"The Bitch Is Back" is a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

song written 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 songwriter

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 ...

, and performed by John. It was the second single released from John's 1974 album ''

Caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

'', and reached number 1 in Canada (his sixth in that country), number 4 in the United States and number 15 in the United Kingdom.Guinness British Hit Singles, Fifth Edition, GRRR Books Ltd. and Guinness Superlatives Ltd., 1985, , p. 115. The lyrics parody John's celebrity lifestyle. In the US, it was certified Gold on 13 September 1995 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/o ...

Background

The idea to create the song was inspired not by John or Taupin directly, but rather by Taupin's wife at the time,

Maxine Feibelman Maxine Feibelman (born 1952) is a former seamstress for California bands who was married for several years to Elton John's frequent collaborator Bernie Taupin. Her romance, marriage, and break-up with Taupin influenced some of Taupin's and Jo ...

, who would say, "The bitch is back," when John was in a bad mood. Taupin then wrote the lyrics. Later, Elton would comment: "It is kind of my theme song." The song originally was written in

A-flat major A-flat major (or the key of A-flat) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats. The A-flat major scale is: : Its relative minor is F minor. Its parallel minor, A-flat minor, ...

, but was later performed live a half step lower in the key of G major.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that "Elton and the band are in rare form here and prove that rock comes as easily as the ballads do" and that "the hooks are incredible, the vocals are intense and the playing is right there." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' called it a "rambunctious rouser" that "doesn't mince words."

Controversy

Several radio stations in the United States and elsewhere refused to play the song because of the word "

bitch Bitch may refer to: * A female dog or other canine * Bitch (slang), a vulgar slur for a human female Bitch or bitches may also refer to: Arts and media Film and television * ''The Bitch'' (film), a 1979 film starring Joan Collins * ''Bitc ...

". For example, in 1976, the program director of

WPIX-FM WFAN-FM (101.9 FM), is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York. Owned by Audacy, Inc. the station simulcasts a sports radio format known as "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM", or "The FAN", along with co-owned WFAN 660 AM. It ...

in New York told ''

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 advertise ...

'', "We will play records that are borderline suggestive records such as ' Disco Lady' by Johnny 'sic''Taylor but we will not play 'The Bitch Is Back' by Elton John. We won't play those types of records no matter how popular they get." John responded to the controversy, quipping "some radio stations in America are more puritanical than others."

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Covers

The song was twice recorded by Tina Turner, once for her ''

Rough Rough may refer to: * Roughness (disambiguation) * Rough (golf), the area outside the fairway on a golf course Geography * Rough (facility), former gas field now gas storage facility, off the Yorkshire coast of England People * Alan Rough (born 1 ...

'' album in 1978, and again for the John/Taupin tribute album ''

Two Rooms ''Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin'' is a 1991 tribute album consisting of interpretations of sixteen songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The title refers to a song on John's album ''21 at 33'', "Two Room ...

'' in 1991. Turner also performed the song in her live show in the late 1970s, and with John at the 1995 VH1 Fashion and Music Awards and '' VH1 Divas Live '99''. For her rendition Turner earned a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Performance.

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

covered the song with Elton at the third annual Fashion Rocks Concert in 2006. "

Feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

", the sixteenth episode of ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

''s fourth season, uses "The Bitch Is Back" in a mash-up with

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's " Dress You Up", performed by

Alex Newell Alex Eugene Newell (born August 20, 1992) is an American actor and singer. They are known for their role as Unique Adams on the Fox musical series ''Glee'' and Mo on ''Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist''. Newell also starred as Asaka in the Broadway ...

and Blake Jenner. Miley Cyrus covered the song for the 2018 cover album '' Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin''. Taron Egerton covered the song for the 2019 Elton John biopic ''

Rocketman ''RocketMan'' (also written as ''Rocket Man'') is a 1997 American comic science fiction film directed by Stuart Gillard and starring Harland Williams, Jessica Lundy, William Sadler, and Jeffrey DeMunn. A partial remake of the 1967 film, ''The ...

''. It was the first song featured in the film. In '' Hocus Pocus 2'' (2022),

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

, Kathy Najimy and

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 1 ...

perform the song in character as the Sanderson Sisters with the song rewritten as "The Witches Are Back".

Personnel

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 * Davey Johnstone – electric guitars *

– piano, vocals * Clydie King – backing vocals *

Sherlie Matthews Sherlie Matthews (born November 10, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter and former Motown Records producer, best known as a backing vocalist for pop, R&B and rock groups from the mid-1960s to the present time. Early life Matthews started ...

– backing vocals * Dee Murray – bass, phased Pignose bass * Nigel Olsson – drums * Lenny Pickett – tenor sax (solo) * Jessie Mae Smith – backing vocals * Dusty Springfield – backing vocals * Tower of Power horn section – brass

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bitch Is Back, The Elton John songs Tina Turner songs 1974 singles Songs with music by Elton John Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin Song recordings produced by Gus Dudgeon 1974 songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles DJM Records singles Phonogram Records singles MCA Records singles The Rocket Record Company singles British hard rock songs Obscenity controversies in music