out – but even still I contend Price broke out with her terrific debut release Midwest Farmer’s Daughter in 2016. Either way, she’s my favorite artist of those nominated and I hope she wins. H.E.R. was nominated for five Grammys, including Album of the Year, and is the likely winner.  

Best Short Form Music Video: “This Is America” by Childish Gambino
I have not seen the music videos for any of the nominees in this category except for Childish Gambino’s “This Is America,” but I honestly don’t think that matters much this year, because that was an all-timer of a music video. It will go down in history as one of the greatest the medium has ever seen. I can’t imagine there being a more important music video of the last year either with it taking on so many of the issues facing modern America – some of the things you’ll have to watch the background of this truly mesmerizing video to catch. Every single thing in the frame of the video has important meaning. Childish Gambino has proven to be one of the most important artists of his time. 

Best Song Written for Visual Media: “Shallow” by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
“Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper is one of the biggest nominees of the Grammy Awards this year with four nominations, including the bigees Song of the Year and Record of the Year. It wouldn’t be a shock for the song to win all four of the categories it’s nominated in, but the one I’d most like to see it win is also the one it’s almost certainly going to win: Best Song Written for Visual Medium. This isn’t just a cop out on my part because I like the song, but because I felt its placement in “A Star is Born” is so perfect, with a recently met Jackson Maine (Cooper) and Ally (Lady Gaga) talking about songwriting in a store parking lot is maybe the best scene in that entire movie. The song could easily win a Grammy and an Oscar, of which it’s the front-runner for Best Original Song, in the same month.  

​Best Americana Album: TIE – “By the Way, I Forgive You” by Brandi Carlile & “The Tree of Forgiveness” by John Prine
Ties at the Grammy Awards aren’t impossible, there have been 21 ties in the 60 years of the awards. They are however improbable. I know it’s highly unlikely to happen, but I’d love to see Brandi Carlile’s By the Way, I Forgive You and John Prine’s The Tree of Forgiveness share the award for Best Americana Album. I understand that Brandi Carlile is probably going to win this category because her album is also nominated for Album of the Year overall, but the voting body for each individual genre can vote differently than the overall categories and we know this first hand from this very category. Mumford & Son’s lost the Americana Album category in 2013 for Babel to Bonnie Raitt’s Slipstream, despite winning Album of the Year overall. If that was to ever happen again a legend within the genre like Prine would be the one to do it.

Best American Roots Song: “Summer’s End” by John Prine
John Prine had such a great year that it’s likely to cost him a shot at Best American Roots Song because he has two songs nominated in the same category: “Summer’s End” and “Knockin’ On Your Screen Door” – meaning the two songs will likely split his vote. Also, this category includes Brandi Carlile’s Song of the Year overall nominee “The Joke,” which is likely to win. However, Prine’s nostalgic and somber “Summer’s End” is one of the most beautifully penned and performed songs of the year and him winning a Grammy would make my day. 

Best Country Album: “Girl Going Nowhere” by Ashley McBryde
The Grammy Awards have done a better job over the last few years at selecting Best Country Album than actual country music award shows like the CMAs and ACMs. There is one major clunker nominated this year in Kelsea Ballerini’s Unapologetically, but the other four nominees: Brothers Osborne, Ashley McBryde, Kacey Musgraves and Chris Stapleton would all be deserving winners. Kacey Musgraves is most likely to win because she’s the only one also nominated for Album of the Year, but some voting in the country category might view her album as too poppy to win. I’d love to see the breath of fresh air that was Ashley McBryde win this award for her debut album “Girl Going Nowhere.” 

Best Country Song: “Space Cowboy” by Kacey Musgraves
As good as I think the Grammys have been with Best Country Album nominees, I think they absolutely laid an egg this year when it comes to the Best Country Song category. I’ve been on the record as saying that Kacey Musgraves’ third studio album Golden Hour was disappointing for me as a longtime fan of hers because it just doesn’t sound like what I’m accustomed to from her. However, my favorite song on the album is the beautifully written “Space Cowboy,” which she wrote with Luke Laird and Shane McAnally. It’s the best song in the category. Musgraves is no stranger to this honor having won it five years ago for “Merry Go ‘Round.” 

Best Country Solo Performance: “Wouldn’t It Be Great” by Loretta Lynn
The first time I heard Loretta Lynn’s vocal on “Wouldn’t It Be Great” it absolutely floored me with its emotional impact. The song is about Lynn wishing her now deceased husband Doolittle could give up drinking and love her more than the bottle and wow is that a wallop of feelings. It would put a huge smile on my face to see the almost 87-year old take out youngsters like Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, Chris Stapleton and Keith Urban. 

20. Can’t Stay Alone Tonight
“Can’t Stay Alone Tonight” is, by far, the most recent Elton John song on this list off his 2013 album The Diving Board. The song about not wanting to stay at home alone at night and regretting a failed relationship was beautifully orchestrated and shown than Elton John could still sing the hell out of a song all these years later. 

