Honky Château

Studio album by Elton John

Released

19 May 1972

Recorded

Château d'Hérouville, Hérouville, France, January 1972

Genre

Rock

Length

45:15

Label

Uni (US)
DJM (UK)

Producer

Gus Dudgeon

Elton John chronology

Madman Across the Water
(1971)

Honky Château
(1972)

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player
(1973)

Singles from Honky Château

"Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)"
Released: 17 April 1972
"Honky Cat"
Released: 31 July 1972

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Robert Christgau	A−
Rolling Stone

Honky Château, released in 1972, is the fifth studio album released by Elton John. It was titled after the 18th century French chateau where it was recorded, Château d'Hérouville. The album reached number one in the US, the first of seven consecutive US number one albums for Elton John.

In 2012, the album was ranked number 359 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It was certified gold in July 1972 and platinum in October 1995 by the RIAA. This was the final Elton John album on the Uni label in the US and Canada before MCA consolidated all of its various labels under the MCA brand. This and John's earlier Uni albums were later reissued on MCA Records.

This album marks the beginning of John's transition from a singer/songwriter to a more rock 'n' roll style.

It was also the first album to feature John's road band of Dee Murray on bass and Nigel Olsson on drums (along with new member Davey Johnstone on electric & acoustic guitars and other fretted instruments) as the core group of musicians. Previously, the record label insisted that John use them for only one track each on Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across the Water; the rest of the songs on those two albums were performed by session players. Johnstone had played acoustic guitar, mandolin and sitar on "Madman Across the Water", but on "Honky Chateau", he would be invited to join permanently as a full-band member and he extended his contributions to electric guitar, banjo, slide guitar and backing vocals.

...
Wikipedia