"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" is a 1976 duet by English musician

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and English singer

Kiki Dee Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records. Dee is best known for he ...

. It was written by John with

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Ta ...

under the pseudonyms "Ann Orson" and "Carte Blanche", respectively, and intended as an affectionate pastiche of the

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

style, notably the various duets recorded by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown (music style), Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player ...

and singers such as Tammi Terrell and Kim Weston. John and Taupin originally intended to record the song with

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dra ...

, but ultimately withdrew the offer; Springfield's partner Sue Cameron later said this was because she was too ill at the time.

Reception

'' Cash Box'' said that "there are some great harmonies in the chorus" and that John and Dee "seem perfectly wedded in this tune."

Chart performance

Writers John and Taupin received the 1976 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. Unlike many of John's singles from the 1970s, it was never included on an original album (although it was recorded during the '' Blue Moves'' sessions), but was subsequently released as the third single on the album '' Duets'', in early 1994. This version of the song was recorded with

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series '' RuPaul's Drag Race ...

and reached number seven on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and number one in Iceland. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" was the first No. 1 single in the UK for both John and Kiki Dee, topping the chart for six weeks in mid 1976. John would not enjoy a solo British chart-topper until " Sacrifice" in 1990. It also became his sixth No. 1 single in the US, topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for four weeks and spent one week on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

chart. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1976, giving him his second consecutive appearance in the ''Billboard'' Year-end Top 3. In the U.S., it has been certified platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. After this duet with Dee, John failed to have another US solo number one single until " Candle in the Wind 1997". This 21-year period included two intervening number one hits in America with musical partners: "

That's What Friends Are For "That's What Friends Are For" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. It was first recorded in 1982 by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack of the film '' Night Shift'', but it is better known for the 1985 cover version by Dionne ...

" by Dionne & Friends in 1986, and a 1992 re-make of John's "

Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is a song written by English musician Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin. It was originally recorded by John for his eighth studio album, '' Caribou'' (1974), and was released as a single that peaked at ...

" with

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV Generation, MTV generation and is one of the List ...

credited as a duet. The B-side, "Snow Queen", was supposedly inspired by

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...

, with John quoting past Sonny & Cher hits " I Got You Babe" and "

The Beat Goes On The Beat Goes On, or variants, may refer to: Music Albums * ''The Beat Goes On'' (Herbie Mann album), 1967 * ''The Beat Goes On!'' (Sonny Criss album), 1968 * ''The Beat Goes On'' (Vanilla Fudge album), 1968 * '' The Beat Goes On: The Best of ...

", as well as the solo Cher song "

Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" is the second single by American singer-actress Cher from her second album, '' The Sonny Side of Chér''. It was written by her husband Sonny Bono and released in 1966. The song reached No. 3 in the UK Singles ...

" during the fadeout of the song. In 1977, John guest-starred on ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two television pilot, pilot episodes produced by Henson for American Broadcasting Company, ABC in 1974 and 1975. ...

'' and performed the track with

Miss Piggy Miss Piggy is one of the Muppet characters known for her breakout role in Jim Henson's '' The Muppet Show''. Since her debut in 1976, Miss Piggy has been notable for her temperamental diva superstar personality, tendency to use French phrases i ...

. In 1985, John and Dee performed the track to the crowd at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

during John's set at

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine ...

(where Dee sang backup). In 1987, John appeared with Minnie Mouse on the NBC series '' Totally Minnie'' miming to the track. He performed the track with

Alan Partridge Alan Gordon Partridge is a comedy character portrayed by the English actor Steve Coogan. A parody of British television personalities, Partridge is a tactless and inept broadcaster with an inflated sense of celebrity. Since his debut in 1991, h ...

(

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, whic ...