​19. Border Song
“Border Song,” from Elton John’s 1970 self-titled sophomore album, was his very first song to chart in the United States, though it barely did topping at No. 92. The song, which has the extremely rare case of having actual lyrics written by Elton John, as he wrote the final verse with his usual collaborator Bernie Taupin writing the rest, is sort of a gospel spiritual that takes on bigotry in that final verse written by John: “Holy Moses, let us live in peace/let us strive to find a way to make all hatred cease/there’s a man over there/what’s his color I don’t care/he’s my brother let us live in peace.” 

18. Amoreena
Elton John’s Country & Western flavored 1970 album Tumbleweed Connection is certainly one of his most underrated releases and one of the highlights of the record is “Amoreena.” The song about a young man longing for a distant loved one is simple, but a nice country-rocker. The song reached its biggest heights when it appeared over the opening credits of the hit 1975 Al Pacino film “Dog Day Afternoon.” 

17. My Father’s Gun
“My Father’s Gun,” from the truly underrated Country & Western themed Tumbleweed Connection from 1970, is the story of a young man whose father is killed during the American Civil War and takes up his place in the battle. It’s without a doubt one of the greatest pieces of pop culture written about the Civil War with a fascinating story written by collaborator Bernie Taupin. Country superstar Miranda Lambert recently covered the song beautifully for the tribute album Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. 

16. Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me
Elton John’s ballad of unrequited love “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” was a huge hit – twice. The original version released in 1974 went to No. 2 on the Billboard charts and was nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year (losing to Olivia Newton-John’s “I Honestly Love You”). Then in 1991 the song was released as a live duet with fellow gay icon George Michael where it would go on to top the Billboard chart. 

15. Daniel
Lyricist Bernie Taupin said: “’Daniel’ had been the most misinterpreted song we’d ever written. The story was about a guy that went back to a small town in Texas, returning from the Vietnam War. They’d lauded him and treated him like a hero. But he just wanted to go home and try to get back to the life that he’d led before. I wanted to write something that was sympathetic to the people that came home.” All the countless number of times I’ve heard this No. 2 hit from 1973 I had never thought of it that way. 

14. Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting
“Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” the first single off Elton John’s massive 1973 hit Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, is John’s most rocking song – his heaviest sounding song, if you will. Lyricist Bernie Taupin said the song was supposed to be an American rock & roll song set in Britain inspired by his raucous teenage days and fistfights in his local pub. The song was so raucous that many radio stations at the time of its release banned it for fears it might incite riots – can you actually imagine the man who would go on to wear a Donald Duck costume in concert inciting violence? 

​13. This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore
“This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore,” from Elton John’s 2001 release Songs from the West Coast, is one of the best tracks of his later career. The song features John and lyricist Bernie Taupin reminiscing on their ‘70s heyday and how they used to be the biggest stars around and how things have slowed down with age. It’s truly a terrific piece of late career work and possibly John’s greatest music video featuring pop star Justin Timberlake, in one of his earliest acting roles, as a younger Elton John. 

12. Someone Saved My Life Tonight
“Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” from Elton John’s 1975 album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, is certainly one of John’s most personal songs and shows the kind of relationship he has with his lyricist Bernie Taupin to be able to write something so emotionally personal. The lyrics refer to a time before Elton John became a big star and was engaged to a woman and the two of them shared an apartment with Taupin. Grappling with doubts about the future marriage John, of course still going by his given name Reginald Dwight, considered suicide before taking refuge in his friends, particularly Long John Baldry, an openly gay musician who helped John come to terms with his sexuality. Long John Baldry is the “someone” who saved Elton John’s life. 

11. Bennie & the Jets
“Bennie & the Jets,” off Elton John’s massive 1973 hit album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, tells the story of a fictional hit glam band that the narrator is a huge fan of and became John’s second career No. 1 single. Lyricist Bernie Taupin says that lyrics like “she’s got electric boots/a mohair suit” and the like were satire of the greed and glitz of the ‘70s music industry. 

10. I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues 
In my opinion, Elton John’s career took a bit of a downward trajectory in the 1980s with his sound becoming a little too soft pop for my tastes. There’s a reason why 85 percent of my list Is from his ‘70s output. My favorite Elton John single from the ‘80s, and his only song from that decade to make this list, is “I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues.” The track off Too Low for Zero included longtime Elton John guitarist Davey Johnstone as a co-writer, with Bernie Taupin writing the lyrics, as usual. It’s one of Elton’s most soulful, R&B numbers – a sound I wish he had done a little bit more. 

