"Sacrifice" is a song 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 ...

, written by John and

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. Tau ...

, from John's 22nd studio album, ''

Sleeping with the Past ''Sleeping with the Past'' is the 22nd studio album by English musician Elton John, released on 29 August 1989. It is his best-selling album in Denmark (where it was recorded) and is dedicated to his longtime writing partner Bernie Taupin. The ...

'' (1989). It was first released in October 1989 as the second single from the album. It achieved success in 1990, particularly in France and the United Kingdom, becoming John's first solo chart-topper in both nations. The song describes how hard it is to stay faithful and devoted in a marriage, challenging the mantra that a successful union requires sacrifice. Due to the song's success, John has played this song in various locations in the years since it was released.

Chart performance

"Sacrifice" was initially released as a single in 1989 but stalled at number 55 in the UK and at number 18 in the US in March 1990. In mid-1990, English DJ Steve Wright began playing the song on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

, soon followed by many more radio DJs. The song was then re-released as a double A-side single, along with " Healing Hands", and reached number one in the UK in June 1990. Thus, it became John's first solo number-one single in 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 ...

, remaining on the top spot for five weeks. With this re-release, Elton John also got his first number one in France and stayed on the chart for 26 weeks.

Critical reception

David Giles 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 ...

'' wrote, "Probably the best track from his slightly disappointing recent LP. Elton's in subdued, wistful mood — it's a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, and that's where his strength lies those days — but it bears the stamp of true songwriting genius, the innate sense of which chord goes next to make the most interesting tune."

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Sacrifice" was directed by

Alek Keshishian Alek Keshishian ( hy, Ալեք Գևորգի Քեշիշեան, born 30 July 1964) is an Armenian-born American film and commercial director, writer, producer and music video director. His 1991 documentary, '' Madonna: Truth or Dare'' was the high ...

and starred supermodel

Yasmeen Ghauri Yasmeen Ghauri ( ur, {{Nastaliq, ; born March 23, 1971) is a Canadian former model. Early life and career Ghauri was born in Montreal to a German mother and a Pakistani father. Ghauri had a difficult childhood due to being bullied at school by ...

and singer-songwriter

Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. He is widely known for his breakthrough hit and signature song "Wicked Game", as well as other songs such as "Blue Hotel", "Baby D ...

. The video, which follows the song's lyrics, portrays a man and woman having problems in their relationship after being married and raising a daughter. After they go their separate ways, the man raises his daughter alone.

Track listings

First release

* 7-inch, cassette, and mini-CD single # "Sacrifice" # "Love Is a Cannibal" (from the Columbia Motion Picture ''

Ghostbusters II ''GhostbustersII'' is a 1989 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Rick Moranis ...

'') * 12-inch and CD single # "Sacrifice" # "Love Is a Cannibal" (from the Columbia Motion Picture ''Ghostbusters II'') # "Durban Deep"

Second release

* 7-inch and cassette single # "Sacrifice" # "Healing Hands" * 12-inch and CD single # "Sacrifice" # "Healing Hands" # "Durban Deep"

Personnel

– vocals, Roland RD-1000 digital piano *

Guy Babylon Guy Babylon (December 20, 1956 – September 2, 2009) was an American keyboardist/composer, most noted for his work with Elton John. Babylon was born in New Windsor, Maryland. He attended Francis Scott Key High School before moving on to the ...

–

Yamaha DX7 The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units. In the early 1980 ...

Fred Mandel Frederick Lawrence Mandel (born 1953) is a Canadian session musician, keyboard player and guitarist. Career Born in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Mandel became involved in music from an early age. He started playing the piano at four and picked up t ...

–

Roland Alpha Juno The Roland Alpha Juno series of discontinued keyboards are analog polyphonic synthesizers with a digitally controlled oscillator manufactured by Roland Corporation from 1985 to 1987. Versions Two models were released in 1985: the Alpha Juno 1 (J ...

synthesizers * Peter Iverson – Fairlight and Audiofile programming *

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 ...

– electric guitar * Romeo Williams – bass *

Jonathan Moffett Jonathan Phillip "Sugarfoot" Moffett (born November 17, 1954) is an American drummer, songwriter and producer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Beginning in 1979, Moffett collaborated with the Jackson family, particularly Michael Jackson, over the co ...

–

Linn LM-1 The Linn LM-1 Drum Computer is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics and released in 1980. It was the first drum machine to use samples of acoustic drums, and one of the first programmable drum machines. Its designer, the American en ...

programming

Charts and sales

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Samples

*This song, along with other Elton John songs " Rocket Man", " Kiss the Bride" and "Where's the Shoorah?", was sampled in the 2021 collaboration between John and

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...

titled " Cold Heart".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sacrifice (Elton John Song) 1989 singles 1989 songs 1990 singles Elton John songs European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles MCA Records singles Music videos directed by Alek Keshishian The Rocket Record Company singles Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin Songs with music by Elton John UK Singles Chart number-one singles