Elton John Greatest Hits

Elton John Overview

The Elton John Greats Hits is a review of his hit songs and some info

A Color Photo Of Elton John
A Color Photo Of Elton John

rmation about how he became successful. He was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947 in Pinner, Middlessex, England. He started playing piano at the age of 3. At the age of 15, he became a pianist at a nearby pub earning 35 pounds a week. He changed his name to Elton John in homage to Elton Dean and Long John Baldry after he met with fellow writer Bernie Taupin. They joined together in 1968 and wrote material for other artists.

Hit Singles

Their first release was a song called “Border Song” and made it to #92 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart on August 15, 1970. Their first top ten hit was “Your Song” which peaked at #8 on January 23, 1971. Elton John’s first number one hit was “Crocodile Rock” on February 3, 1973, and was number one for 3 weeks. They went on to release 68 singles, of which eight (8) became number 1 hits.

Elton John Album Cover Candle In The Wind 1997
Elton John Album Cover Candle In The Wind 1997

When Princess Diana died in the car crash on August 31, 1997, Elton John was asked to play at her funeral. He and Taupin re-wrote “Candle In The Wind”. When it was released in 1987, it peaked at #6. He sang the rewrite of “Candle In The Wind” only once for the funeral service “live” in public on September 6, 1997. He will not sing the song “live” in public unless approved by Princess Diana’s estate. However, that song became the highest selling song in the history of Pop. The song went on to be #1 for fourteen (14) weeks. It sold 4.86 million copies in the UK Singles Chart and over 11 million copies in the United States according to Billboard. World-Wide, “Candle In The Wind” has sold over 33 million copies. This is the most for any artist.

Accomplishments

Altogether, he has sold over 250 million records, making him the one of the most successful artists of all time.  He has also released 30 albums. He has 8 #1’s, 4 #2 hits, 25 top 10 hits, 56 top 40 hits, and 65 total songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

According to Billboard, Elton John is the #1 artist from 1970-1979, #10 artist from 1980-1989, #9 artist from 1990-1999, and the #3 artist of all-time for 1955-2010. In 1994, he was voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He also received the Grammy Legend Award in 1999. Elton John is the #1 artist of all-time on the Adult Contemporary Chart 1961-2001.

Elton John’s Number 1’s & Top Ten’s

Elton John Love Songs Album Cover
Elton John Love Songs Album Cover

Here is a list of Elton John’s #1’s in bold and top 10 hits in chronological order listing the title, date of peak position and number of weeks holding the peak position, #2 & #3 positions in () on both the Hot 100 and Contemporary Charts.

Hot 100

  1. Your Song – February 28, 1970 #8
  2. Racket Man – May 6, 1972 #6
  3. Honky Cat – August 12, 1972 #8
  4. Crocodile Rock – February 3, 1973 #1 (3)
  5. Daniel – April 7, 1973 #2 (1)
  6. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – October 27, 1973 #2 (3)
  7. Bernie And The Jets – April 13, 1974 #1 (1)
  8. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me – June 22, 1974 #2 (2)
  9. The Bitch Is Back – September 7, 1974 #4
  10. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds – January 4, 1975 #1 (2)
  11. Philadelphia Freedom – April 12, 1975 #1 (2)
  12. Someone Saved My Life Tonight – July 5, 1975 #4
  13. Island Girl – November 1, 1975 #1 (3)
  14. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart – August 7, 1976 #1 (4)
  15. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word – November 13, 1976 #6
  16. Mama Can’t Buy You Love – June 9, 1979 #9
  17. Little Jeannie – May 3, 1980 #3 (4)
  18. I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues – October 29, 1983 #4
  19. Sad Songs (Say So Much) – June 9, 1984 #5
  20. Nikita – January 18, 1986 #7
  21. Candle In The Wind – November 7, 1987 #6
  22. I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That – June 18, 1988 #2 (1)
  23. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me – February 1, 1992 #1 (1)
  24. Can You Feel The Love Tonight – May 21, 1994 #4
  25. Candle In The Wind – October 11, 1997 #1 (14)

Elton John’s number 1 hit singles spent a total of 30 weeks in the top spot on the Hot 100 chart.

Adult Contemporary Chart #1’s

  1. Your Song – December 26, 1970 #9
  2. Honky Cat – August 26, 1972 #6
  3. Daniel – May 12, 1973 #1 (1)
  4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – November 3, 1973 #7
  5. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me – July 6, 1974 #3
  6. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart – September 11, 1976 #1 (1)
  7. Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word – December 18, 1976 #1 (1)
  8. Mamma Can’t Buy You Love – August 25, 1979 #1 (1)
  9. Little Jeannie – June 14, 1980 #1 (2)
  10. Blue Eyes – September 11, 1982 #1 (2)
  11. I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues – November 5, 1983 #2 (3)
  12. Sad Songs (Say So Much) – June 9, 1984 #2 (6)
  13. That’s What Friends Are For – January 11, 1986 #1 (2)
  14. Nikita – January 25, 1986 #3
  15. Candle In The Wind – October 3, 1987 #2 (2)
  16. I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That – August 20, 1988 #1 (1)
  17. A World In Spanish – September 24, 1988 #4
  18. Through The Storm – April 15, 1989 #3
  19. Healing Hands – October 21, 1989 #1 (1)
  20. Sacrifice – November 18, 1989 #3
  21. Club At The End Of The Street – April 21, 1990 #2 (4)
  22. You Gotta Have Someone – December 15, 1990 #1  (5)
  23. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me – February 8, 1992 #1 (2)
  24. The One – June 27, 1992 #1 (6)
  25. The Last Song – October 17, 1992 #2 (2)
  26. Simple Life – March 20, 1993 #1 (3)
  27. Can You Feel The Love Tonight – July 9, 1994 #1 (8)
  28. Circle Of Life – August 27, 1994 #2 (3)
  29. Believe – May 20, 1995 #1 (2)
  30. Blessed – October 21, 1995 #2 (5)
  31. You Can Make History (Young Again) – September 28, 1996 #4
  32. Something About The Way You Look Tonight – November 22, 1997 #1 (10)
  33. Candle In The Wind – September 20, 1997 #5
  34. Recover Your Soul – February 28, 1998 #5
  35. Written In The Stars – January 16, 1999 #2 (4)
  36. Someday Out Of The Blue – March 4, 2000 #5
  37. I Want Love – September 8, 2001 #6

All told, Elton John spent 45 weeks at #1, and 29 weeks at #2. Elton John had 16 #1’s, 8 #2’s, 37 Top 10, 59 Top 40 hits on the Contemporary Charts.

Candle In The Wind – 1997 Version #1 (14 Weeks)

Shop Elton John Greatest Hits

You can own all but one of Elton John’s number #1’s and some of his other big hits all in one package titled Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970-2002.Elton John - Greatest Hits 1970-2002 This album contains the 1987 version of “Candle In The Wind” and not the 1997 version that was rewritten for Princess Diana.

You can shop for individual Elton John Greatest Hits by clicking on the link. You will be taken to Amazon Try Prime Digital Music page where you can download any of Elton John individual songs for a small fee.

As an Amazon associate I earn from qualified purchases.




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