Tiny Dancer’ is a classic Pop ballad from the writing team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The 1972 Gold and Platinum selling song was reported to be Elton’s attempt to encapsulate 70’s California. The song was originally released on John’s fourth album, ‘Madman Across The Water’, but this chart has been taken from his live performance on ‘Elton 60: Live At Maddison Square Garden’.
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Les Reed and Gordon Mills originally wrote ‘It’s Not Unusual’ for English songstress Sandie Shaw. They called in an unknown Welshman, Tom Jones to record the demo and upon hearing it Sandie turned down the song and insisted that Jones release it on his own. The rest is history as Sir Tom Jones went on to become one of the greatest UK sensations of all time and a legendary recording artist and performer.
This composition by Bobby Boyd, Marcus Hummon and Jeff Hana was first recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1994. The song also had mild chart success with a 1998 cover by Melodie Crittenden on her self-titled debut album. It wasn’t until Country vocal superstars Rascal Flatts took on ‘Bless The Broken Road’ that it hit the top of the charts — hitting #1 on the Country charts and peaking at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The song also saw crossover success — reaching #20 on the Adult Contemporary charts and being heralded worldwide.
David Gates originally wrote ‘Everything I Own’ for Bread’s hit 1972 album ‘Baby, I’m A Want You’. The original Adult-Contemporary cut reached #5 on the Billboard 100. The song has since had numerous covers from artists ranging from Shirley Bassey to N*SYNC, but the easy, Reggae grooves of Ken Booth — and later Boy George are among the most popular tributes. Boy George’s version reached #1 on the UK singles charts for two weeks in March 1987.
One of Frank Sinatra’s greatest hits — ‘Strangers In The Night’ was an adaptation of a number called ‘Broken Guitar’. Bert Kaempfert turned it into ‘Strangers’ with English lyrics from Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder. The song was recorded in April ’66 and released on Sinatra’s album ‘Strangers In The Night’. The cut proceeded to earn Frank Grammies for Best Pop Vocal and Record of the Year.
Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me was originally released on Elton Johns 1974 album Caribou. The song features the backing vocals of the Beach Boys Carl Wilson, Bruce Johnston and Toni Tennille. Although the original release was a resounding success it was shadowed in 1985 when Elton and George Michael performed the number as a duet for the Live Aid concert at Wembley Arena, London. That cut was released that year and was a huge success, followed by a re-release in the 90?s that saw it shoot back up on the charts. This number is a great solo feature or duet for powerful vocalists.
Apparently inspired by the Aretha Franklin hit ‘Do Right Woman, Do Right Man’, ‘Sacrifice’ was the second hit single off of Elton John’s 1989 album ‘Sleeping With The Past’. The driving Pop ballad reached #1 in many European countries and hit the top 20 in the US.
This Elton John and Bernie Taupin ballad is probably one of John’s best known romantic numbers. Written in 1970 and released on Elton’s self-titled 2nd album, ‘Your Song’ reached the top 10 on charts around the world. This classic Pop ballad was rated as number 136 on Rolling Stone’s ‘500 Greatest Songs Of All Time’.
The ‘Harder They Come’ is the opening title track to the 1972 film by the same name, featuring it’s composer and performer — the great Jimmy Cliff. This Reggae classic blurs the line between Jamaican groove and Pop hooks, which is what made Cliff’s sound so accessible to audiences around the world. The song has been rated #341 on Rolling Stones’ ‘500 Greatest Songs Of All Time’.
Brown Eyed Girl was Van Morrisons 1967 single off his album Blowin Your Mind! and has quickly become identified as one of his signature tunes. The song featured the backup vocals of the Sweet Inspirations (who included Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney Houston). The song was Morrisons first breakout hit as a solo artist after leaving the band Them and paved the way for his future status as an icon of Popular music.