"Honky Cat" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was used as the opening track for John's fifth studio album, ''

Honky Château ''Honky Château'' is the fifth studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released in 1972, and was titled after the 18th century French chateau where it was recorded, Château d'Hérouville. The album reached number one in the US, t ...

'', released in 1972. "Honky Cat" was also released as the A-side of John's thirteenth single. The single reached in the United Kingdom, and fared better in the United States, peaking at on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 just as John launched an American tour in September 1972. John has performed this song numerous times in the 50 years since its release. A live version of the song was released on the Here side of the '' Here and There'' live set in 1976 (and its expanded CD version in 1995), and a solo piano version appeared on the EltonJohn.com ''Live in Madison Square Garden'' Vol. 1 limited edition CD, recorded in October 1999 during his 1999 solo tour.

Reception

Winston Cook-Wilson of '' Spin'' called it John's "most underrated" single. In 2018, Dave Simpson of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' ranked the song No. 48 on his list of the 50 greatest Elton John songs. The following year, Justin Kirkland of '' Esquire'' ranked the song No. 27 on his list of the 30 best Elton John songs, calling it a "funky, horn-laden hit" and writing that "it's hard to compare the odd mix of electric piano and wheezing saxophone to any other single in Elton's songbook."

Covers

Lee Ann Womack Lee Ann Womack Liddell (; born August 19, 1966) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Her 2000 single, " I Hope You Dance" was a major crossover music hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart and the Top 15 ...

covered the song on the 2018 tribute album '' Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin''.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

* Elton John – Fender Rhodes electric piano, acoustic piano, vocals *

Davey Johnstone David William Logan Johnstone (born 6 May 1951) is a British rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Career Johnstone's first work was with Noel Murphy in ...

– banjo *

Dee Murray Dee Murray (born David Murray Oates; 3 April 1946 – 15 January 1992) was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Biography Murray was born in Gillingham ...

– bass *

Nigel Olsson Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...

– drums * Ivan Jullien – trumpet * Jacques Bolognesi – trombone * Jean-Louis Chautemps – saxophone * Alain Hatot – saxophone

Production

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...

– horn arranger, producer *

Ken Scott Ken Scott (born 20 April 1947) is a British record producer and engineer known for being one of the five main engineers for the Beatles, as well as engineering Elton John, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Duran Duran, the Jeff B ...

– engineer

References

1972 singles Elton John songs Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin Songs with music by Elton John Song recordings produced by Gus Dudgeon 1972 songs Uni Records singles DJM Records singles {{1970s-single-stub