Bubbling Under: Elton John- "Song For Guy"

One of Elton's most heartfelt moments

Welcome to Bubbling Under. Each week I cover a musical artist who charted outside Billboard’s Hot 100. This week: Elton John

By 1978, Elton John’s career was faltering somewhat. This had started with 1976’s Blue Moves album and an infamous Rolling Stone interview where he tested the waters by coming out as bisexual.

His last few singles hadn’t really lived up to expectations. The overlooked “Ego” had a big budget video which was likely a risk Pre-MTV. The single only climbed to #34 in both the UK and US.

The non-album “Ego” was followed up the same year with a new LP titled A Single Man. This was Elton’s first album without long-time lyricist Bernie Taupin. The lead single, “Part-Time Love” is a catchy enough track. While it did fare better than “Ego” (it climbed to #15 in the UK), “Part Time Love” isn’t one you hear often. While he was having hits with material that was still strong, nothing John was putting out quite reached the classic ranks of his singles from a few years prior.

The more personal “Song For Guy” was chosen as the second single from the album.

The song feels like a left-field choice. It’s a largely instrumental piano number with Elton eventually singing “Life isn't everything” towards the end.

“Song For Guy” is long and repetitive, but something about it is hauntingly beautiful and you can’t help but listen to “Song For Guy” in it’s entirety. It’s also one of Elton’s most personal tracks.

According to this article (and John’s autobiography Me, which I highly recommend), two events led to the creation of “Song For Guy”.

The first was John's out-of-body experience that led to his writing a song about death.

The second occurred the next day after John had written the song. Guy Burchett, a teenage messenger boy who worked for John’s Rocket Records label had been killed in a motorcycle accident, possibly around the same time the song was being written. As a result, the song was titled “Song For Guy” as a tribute to Burchett.

In the UK, “Song For Guy” became Elton John’s biggest hit in a few years when it hit #4.

Across the pond, the single stalled at #110, though it was a minor adult contemporary hit. I read something about an instrumental being a hard sell for radio. That might have been the case, but I find that a little hard to believe when the charts were full of them in 1979.

You had this:

And this:

Both of those tracks were major hits, so I find “Song For Guy” stiffing because it was an instrumental hard to believe. Likely, the song was too long for radio, MCA had no idea what to do with it, and over here at least, it was a dramatic departure for Elton John. Which is a shame because it’s one of the highlights of his late 1970's career.

Eventually, Elton John had a Top Ten with his next single, “Mama Can’t Buy You Love”, which was a belatedly released outtake from some 1977 album sessions with the legendary Philly Soul producer Thom Bell. In the UK, “Are You Ready For Love” was released instead. Initally the single charted outside the Top 40 but saw a resurgence in 2003 when a remixed version hit #1.

By 1983, Elton had reteamed with Bernie Taupin for the Too Low For Zero album. The album contained two singles which are classics on the same level as his early-mid 1970’s hits with “I’m Still Standing” and “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues”. Along the way, there was the occasional bumpy ride, but Elton John remained one of the biggest starts in music. This, however, isn’t the last time he will grace Bubbling Under.

Sunday: Part One of a two-parter on Sparks.