Elton John | ||||
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Studio album by Elton John | ||||
Released | 10 April 1970 | |||
Recorded | January 1970 | |||
Studio |
Trident Studios (London, England) |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 39:27 | |||
Label |
DJM (UK) Uni (US) |
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Producer | Gus Dudgeon | |||
Elton John chronology | ||||
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Singles from Elton John | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Robert Christgau | (B) |
Rolling Stone | (not rated) |
Elton John is the second album by English singer-songwriter Elton John, released in April 1970. However, because it was his first album released in America, many people there assumed it was his first album, as Empty Sky was not released in the US until 1975. Elton John includes his breakthrough hit, "Your Song", and helped to establish his career during what was considered the "singer-songwriter" era of popular music. In the US, it was certified gold in February 1971 by the RIAA. In the same year, it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
This was the first of a string of Elton John albums produced by Gus Dudgeon. As Dudgeon recalled in a Mix Magazine interview, the album wasn't actually intended to launch John as an artist, but rather as a collection of polished demos for other artists to consider recording his and co-writer Bernie Taupin's songs.
In 2003, the album was ranked No. 468 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. On 27 November 2012, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as an album cited as exhibiting "qualitative or historical significance".
The song "No Shoe Strings on Louise" was intended (as homage or parody) to sound like a Mick Jagger song.
All songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin.
Disc one – original album
Disc two
Notes
Grammy Awards
*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone