Tim McGraw "Tiny Dancer"

Tim McGraw choose the safe (and wise) route when remaking Elton John's signature "Tiny Dancer". His 2002 effort perfectly matched the original. In fact, the two performed the song together on the American Music Awards in celebration of the song's 30th birthday.

Jimmy Cliff "Hakuna Matata"

The original Lion King Soundtrack featured more than just hits from Elton John. The 1994 animated film also gave radio stations the single "Hakuna Matata" from Jimmy Cliff and Lebo M. Meaning "no worries" in Swahili, the song only managed to hit #25 on the Adult Contemporary Chart nearly a year after the movie premiered in theaters.

Ray Charles "A Song for You"

When more than 200 artists line up to sing a tune, you call that song an American Classic. That's exactly how Elton John described "A Song for You". Originally recorded by Leon Russell in 1970, artists such as Cher, Whitney Houston, Willie Nelson, Michael Buble, and Simply Red are some of the numerous names who've recorded the song. Ray Charles' version earned him a Grammy Award in 1994 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

Elton John "Bennie & The Jets"

Credit a single mother of three who worked at a Michigan radio station for "Bennie & The Jets" becoming a big radio hit. Rosalie Trombley turned her gig as a switchboard operator at Detroit/Windsor's CKLW into the radio station's Music Director in the late-1960s. At the time, Trombley took note what people bought at local record stores and the titles of the station's most-requested songs. In particular, folks keep asking record stores about Elton John's "Bennie & The Jets" -- a song not yet released. Trombley phoned MCA, Elton's record label, and urged them to release the song. CKLW added the song to its playlist and it became Detroit's #1 song. MCA released the song in 1974 which led to a phone call from Elton himself to Trombley to thank her for her input and for expanding Elton's audience. The African-American community embraced "Benny & The Jets" and, a year later, Elton performed the catchy tune on Soul Train.

Wilson Phillips "You Won't See My Cry"

Somehow, I ended up watching listening to audio from Casey Kasem's Year End Countdown from 1992 on YouTube. With all the songs I search for as research for this blog, the analytics department over at Google must have a field day with me. Among the handful of songs I didn't remember from Casey's countdown was the ballad "You Won't See Me Cry". In case you're wondering, the Wilson Phillips tune finished #24 for the year. Now on with the countdown...

Elton John "Sad Songs (Say So Much)"

Asked by Barbara Walters to use his music to sum up the various stages of his life, Elton John sat at his piano, thought a moment and then played "Rocket Man" to represent the 1970s. He joked that the line "I'll be high as a kite by then" was the pitiful truth. Elton chose "Sad Songs" to represented the 1980s and then paused before smiling as he played "The One" to represent his present life in the 1990s. For the first time in years, Elton was clean, found love and was about to become super-rich thanks to his music in Disney's The Lion King. That interview with Walters aired in 1994 and so much has changed in 25 years. As he continues his farewell tour, Elton promises to tell-all in his upcoming autobiography. What haven't we heard? I suppose we'll have to stay tuned...

Jennifer Rush w/ Elton John "Flames of Paradise"

With a music video that took its cue from A-Ha's "Take on Me", Jennifer Rush's uptempo "Flames of Paradise" featured Elton John in both real and animated form. You can close your eyes and picture the tune used at the end of an Eddie Murphy film. Critics predicted the duet would hit #1, but instead it flamed out. Rush's duet peaked at #36 on the Top 40 Chart in the US (#32 on the Adult Contemporary Chart).

Guns 'N Roses "November Rain"

With today being the Winter Solstice -- the shortest day of the year, we highlight a song that is anything but short (for that, we'd award Del Amitri's "Roll to Me" which clocks in at just about two minutes). At nearly nine minutes in length, "November Rain" is the longest song to ever chart in the Top 10 of the Hot 100. Guns 'N Roses band mate Slash jokingly refers to the song as "the Layla song" (the Eric Clapton tune clocks in at just seven minutes and eight seconds). During the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), the band performed the song in its entirety along with Elton John on piano.

Elton John "Crocodile Rock"

If you're planning to see Elton John's Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, a good time to escape for a cocktail or a bathroom break is during the song "Crocodile Rock". While the song was a huge hit in 1973 -- becoming Elton's first #1 US hit and continues to be be part of his concert setlists, Elton himself called it a song he wouldn't listen to and he's right. The song is my least favorite.

Rick Astley "Ain't Too Proud to Beg"

While Elton John kicked off his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour in 2018, Rick Astley made his comeback -- including his first tour of the United States in years. Did you know the two singers actually performed together on one of Elton's signature tunes? You can hear Astley singing backup vocals in "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" on Elton's famed Lion King Soundtrack.

Billy Preston & Syreeta Wright "With You I'm Born Again"

On Valentine's Day in 1994, WPNT afternoon jock Ken Cocker teased that he would soon play one of the most romantic songs ever made. I quickly wondered what song that could be as I'm sure you also could come up with a half-dozen songs that would fit into that category, right? Cocker eventually played "Your Song". The simple tune indeed is a great love song, but I have my own favorite.

With its flowing melodies and gentle yet soaring chorus, I nominate "With You I'm Born Again" from Billy Preston and Syreeta Wright as an even better "most romantic song ever". I first heard the song on Love-FM, a format that later replaced WPNT, and immediately fell in love with it. In fact, I remember getting goosebumps after hearing it. The sweet song begins slowly (heck, it fades in) and then Preston and Syreeta's understated vocals playfully tease your ears as the percussion and strings join in, build and, eventually, the song takes off. You might find yourself singing at the top of your lungs just as the ballad softly comes to an end...leaving you wanting more.

Elton John, Heather Headley & Sherie Scott "A Step Too Far"

News of WLS-FM cutting ties with Dick Biondi getting fired from WLS-FM shocked long-time fans of the legendary Chicago DJ. Biondi is no stranger to getting fired--it's happened to him 25 times. While getting fired 25 times sounds extreme, it's something common in the radio business. The first time I ever experienced getting fired happened while working for a struggling station that played pop music from the 1980s and 1990s. Instead of playing all popular music from those 20 years, we focused on a very tight playlist of about 340 songs. At the time, I produced the station's morning show and the three of us joked (off-the-air) that we played John Mellencamp at twenty past every hour. The format wasn't inspiring and really gathered an audience--even after embracing the "all-Christmas music" format one year.

In the fall of 2004, rumors swirled in the building and among those in the business that changes were coming as our station languished around 20th place among listeners. At first, we believed the changes would be to the morning show (we were the third morning show on the frequency in two years), but later learned the company planned to completely blow up the format and launch something different. One Friday, we woke up to news in Robert Feder's column of the Chicago Sun-Times that changes were coming soon. This time the story carried a quote from someone in management to "stay tuned".  Despite this, our immediate supervisor dismissed the news as "a rumor" during our daily meeting with him. It was the second time he waved off our questions about our future there and the last thing I remember was him saying, "I don't know where Feder is getting this...". At that point, I remember my brain had enough and involuntarily my hand struck my own face. The sound of it caught every one in the room off guard. Not pleased, my boss glared at me and said, "Yes? Do you have something to say?" Tired of the lies and pretending, I finally unloaded and said, "Why do you keep lying to us? We all know what's happening!" 

For the previous three years, I operated on nearly three hours of sleep each night as I poured my heart and soul into creating the best damn Chicago radio show that no one knew (or seemingly listened to). I woke up at 3:39 A.M. and took the CTA downtown to work while grossing a whopping $28,000. Through rain, snow and piercing winds, I trudged to work each morning. It wasn't about the money. It wasn't about being famous. It wasn't about being on the radio. My passion to engage, inform and entertain folks while they drove to work drove me each morning to put together the best show I could. I loved that radio show I produced and would do anything for the two hosts who were like family to me. Unlike me, they both had families, mortgages and bills to pay and losing this gig would affect them more so than me.

