Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player
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''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player'' is the sixth studio album by English musician
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
. Released on 26 January 1973 by DJM Records, it was the first of two studio albums he released in 1973 (the second was '' Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'', released nine months later), and was his second straight No. 1 album on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and first No. 1 album on the UK Albums Chart. The lead single " Crocodile Rock" yielded John his first No. 1 single in both the US and Canada. " Daniel" was also a major hit from the album, giving him his second Canadian No. 1 single on the '' RPM'' Top Singles Chart and No. 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reaching No. 4 on the UK singles chart, one place higher than achieved by "Crocodile Rock".


Background

The album was recorded in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, at Château d'Hérouville, also known at the time as "Strawberry Studios", which was how the studio was credited in the album's sleeve; '' Honky Château'', the previous Elton John album, had been recorded there. The album featured horns arranged by producer
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 ...
on " Elderberry Wine" (the B-side to " Crocodile Rock"), "Midnight Creeper" and "I'm Going to Be a Teenage Idol", the latter of which was inspired by John's friend, T. Rex frontman Marc Bolan. The horn players were the same ones who were used on ''Honky Château''. Paul Buckmaster returned to add strings on "Blues for Baby and Me" and " Have Mercy on the Criminal". During his Australian concerts with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 1986, John lauded Buckmaster's work on songs such as "Have Mercy on the Criminal", calling the string arrangements "revolutionary". It is one of only three albums to feature just the core band of John on pianos and keyboards, Davey Johnstone on guitars, Dee Murray on bass and Nigel Olsson on drums, without percussionist Ray Cooper. The other two are ''Honky Château'' (1972) (bar a performance by Cooper on congas on the song "Amy") and ''
Breaking Hearts ''Breaking Hearts'' is the eighteenth studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released on 18 June 1984 through John's The Rocket Record Company, Rocket label in the UK and Geffen Records in the US. Like the preceding ''Too Low for ...
'' (1984). An outtake of note was a re-recording of " Skyline Pigeon", which became the B-side to the single of " Daniel". John toured Australia during 1971 and was so inspired by Daddy Cool's hit single " Eagle Rock" that, with lyricist Bernie Taupin, he wrote "Crocodile Rock". The lyrics booklet of this album has a photo of Taupin wearing a "Daddy Who?" promotional badge. Other photos contain shots of the band. One photo has Elton wearing a Donald Duck badge, making it the first time Elton wore clothing featuring Donald Duck, the second being the Bob Mackie designed costume during his concert in
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
in September 1980, and a photo of the hat used on the cover of the 1988 album Reg Strikes Back. ''Don't Shoot Me...'' was also, according to John, the first album during which he felt comfortable experimenting with his vocal performances and style.


Packaging

The album's title came from an incident with legendary comedian Groucho Marx. John was playing the piano at a party at Marx's home; Marx, after an evening of constant ribbing (he referred to Elton John as 'John Elton'), held out his middle and index finger in the style of a pistol, pointed at John. John then raised his hands and said "Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player" at Marx's gun imitation. The title is also a play on the 1960 François Truffaut film '' Shoot the Piano Player'' and the original
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...
quote "Don't shoot the piano player, he's doing his best", which Wilde said he saw in a saloon on a visit to the U.S. in 1882. The album's cover photograph, which shows a young couple outside a movie theatre whose marquee reads: ''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player starring Elton John''; on the wall is a movie poster advertising the Marx Brothers' 1940 film '' Go West'' as a tribute to Groucho Marx. In keeping with the late-1950s theme, the photograph includes the tail end of a 1959 Plymouth Fury, a popular Chrysler Corporation family car in North America at the time.


Reception

The album was a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic, topping the UK Albums Chart and US ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. Critics at the time called some of the performances, especially "Crocodile Rock", derivative, which John freely acknowledged years later. In ''His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John'' by author Elizabeth Rosenthal, John said "Crocodile Rock" was written as an overt homage to '50s records, and his vocal intentionally mimicked singer Bobby Vee. "High Flying Bird" was intended to sound like a
Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...
record, and "Midnight Creeper" was a tip of the hat to the
Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
.


Track listing


Personnel

Track numbers refer to CD and digital releases of the album.


Musicians

*
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
– vocals, Fender Rhodes (1, 5), mellotron (1, 2), acoustic piano (2–4, 6, 7, 9, 10), Leslie piano (7) harmonium (8), Farfisa organ (9) * Ken ScottARP synthesizer (1) * Davey Johnstone – acoustic guitar, electric guitar and Leslie guitar (All tracks); banjo (1), backing vocals (2, 7, 10, 12), sitar (4), mandolin (8) * Dee Murray – bass (All tracks), backing vocals (2, 7, 10, 12) * Nigel Olsson – drums (All tracks), maracas (1), backing vocals (2, 7, 10, 12) *
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 ...
– brass arrangements (3, 5, 7) * Paul Buckmaster – orchestral arrangements (4, 6) * Jean-Louis Chautemps – saxophone (3, 5, 7) * Alain Hatot – saxophone (3, 5, 7) * Jacques Bolognesi – trombone (3, 5, 7) * Ivan Jullien – trumpet (3, 5, 7)


Production

* Producer –
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 ...
* Engineer – Ken Scott * Remixed at Trident Studios (
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, UK) * Coordinator – Steve Brown * Art direction and sleeve design – David Larkham and Michael Ross * Cover photo – Ed Caraeff * Booklet photography – Ed Caraeff, Bryan Forbes, Maxine Taupin and Michael Ross


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player Elton John albums 1973 albums Albums arranged by Paul Buckmaster Albums produced by Gus Dudgeon DJM Records albums MCA Records albums Albums recorded at Trident Studios Albums recorded in a home studio