The Boulevard is Not That Bad

I was ready to log out of Facebook, with a vow to shake that social-media-monkey off my back for the rest of the day and get some real work done. And then I saw a post about a new video directed by filmmaker Max Weiland, cut to one of Elton John’s classic songs: "Tiny Dancer." It’s a lusciously filmed, finely…

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Whatever Gets You to the Heights, S’Alright

Imagine there's no Billboard To measure record sales. No song's the winner, No song ever fails. Imagine all releases Treasured equally…. Imagine the most defining song of John Lennon's career NOT reaching the number one spot on the Billboard charts when it was released in October 1971. Surprisingly, John's iconic peace anthem, "Imagine," actually peaked at number three, which just goes to prove that chart position does not a legendary song make. John's only single to hit the number one spot during his lifetime was "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," which topped the U.S. charts in November 1974.

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Captain Fantastic’s Brown Dirt Cowboy

Images of the old American West and scenes of Southern country life have inspired countless British rock recordings through the years, none more so than the early albums of Elton John. And no wonder. His lyricist Bernie Taupin was in love with romantic visions of Americana…scenes of cornfields and cattle towns, frisky colts and fringed-front buggies, field bosses and chain gangs, Geronimo and gunslingers. All of Elton's songs began in the mind of Bernie, who turns 64 today. He wrote the lyrics that the pianist-showman set to music - creating vivid sound portraits of days gone by.

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