''Breaking Hearts'' is the eighteenth studio album 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 ...

. It features the quartet of John,

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 1 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. There were four top-40 singles from the album: "

Sad Songs (Say So Much) "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" is the closing track on English musician Elton John's eighteenth studio album ''Breaking Hearts'', written by John and Bernie Taupin, released in 1984 as the lead single of the album. It reached No. 7 on the UK chart an ...

" (US #5/UK #7), "Who Wears These Shoes" (US #16), "In Neon" (US #38), and the UK No. 5 hit "

Passengers A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The ...

Background

This album would be the last to feature all (core) members of the classic "

Elton John Band The Elton John Band is the band that backs singer, composer and pianist Elton John on both studio and live recordings. The various lineups of the band have consisted of both English and American musicians. The band is often not recognised as a fo ...

" lineup playing their instruments (although they would reunite to provide backing vocals on John's ''

Reg Strikes Back ''Reg Strikes Back'' is the 21st studio album by English musician Elton John. Released in 1988, it was his self-proclaimed comeback album, and his own way of fighting back against bad press. The "Reg" in ''Reg Strikes Back'' refers to John's b ...

'' album). It was the last of John's studio albums to feature bass from Murray, who would die in 1992 of skin cancer, and it was the last studio album until 2001's ''

Songs from the West Coast ''Songs from the West Coast'' is the twenty-sixth studio album by English musician Elton John, released worldwide on 1 October 2001. Background For this album, John once again collaborated with long-time lyricist Bernie Taupin, marking the f ...

'' that would feature Olsson on drums. It was also the last in which John played both piano and keyboards in the studio by himself. With the exception of ''

Regimental Sgt. Zippo ''Regimental Sgt. Zippo'' is the thirty-first studio album by English musician Elton John. Originally recorded in 1967 and 1968, it remained unreleased until Record Store Day of June 2021, when the mono version was issued on vinyl. In early July ...

'', there would be a backup keyboardist for every album moving forward. ''Breaking Hearts'' was also the first album since '' Victim of Love'' to not feature a string or horn section on any track. This is one of only two albums with John's classic band to which (unofficial member)

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 ...

did not contribute at all, the other being 1973's ''

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player ''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player'' is the sixth studio album by English musician Elton John. Released in January 1973 by DJM Records, it was the first of two studio albums he released in 1973 (the second was ''Goodbye Yellow Brick R ...

''. Shortly after the tour, the band line-up would change and

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 No ...

, John's former producer, would produce the next two albums. In the US, it was certified gold in September 1984 and platinum in August 1998 by the

RIAA 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/o ...

. John has continued performing "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" as of 2022, as he included the song in his

Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour Farewell Yellow Brick Road is an ongoing tour by English musician Elton John that began in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on September 8, 2018 and will end in Stockholm, Sweden on July 8, 2023. It is intended to be John's final tour and will consi ...

setlist. Apart from the 1984 Breaking Hearts Tour (both the

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

and the

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

leg), no other songs from the album have been performed live except "Restless" and "Passengers", on the following 1985–1986 Ice on Fire World Tour (the latter song only performed on the UK leg).

Track listing

* Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–10 on CD reissues.

Personnel

Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album. * Elton John – lead and backing vocals, synthesizers (tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10), pianos (tracks 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10),

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

(track 5),

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

(track 6),

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

(track 7),

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

(track 7),

clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...

(track 10) *

– backing vocals (tracks 1–4, 6-10), electric guitar (tracks 1–3, 5, 7, 8, 9), acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 6, 7, 8, 10),

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

(track 9) *

– bass guitar (tracks 1–3, 5-10), backing vocals (tracks 1–4, 6-10) *

– drums (tracks 1–3, 5-10), backing vocals (tracks 1–4, 6-10) * Andrew Thompson – saxophone (track 5)

Production

* Chris Thomas – producer *

Renate Blauel 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 ...

– recording * Tim Young – mastering (UK) * Greg Fulginiti – mastering (US) * David Costa – art direction, design * Richard Young – photography * Patrick Jones – band photography *

Herb Ritts Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on black a ...

– Bernie Taupin photo

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control Elton John albums 1984 albums Albums produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) Geffen Records albums The Rocket Record Company albums Albums recorded at AIR Studios