10 Songs That Introduce Elton John Beyond The Hits

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For those of us who grew up in the 1970s, whether you were in middle school, high school, or even college, most of us were huge Elton John fans. Of course, I can only speak for myself, but just about all my friends and everyone I knew loved Elton John. There really was no bigger artist in the 1970s than Elton John, with maybe the exception of Paul McCartney. I only say this because those of us who lived through that time know Elton John’s music inside and out. We lived that music; we bought every album that came out, listened to those records hundreds of times, and we continue to listen to it for the rest of our lives. I am still spinning Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy on my turntable.

So the idea behind this article was to come up with 10 songs that would serve as a great introduction to Elton John’s music for younger listeners or for people who may not know his catalog very well. That is not an easy task, because Elton has, as we all know, written so much great music with Bernie Taupin. His style has also changed over the years, sometimes very quickly, even within a short span of time. This is not a list of the top ten Elton John songs. This is a list designed to showcase the range of his work and highlight many of the great things he has done, with the goal of getting people to dig deeper into his catalog and discover the music of one of the greatest songwriting partnerships of all time.

I thought it would be more fun to put this list in chronological order starting with his earlier work.

Another important part of this list is that we are intentionally avoiding the most well-known hits. There is a good chance that younger listeners have already heard many of those songs in passing, on the radio, in commercials, or somewhere in the background, and that kind of familiarity can lessen the impact when you are trying to introduce someone to an artist in a meaningful way. Instead, the goal here is to dig a little deeper into the catalog and bring forward songs that may not get that same level of exposure but are just as strong, if not stronger, in showing what makes Elton John and Bernie Taupin such a remarkable songwriting team. These are the songs that often get overlooked over time, and they are the ones that can really open the door for someone to discover the depth and quality of the music.

# 10 – Skyline Pigeon

If you’re trying to show sort of a career perspective, it’s best to start out with something from the first album. This is definitely one of the most beautiful songs on Empty Sky. The live version that was later released on Here And There is also breathtaking. It was so good that they opened the live album with it.

# 9 – Take Me to the Pilot

One of the points we want to establish early on is that Elton John was not just a brilliant songwriter but also a very underrated rock-and-roll pianist. Proof of that can be found very easily on the fantastic live album 11/17/70. This was a bit of a hit, but the piano playing is just so good that we wanted to showcase it.

# 8 – Come Down in Time

This is probably one of the most underrated Elton John songs of all time, and I don’t really know how it’s flown under the radar for so many years. But the real Elton John fans knew about it. The man had so many hits and was releasing music so quickly that stuff like this just kind of got lost. From the brilliant album Tumbleweed Connection.

# 7 – Indian Sunset

With “Levon” and “Tiny Dancer” and to some extent even the title track “Madman Across the Water” have really become part of popular culture, I always thought that the real gem on this album was the opener on side two called “Indian Sunset. ” This one was pretty dramatic, especially with the line about Geronimo.

# 6 – Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

From an album that gave us “Rocket Man” and “Honky Cat,” as well as songs like “Hercules,” “Mellow,” “Slave,” and so many others, this was a transitional record for Elton John. It marked a shift from the country Americana style he explored on Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across the Water to the pop sound that would soon make him one of the most successful artists of the decade. In between that Americana foundation and the pop breakthrough sits a song like this one. Just wonderful.

# 5 – Blues for Baby And Me

This is one of the most hidden gems in Elton John’s catalog. At the time, Elton had so many hits that songs like this were just swept away from the radio or even the concert stage. Yet, the hook, the chorus, is just an epic story of beauty in love and the open road of hope.

# 4 – Grey Seal

It’s harder to find a greater studio double album than this one. Hit after hit after opening with the epic “Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding.” But I do remember that when I first bought this album, this was my favorite song. This was a deep track that was loved by many.

# 3 – Ticking

I’m not sure that in this world, where younger people scroll through TikTok after watching a video for two seconds and then move on, they will have the patience to listen to a song like this, but if they do, they will hear one of the saddest works of art ever written. This is one that really blew away Elton John fans who know his records inside and out. I think Caribou is one of his greatest albums. It had some big hits on it, but I always loved the deep tracks, songs like “I’ve Seen the Saucers,” “Grimsby,” and “You’re So Static.” What a great record this was.

# 2 – Tower of Babel

If there’s one Elton John album from the 1970s that stands out as not being driven by hits, even though it did have a big one with “Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” it’s the sensational Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. This is the Elton John album that I have put on my turntable more than any other, and I’m not alone. It’s probably the best-sounding studio record I’ve ever heard, especially the drum sound that Nigel Olsson delivers on this album. There’s a moment in this track, right at the start of the chorus, when Nigel breaks through that will make your jaw drop, and anyone hearing it for the first time will feel the same way. There’s a big reason why this is the second track on side one.

# 1 – Tonight

I would argue that Blue Moves is Elton John’s most underrated album. It’s also the last great Elton John album of the 1970s and the last great Elton John album until he released Songs from the West Coast in 2000. But it’s this song, this epic, heartbreaking, sensationally orchestrated piece, that hits you the hardest. This is probably as dramatic as he has ever gotten, and it stands as one of the most beautifully orchestrated pieces of pop music ever written. You have the London Symphony Orchestra performing on this track, and the fact that it wasn’t written about more, played more on the radio, or more widely known just baffles me. It’s sheer beauty and sadness all at the same time. That’s what life is about, captured perfectly in this stunning recording.

Check out more Elton John articles on ClassicRockHistory.com Just click on any of the links below……

Top 10 Elton John Songs
Top 10 Most Underrated Elton John Songs
Top 10 Elton John Love Songs
A Look At Elton John’s Christmas Songs
Top 100 Elton John Songs
Top 10 Elton John Albums
Top 10 Elton John Album Covers
10 Best Non-Album Track Elton John B Sides
Top 10 Elton John Non-Album Singles
Elton John Discography and Retrospective
Why Elton John’s Captain Fantastic Album Was So Great
Why Elton John’s Honky Château Was A Turning Point
Elton John’s Beautiful “Cage The Songbird,” Featured Crosby & Nash
Elton John’s “White Lady White Powder,” Featured The Eagles (Classic Rock Gems Series)
Elton John’s Retirement Seems Genuine This Time
Why Elton John’s Looking Up is His Best Single in Years
Elton John’s mesmerizing performance of Tiny Dancer in 1971
Elton John Releases New Documentary On Lockdown Sessions
Elton John & Ed Sheeran Hit # 1 with ‘Merry Christmas’ Single
Why Elton John’s Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player Was One Of His Most Melodic LPs
Elton John’s Honky Château Album Gets Deluxe 50th Anniversary Reissue
Why There Were Many Overlooked Gems On Elton John’s Caribou LP

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