#1: Sixty Years On by Elton John

City: Lethbridge, AB
Radio Station: CHEC
Peak Month: February 1971
Peak Position in Lethbridge ~ #4
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Sixty Years On”
Lyrics: “Sixty Years On”

Reginald Kenneth Dwight was born in 1947. When he was three years old he astounded his family when he was able to play The Skater’s Waltz by Émile Waldteufel by ear at the piano. When he was eleven years old he won a scholarship as a Junior Exhibitor at the Royal Academy of Music. Between the ages of 11 and 15  he attended the Academy on Saturday mornings. In 1962, by the age of 15, he was performing with his group, The Corvettes, at the Northwood Hills Hotel (now the Northwood Hills Public House) in a northern borough of London. While he was playing with a band called Bluesology in the mid-60s he adopted the stage name Elton John. His stage name, which became his legal name in 1967, was taken from Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean, and their lead singer, Long John Baldry.

In 1967 John met Bernie Taupin, a songwriter. Since they teamed up they’ve worked together  on 32 studio albums between 1969 and 2016. In the same five-decade span Elton John has released 128 singles. Of these 42 reached the Top Ten in Canada on the RPM singles chart, 29 made Top Ten on the UK charts and 26 singles made Top Ten on the Billboard Hot 100. Elton John holds the distinction of having the most successful single release in the rock ‘n roll era ~ 1955 to the present ~ with his 1997 version of “Candle in the Wind” which has sold over 33 million copies. The biggest selling single remains “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby which has sold  50 million copies.

In 1969, Elton John released his debut album, Empty Sky. He received critical acclaim for his musicianship and heralded as a great new singer-songwriter. John didn’t disappoint his critics, as his next album, the self-titled, Elton John, included “Your Song” and “Border Song,” two of his most enduring contributions to pop music. Another track from the album, “Sixty Years On”, charted in Lethbridge (AB).

In Spain and Japan, “Sixty Years On” was a single release.

“Sixty Years On” was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. “Sixty Years On” is apparently about a blind war veteran, but like the Al Stewart song “Old Admirals” it can be seen as a metaphor for growing old and unwanted. This song has a special significance for Elton. He recorded it in his twenties and sang it at his first ever US concert, at Los Angeles in 1970; in the 1993 book Elton John in His Own Words, Susan Black dug out a quote from him: “I’m approaching middle-age and I don’t want to go on touring when I’m 37 or 38.” Obviously he changed his mind, because on his sixtieth birthday he opened his concert in New York’s Madison Square Garden with the very same song; it was his sixtieth appearance at that venue, an all time record.

“Sixty Years On” received chart action in Lethbridge on the cities Top 40 record survey. This was unique across both Canada and the USA.

From the same album, “Your Song” climbed to #1 on CKVN in Vancouver and peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, failing to make the Year-End Top 100 singles of the year in America. Elton John’s next release was from the 1971 teen-romance film, Friends. This was the title track “Friends” and “Honey Roll”.

His third album was Tumbleweed Connection, released in the fall of 1970. The album peaked in the Top 5 of the Billboard 200 Album chart. One of the tracks from the album is “Love Song.” The tune did not appear on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA. However, in 1976, Vancouver record buyers liked the song and took it to #10 on CKLG five years after its release on Tumbleweed Connection. In the early years, Elton John typically enjoyed higher chart runs in Vancouver compared to the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA. “Your Song” stalled at #8 in the USA, but climbed to #1 on CKVN in Vancouver. “Levon”, from Madman Across The Water, climbed to #3 in Vancouver, but stalled at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Border Song” only made it to #92 on the Hot 100, but peaked at #21 in Vancouver. “Tiny Dancer” also made it into the Top 20 in Vancouver, while stalling at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Though Elton John is from the UK, his first #1 single was “Crocodile Rock”, a song that went to #1 in America, Switzerland, New Zealand and Canada in early 1973. It stalled at #5 on the UK singles chart. Later in 1973, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” topped the charts in New Zealand and Canada. 1974 was one of the singers best years with “Bennie And The Jets” topping the charts on the Billboard Hot 100 and “The Bitch Is Back” climbing to #1 in Vancouver. In 1975, John had #1 hits in the USA with “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”, “Philadelphia Freedom” and “Island Girl”.

In the midst of this string of hits came Elton John’s cover of The Who single “Pinball Wizard”. In 1976, Elton John finally had a #1 hit in the UK in a duet with Kiki Dee titled “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”. He had a Top Ten hit late that year titled “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word”.

Between 1977 and 1991 Elton John released 57 singles. Of these only “Mama Can’t Buy You Love”, “Little Jeannie” “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues”, “Sad Songs (Say So Much)”, “Nikita”, “Candle In The Wind” from 1987 and “I Don’t Want To Go On With You Like That” made the Top Ten on the Billboard Hot 100. And only a couple more made the Top 40. The singer had a #1 hit in 1985, a duet with Dionne Warwick titled “That’s What Friends Are For”.

In August 1990 Elton John released a single called “You Gotta Love Someone”.

For many years Elton John was an addict to alcohol and drugs. His frequent use of cocaine is said to have been a catalyst for debilitating epileptic seizures. Facing up the the grim state of his health, Elton John went into rehab in 1990. He emerged with a focus on helping others and founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992. The foundation has raised has brought in more than $225 million to support HIV/AIDS programs around the world.

Elton John also experienced a resurgence in his chart-topping ways that resembled the 1973-76 period. He had a #1 duet of “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” with George Michael  in 1992. “The One”, “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”, “Believe” and “Something About The Way You Look Tonight/Candle In The Wind” all climbed to #1 in Canada on the RPM singles chart. “Blessed”, “Simplest Life” and “Circle Of Life” all charted into the Top 5 positions.

In 1994 Elton John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1998 he became Sir Elton John when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his “services to music and charitable services.” Among the many performances he has given include the funeral for Princess Diana at Westminster Abbey in 1997, and Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Concert outside Buckingham Palace in 2012.

January 22, 2025
Ray McGinnis

References:
Elton John bio, Rolling Stone.
Elton John bio, Elton John.com.
Jordan Bassett, “Elton John: “I’m not interested in the past – not even Elton John’s past,” NME, October 22, 2021.
Tumbleweed Connection, Rolling Stone, New York.
Pete Townsend, “Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy: Pete Townshend on the Who’s ‘Tommy’,” Rolling Stone, December 9, 1971.
“Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour,” Wikipedia.org.
“Elton John Concert Dates – Canada,” setlist.fm.

CHEC 100.9-FM Lethbridge (AB) Top 15 | January 20, 1971