"I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" is a song 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 ...

, with music by John and

Davey Johnstone David William Logan Johnstone (born 6 May 1951) is a Scottish rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Career Johnstone was born in Edinburgh. At the age of s ...

and lyrics by

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English lyricist and visual artist. He is best known for his songwriting partnership with Elton John, recognised as one of the most successful partnerships of its kind in history. Taupin co-wrote th ...

, released as the first single from John's 17th studio album ''

Too Low for Zero ''Too Low for Zero'' (stylised as ''2 ▼ 4 0'') is the seventeenth studio album by English musician Elton John, released in 1983. The album marked a comeback for John, whose previous four albums had failed to yield many enduring international hi ...

''. It was the first single since 1975's "

Someone Saved My Life Tonight "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is a song with music by British musician Elton John and lyrics by Bernie Taupin, from John's 1975 album ''Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.'' It was released as a single on 20 June 1975, the only singl ...

" to feature the classic lineup of the

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 band has gone through several lineup changes, but Nigel Olsson, Davey Johnstone, and Ray Cooper have been members (albeit ...

. The song became one of John's biggest hits of the 1980s in the United States, holding at No. 2 for four weeks on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart, and reaching No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also reached the top ten in five countries, including the UK, peaking at number five. It was also featured on the film soundtrack to ''

Peter's Friends ''Peter's Friends'' is a 1992 British comedy film directed and produced by Kenneth Branagh, and written by Rita Rudner and Martin Bergman. The film follows six friends (played by Stephen Fry, Branagh, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Hugh Laurie, Imeld ...

'' in 1992.

Critical reception

The song received largely favourable reviews, with

Bill Janovitz Bill Janovitz (born June 3, 1966) is an American musician and writer. He is the singer, guitarist, and songwriter of alternative rock band Buffalo Tom, and has also released three solo albums. Janovitz has written extensively for Allmusic, author ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

declaring the song "likely to stand the test of time as a

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

." Janovitz wrote: "As with the lyric, the music has more than a tinge of nostalgia, with a '50s-like R&B shuffle, a jazzy piano theme, and an inspired,

Toots Thielemans Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans (), was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for playing the chromatic harmonica, as well as his guitar and wh ...

-like harmonica solo from

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

. The soaring solo takes the song to new heights, the ache of the sentiment palpable in every note."

Live performances and covers

A fan favourite, John has performed the song live numerous times, occasionally playing it as part of a medley with his hit "

Blue Eyes Eye color is a polygenic phenotypic trait determined by two factors: the pigmentation of the eye's iris and the frequency-dependence of the scattering of light by the turbid medium in the stroma of the iris. In humans, the pigmentation o ...

" (from the 1982 album '' Jump Up!''). The song was later performed live by

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

and Elton John, and this version of the song was part of the '' Mary J. Blige & Friends'' EP. A live version of the song with Mary J. Blige also appeared on John's '' One Night Only – The Greatest Hits'' live compilation, recorded in Madison Square Garden in October 2000. Another live version, this one featuring just Elton John and basic rhythm section, was recorded live in Verona in 1996 during John's appearance with

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

as part of the master tenor's Pavarotti and Friends for War Child benefit concerts. The song was covered by

James Blunt James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount, 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is known for his songs "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover". As a British Army captain in the aftermath of the Kosovo War, Blunt ...

and released in the UK on the compilation album ''BBC Radio 2: Sounds of the 80s'' on 7 November 2014. Canadian singer

Alessia Cara Alessia Caracciolo (born July 11, 1996), known professionally as Alessia Cara (), is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She began posting covers of songs on YouTube at age 13. After uploading acoustic covers of songs such as " Love Yourself" and ...

covered the song for the 2018 tribute album ''

Revamp & Restoration ''Revamp: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin'' and ''Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin'' are two tribute albums to English musician Elton John and his frequent songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, ...

''.

Music video

The original music video, one of twenty directed for John by Australian

Russell Mulcahy Russell Mulcahy ( ; born 23 June 1953) is an Australian director of film, television, and music videos. He began his career directing music videos for artists like Elton John and Duran Duran, before making his feature directorial debut with the ...

, tells the story of two 1950s-era young lovers who are separated when the man is forced to leave for

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

, depicting the trials and tribulations he experiences there, and then are finally reunited at the end of the song. It was filmed in the

Rivoli Ballroom The Rivoli Ballroom is the only intact 1950s ballroom remaining in London, England. It is famed for its original decor and interior fittings, including red velvet, flock wallpaper, chandeliers, glitter balls and oversized Chinese lanterns. The ...

Crofton Park Crofton Park is a mainly residential suburb and wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is the original site of the former agricultural hamlet of Brockley. It is located south east of Charing Cross, ...

in London and at

Colchester Garrison Colchester Garrison is a major garrison located in Colchester in the county of Essex, eastern England. It has been an important military base since the Roman Britain, Roman era. The first permanent military garrison in Colchester was establishe ...

Barracks, Essex, and featured William Dimeo.

Track listings

US 7-inch single # "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" # "The Retreat" UK 7-inch single # "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" # "Choc Ice Goes Mental"

Personnel

– vocals, acoustic piano, keyboards *

– electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals *

Dee Murray David Murray Oates (3 April 1946 – 15 January 1992), known as Dee Murray, 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 Gilli ...

– bass, backing vocals *

Nigel Olsson Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English drummer, best known for being a lifelong member of the Elton John Band. He has had an equally long career as a session musician and composed, recorded and produced albums as a solo artist. Ca ...

– drums, backing vocals *

– harmonica

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

*
Lyrics for "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" at Bernietaupin.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues Songs about blues 1983 singles Elton John songs Geffen Records singles Music videos directed by Russell Mulcahy Songs with music by Elton John Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) 1983 songs The Rocket Record Company singles Songs about nostalgia