The song that Elton John thought was too high to sing

During those years, John had no idea that his career would continue on that trajectory for decades to come. In fact, he expected it to level off so slowly that he would fade into the background by the 1980s and other contemporary musicians would take the lead. Of course, that didn’t happen, but his tours in the early and mid-1970s felt like his fame was living on borrowed time.

After an explosive concert at Madison Square Garden in 1974, John was not averse to taking an indefinite break. “It was a rather strange night, a very sad occasion, I must say,” said the singer Rolling Stone a few months after the show. “It got to the point where I sang ‘Yellow Brick Road’ and thought, ‘I don’t have to sing that anymore,’ and that made me pretty happy inside.”

Although he floated the idea that “it might be the last gig forever” and reflected that “who wants to be a 45-year-old entertainer in Las Vegas like Elvis,” John would indeed perform “Yellow Brick Road” again, and not always in front of huge live audiences. John knew the song had a certain kind of timeless energy when he wrote it, and his conviction in its appeal grew stronger over time.

During the documentation Bye, yellow cobblestone streethe explained how it came about, saying that the initial piano chords came first, followed by the “wistful” melody. According to producer Gus Dudgeon, one of the most tantalizing elements of the song was how John managed to infuse the piece with piano parts that connected a section to the upcoming melody.

Back then, John sang the song in a slightly raised vocal range and went faster in the second half of the song, making for a more dynamic and interesting listening experience. Looking back, John revealed that this isn’t as easy for him anymore. “I have to go down a key now because it’s so high,” he laughed. “My voice has changed so much,” he added. “When I listen to this album, I sound like a singing castrato.”

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