) at the 2001 British Comedy awards. He also performed it with the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vi ...

on his ITV tribute programme '' An Audience with ... Elton John''. In June 2013, 37 years after its original release, the single reached one million sales in the UK. The B-side, "Snow Queen", remained unavailable on CD outside Australia until April 2019 when it was included as a bonus track on the reissue of Kiki Dee's ''Cage the Songbird'' album, included in the 5-CD box set ''The Rocket Years''. In May 2019 it was also included on the 3-CD box set ''Gold'', a retrospective of Dee's career spanning various labels. In 2020, it was also included on Elton John's 8-CD box set ''

Jewel Box Jewel box or Jewel Box may refer to: * Jewelry box, a container for gemstones Places or architecture * Jewel Box (St. Louis), listed on the NRHP in Missouri * Jewel Boxes, a name for eight banks designed by architect Louis Sullivan *Jewel Box ...

''.

Personnel

Based on information on the Elton John official website. *

– lead vocals and backing vocals, electric piano *

– lead vocals and backing vocals *

James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores i ...

– acoustic piano and orchestral arrangements *

Caleb Quaye Caleb Quaye (born 9 October 1948), is an English rock guitarist and studio musician best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Hall & Oates and Ralph McTell, and also toured wi ...

– electric guitar * Kenny Passarelli – bass * Roger Pope – drums *

Ray Cooper Raymond Cooper (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John (as ...

– tambourine, congas and bongos * Kiki Dee, Curt Boettcher,

Cindy Bullens Cidny Bullens (formerly Cindy Bullens; born March 21, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter, who is best known for serving as backup vocalist on tours and albums with Elton John and Rod Stewart, as well as providing vocals on the soundtrack of ...

, Ken Gold, Jon Joyce – uncredited backing vocals

Charts

Weekly singles charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Sales and certifications

Elton John and RuPaul version

In 1994, Elton John and American drag queen, actor, model, singer, songwriter, and television personality

released the song as a duet. It was released as the third single from the album, '' Duets'' and reached number three on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as ...

in the US. In Europe, the song peaked at number-one in Iceland and within the top 10 in Portugal and the UK, the top 20 in Denmark, Ireland and Italy, and the top 30 in Austria, France and Switzerland. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" peaked at number 18 in March 1994. Outside Europe, the song reached number 39 in New Zealand, number 45 in Australia, and number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

editor

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

described the song as a "kitschy number".

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

'' wrote that John "recreates his classic

duet with the world's favorite

drag Drag or The Drag may refer to: Places * Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway * ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street adj ...

queen. Revamped quasi- rave/

hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and th ...

version of the track is way stronger than the less-than-pleasing mix on John's current collection, rendering it a formidable contender for action on both dancefloors and radio. Oodles of good fun." Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...

'' commented, "Thanks to producer

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the " Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance music. His work with synthesizers had ...

, there's a few more beats per minute, as well as a hilarious video, and a super performance of a great tune." Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated it four out of five, calling it "somewhat soulessly produced" and a "smash-bound but tacky remake". John Kilgo from ''The Network Forty'' stated that this remake of the previous number-one smash "is for real..." Tom Doyle from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' gave it one out of five, saying that "the music sounds like it was done with the help of a Gameboy running low on batteries".

Music video

A music video was made to accompany the song, featuring Elton John and RuPaul. It was directed by Randy Barbota. The video was uploaded to YouTube in December 2016. , it has amassed more than 2 million views.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other versions

The musical comedy troupe

the Capitol Steps The Capitol Steps was an American political-satire group that performed from 1981 to 2020. Most of the Capitol Steps' material parodied well-known contemporary songs, usually introduced with a short skit. The songs were interspersed with other ro ...

recorded a parody of the song, in which then President George W. Bush is told by his wife

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (''née'' Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. ...

, "Don't go faking you're smart".

Notes

References

{{authority control 1976 singles Songs with music by Elton John Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin Elton John songs Kiki Dee songs RuPaul songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Male–female vocal duets Song recordings produced by Gus Dudgeon The Rocket Record Company singles 1976 songs 1994 songs Works published under a pseudonym MCA Records singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Iceland RPM Top Singles number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa