On This Day in 1973, Elton John Released the Signature Track That Still Makes Him Cry Decades Later

When you perform the same song for decades on end, you run the risk of it becoming increasingly emotionally stale with each run-through, but that wasn’t the case for Elton John and the signature track he released on October 15, 1973. The title track to his seventh studio album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, has become one of the most well-known and beloved songs in his catalogue, alongside the likes of “Your Song”, “Tiny Dancer”, and “Bennie and the Jets”.

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From its rousing chord progression to the lyrical lamenting of simpler times, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is a prime example of the magic John and his long-time collaborator, Bernie Taupin, have managed to create over the years. For Taupin, the song was autobiographical, referencing the “howling old owls” and “horny back toads” of his pastoral childhood upbringing. In a 2014 conversation with Rolling Stone, Taupin said the “get back to the farm” mentality is “still my M.O. these days. I don’t mind getting out there and doing what everybody else was doing, but I always had to have an escape hatch.”

Of course, John has had few options in terms of escape hatches. As the performing half of the John-Taupin (or Ann Orson and Carte Blanche) partnership, John has remained in the spotlight for decades, playing “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” the entire time. But the song hasn’t grown stale for John. In fact, it’s taken on a new meaning as he enters each new year of his career and life.

Elton John Said This 1973 Signature Track Still Makes Him Cry

Elton John released “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” as the second single from his seventh album of the same name on October 15, 1973. (In his native U.K., the song came out a little earlier, on September 7.) Over five decades later, the signature track is still a regular part of Elton John concerts. Around the time of its 40th anniversary, John re-listened to the entirety of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road ahead of an interview with The Today Show. The rock ‘n’ roller admitted to crying as he listened “because it reminded me of a time when I was very innocent.”

He echoed similar sentiments in his 2014 conversation with Rolling Stone, saying that he was “very naïve” in 1973 but that “the naiveté is the most pleasant thing about this record, probably.” And indeed, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road marked a turning point in John’s personal and professional paths. The intense fame that followed the album and corresponding singles’ releases led to John’s infamous struggle with substance abuse, although he wouldn’t blame the album itself. “I don’t blame anything,” he told The Today Show. “I don’t blame anybody or anything. It was just me being inquisitive. Bad decision.”

Still, it wasn’t all bad. “It was a very exciting time in my life,” John told Rolling Stone. “It was a time that we had no fear, nothing was beyond us. It’s a wonderful thing the young have when they get on a roll. We were running on momentum and adrenaline. And then if you’re a talented enough artist, you find your place within the playing field. And this was our example of being at the height of our creative powers.”

Photo by Rino Petrosino\Mondadori Portfolio by Getty Images