Maps of Music

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)

Where the lyrics of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road take you, and where it was really made.

A Jamaica recording plan collapsed, and the French château sessions that followed produced a double album that sold more than 20 million copies.

Key places

Where the album was recorded (1973)

Recording site Château d'Hérouville — The album was recorded in two weeks at the Château d'Hérouville near Pontoise, France. John had recorded earlier albums at the same studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: seventh studio album by British singer, pianist and composer Elton John
• Double album released 5 October 1973 by DJM Records
• 17 tracks, including Candle in the Wind, Bennie and the Jets, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
• Live favourites Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding and Harmony are included
• Widely regarded as John's magnum opus

Background

• Working titles were Vodka and Tonics and Silent Movies, Talking Pictures
• Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics in two and a half weeks
• Elton John composed most of the melodies in three days while staying at the Pink Flamingo Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica
• John wanted to go to Jamaica, partly because the Rolling Stones had just recorded Goats Head Soup there
• Production started in Jamaica in January 1973 but was abandoned before productive work was done
• Reasons: problems with the sound system and studio piano, logistics around the Joe Frazier–George Foreman boxing match in Kingston, and protests over the political and economic situation

Recording

• Recorded in two weeks at Château d'Hérouville near Pontoise, France
• John had previously recorded Honky Château and Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player at the same studio
• The Jamaica version of Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting was discarded; the released version came from the Château sessions
• The band plays on all songs except This Song Has No Title, where John performs all piano, keyboard and vocal parts
• Producer Gus Dudgeon said the album was not planned as a two-record collection
• John and Taupin composed 22 tracks, and 18 were used

Cover

• Cover art by illustrator Ian Beck
• Depicts John stepping into a poster

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in Pinner, Middlesex, on 25 March 1947.
• Won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at age 11.
• Formed the blues band Bluesology in 1962; took the name Elton John in 1967.
• Joined DJM Records as a staff songwriter with lyricist Bernie Taupin in 1968.

Members

• Partnered with lyricist Bernie Taupin since 1967; Taupin writes lyrics and John composes the music.
• Backing band over the years included Davey Johnstone, Nigel Olsson, Dee Murray and Ray Cooper.

Career

• Debut album Empty Sky (1969); Honky Château (1972) became his first US number-one album.
• Seven consecutive US number-one albums between 1972 and 1975.
• Composed The Lion King and Aida with Tim Rice; won Academy Awards and a Tony Award.
• Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour (2018–2023) was the highest-grossing tour at the time.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Strong commercial success, reaching number one on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart
• Debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200 and reached number one in its fourth week on the chart
• Stayed at number one on the Billboard 200 for eight consecutive weeks
• Best-selling album in the US in 1974
• Topped the UK album chart for two weeks
• Also topped album charts in Australia and Canada

Reappraisal

• Grammy Hall of Fame induction in 2003
• Rolling Stone ranked it number 91 in 2003 and 2012 lists, then number 112 in its 2020 revised list
• Channel 4's 2009 list of 100 Greatest Albums placed it at number 59
• Billboard's Joe Lynch ranked the cover 74th best album cover of all time in 2023
• Included in the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
• Selected by the Library of Congress in 2025 for preservation in the National Recording Registry

Records

• Sold more than 20 million copies worldwide
• US: certified gold on 12 October 1973, 5× platinum in March 1993, 8× platinum in February 2014 by the RIAA
• Regarded as John's best-selling studio album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title track's cover image was used to depict John stepping into a poster of the yellow brick road.
• Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting was inspired by memories of a Market Rasen pub that Taupin frequented when younger.
• Harmony was a fourth single candidate but was not issued at the time, and it was used as the B-side of the American Bennie and the Jets single.
• Harmony spent three weeks at number one on WBZ-FM's chart in June 1974 and ranked number six for the year.
• The liner note illustration for I've Seen That Movie Too inspired the staging of the comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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