After my outburst, my boss yelled at me to get out of his office after questioning me on who I thought I was to disrespect him like this. Confused, I walked back to my office and wondered if I should start cleaning out my desk. This guy lied to us everyday and yet I'm labeled as the bad guy? I was angry, hurt and very scared. Minutes went by as I sat at my desk paralyzed with fear. Finally, after about 15 minutes, one of the morning hosts who was with me at that fateful meeting returned and told me that he thinks he smoothed things over with our boss. He explained to him that I worked non-stop and lived and breathed this show. My dedication to it clouded my acceptance that soon it would all be over--whether my boss wanted to admit this or not. My colleague recommended I go apologize. For reasons I'm still not entirely sure, I grabbed a biography of Paul McCartney and headed back to the office where a few minutes ago I was not welcome.

An empty office greeted me. I sat down and waited. And waited. It seemed like another 15 minutes passed before my boss entered and nearly froze as we noticed me sitting there. "Todd," he said, as he resumed his composure and sat down avoiding eye contact. What happened next is still a blur to me, but I do recall him suggesting I go home to "decompress" before our station's Halloween party that evening. I apologized to him again that evening and I would label his reception of my second apology as "equally as cold as the first". Six days later, I (along with four-fifths of the on-air staff) were fired.

Elton John "Candle in the Wind 1997"

1 

The number of times Elton John performed "Candle in the Wind 1997" in public

Elton John "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"

FUN FACT:

Stevie Wonder gets credited for appearing on Elton John's "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues"not for his voice, but for his harmonica work. 

Boyz II Men "Four Seasons of Loneliness"

"Four Seasons of Loneliness" entered the Hot 100 at #2 during the autumn of 1997. A week later, the ballad climbed to the top of the charts, but immediately got bumped back down by Elton John's tribute to Princess Diana, "Candle in the Wind 1997". Ultimately, this song was the R&B group's final #1 song.

Eric Clapton "Layla (Unplugged)"

When MTV revived their Unplugged television series in 2017, the cable network tabbed Shawn Mendes to perform on the reboot of the show. The series originally debuted in 1989 and featured big names such as Elton John, Maroon 5, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and nearly 100 others, but less than 30 Unplugged episodes were turned into albums. One of the most successful Unplugged editions featured Eric Clapton. Originally taped in 1992, Clapton originally didn't want to release music from his performance, but later changed his mind. It's a good thing he did. Clapton's Unplugged album went on to sell over 26 million copies worldwide and earned him six Grammy Awards. His unplugged version of "Layla" was a night-and-day take on one of his biggest hit and gained radio airplay across multiple formats and introduced Clapton to a whole new audience.

Elton John & Kiki Dee "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"

In a song originally intended for Dusty Springfield, Elton John teamed up with Kiki Dee in "Don't Go Breaking My Heart". While Dee never was known for much in the United States other than this duet, her musical career flourished in the UK (where she was born). Dee put out 12 albums--including one as late as 2013.

Elton John "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?"

One of the main reasons Elton John agreed to sing "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?" was to introduce his music to a new generation. In that regard, he succeeded. However, The Lion King marked a turning point in Elton's musical career. He went on to sing songs during the latter half of the '90s for soundtracks to animated movies like Aida and The Road to El Dorado. Most longtime fans point out that Elton's music from The Lion King and beyond is what they don't want to hear whether it be on the radio or in concert. One look at set lists for Elton's live shows and you'll rarely see any of his music released in the '90s and beyond. Fun fact: Rick Astley provided backup vocals on the tune.

Elton John "Believe"

Ask someone about Elton John's music and people will break it down into two categories:

• his best stuff came from the '70s
• then came all the Lion King stuff

Granted Elton's career will best be known for "Tiny Dancer", "Your Song", and "Crocodile Rock", but Elton did crank out plenty of non-Disney music in the later years of his career. One such hit, "Believe", was a chart topper in 1995. The song became Elton's 15th #1 Adult Contemporary hit and his third straight Top 20 hit. The song peaked at #13 on the Hot 100.

Elton John "Someday Out of the Blue"

Between The Lion King and Aida, Elton John also found time to compose music for The Road to El Dorado Soundtrack.  "Someday Out of the Blue" scored Elton and Tim Rice another Top 5 hit on the Adult Contemporary Chart in 2000.