9. Crocodile Rock
“Crocodile Rock,” Elton John’s very first No. 1 hit released in late 1972, is a great nostalgic song for the early days of rock & roll, finding one’s first love and teenage independence. Elton John said in response to criticism about the song “being derivative” that “I wanted it to be a record about all the things I grew up with. Of course, it’s a rip-off, it’s derivative in every sense of the word.” “Crocodile Rock” has become one of John’s lasting hits and one I’m sure he’s played at almost every show he’s done for almost half a century, but lyricist Bernie Taupin once told a magazine that it was just funny song that wouldn’t be something he’d listen to. 

8. Levon 
“Levon” is one of Elton John’s most interesting songs for me, and for many of his fans, because it leaves us wanting to know more about the characters within it. Many have even wondered over the years whether or not it was a true story, but according to lyricist Bernie Taupin the characters of Levon and his father Alvin Tostig are merely fictional. Taupin was inspired to name a character Levon after Levon Helm, the drummer and vocalist for The Band, who were favorites among him and Elton John at the time. Elton John has stated that the song “is just about a guy who gets bored doing the same thing and wants to get away from it.” 

7. Candle in the Wind
Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind,” from 1973’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, has become one of his biggest hits and most-played radio tracks despite the fact that it was never originally released as a single in the United States. The song, which was a sympathetic portrayal of Marilyn Monroe’s life and tragic early death, had two lives for Elton John after he re-wrote portions of it in 1997 after the death of Princess Diana. The 1997 version was released as a single and went all the way to No. 1. This version of the song has only been performed live once by Elton at Princess Diana’s funeral. 

6. Honky Cat
Elton John’s 1972 top 10 hit “Honky Cat,” his lead single off Honky Chateau, is one of my favorite sounding songs of his. “Honky Cat” just has this effortlessly downhome sound to it that mixes seemingly all of the genres and sounds that Elton John liked and was inspired by. The “honky cat” in question is no doubt lyricist Bernie Taupin, who was raised on a farm in Lincolnshire, England and would often prefer to be left alone in the countryside, as opposed to the big city. 

5. Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters
“Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters,” off 1972’s Honky Chateau, is my favorite Elton John deep cut. The song, which Elton has referred to as one of his favorites, was written by Bernie Taupin as his take on New York City when one night he heard a gun shot near his hotel window on his first visit to the city. The opening verse of the song is inspired by Ben E. King’s 1960 hit “Spanish Harlem,” written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector, and the realization that it romanticized a place that he now doesn’t see that way.  

4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” the title track of Elton John’s 1973 album that may well be the greatest he’s ever recorded, has a theme you can find in many of lyricist Bernie Taupin’s best works – that of a country boy out of place in the big city and longing for the simpler ways of home. In this case the narrator has been living the good life with a rich socialite lover but comes to realized she’s treated him more of a pet than a human. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is one of Elton’s finest vocals. 

​3. Rocket Man
“Rocket Man,” off Elton John’s 1972 album Honky Chateau, was inspired by Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Rocket Man” told from the perspective of a child whose father is an astronaut and conflicted between his career and family. The song can certainly be taken the same way as the short story, but the astronaut can also be a stand-in for the life of a superstar at how it often takes him/her away from the other joys in life. “Rocket Man” was released three years after David Bowie’s similarly themed “Space Oddity” and many accused Elton John of ripping that song off. Interestingly, both songs were produced by the same man, Gus Dudgeon. 

2. Tiny Dancer
Anybody who has ever seen Cameron Crowe’s fantastic 2000 film “Almost Famous” knows the power of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.” It can truly bring people together. The song, which was on Elton’s 1971 album Madman Across the Water, was inspired by lyricist Bernie Taupin’s first trip to the United States in 1970 and the differences he saw in women there as opposed to back home in England. He also said he was trying to capture the spirit of California with the song. The song was also likely inspired by Taupin’s first wife, Maxine, though he now disputes this. “Tiny Dancer” wasn’t a hit upon its release, it’s six minute length a big reason, but has grown in popularity through radio play on classic rock formats, as well as its memorable placement in “Almost Famous.” 

1. Your Song
“Your Song” has always been my favorite Elton John. It’s one of the most beautiful love songs ever written, verging on perfection. The song originally appeared on Elton’s 1970 self-titled second studio album and became his first hit – topping at No. 8 on the Billboard chart. The song, which features one of John’s finest vocal performances, was written by lyricist Bernie Taupin, who would go on to form a career-long partnership with Elton John. Taupin writes the lyrics and John the music. Taupin wrote the lyrics for “Your Song” when he was just 17 and has never revealed who the song was about. He told the publication Music Connection in a 1989 interview: “It’s like the perennial ballad, which has got to be one of the most naïve and childish lyrics in the entire repertoire of music, but I think the reason it still stands up is because it was real at the time. That was exactly what I was feeling. I was 17 and it was coming from someone whose outlook on love or experience with love was totally new and naïve.” I think that feeling of something so new is what makes it so lovely, even after nearly 50 years.