Elton John had his 1st #1 album in the UK 51 years ago today with Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only the Piano Player. It opens with “Daniel” and closes with “Crocodile Rock.” The title was inspired in two ways; as a play-on-words on the Truffault film Shoot the Piano Player, which itself is a twist on the Oscar Wilde quote “don’t shoot the piano player, he’s doing his best.” It was also inspired by an exchange between Elton and Groucho Marx. He was playing the piano at a party at Groucho’s home when Marx held up his middle and index fingers shaped like a pistol. Elton responded “don’t shoot me, I’m only the piano player.” The cover photo includes an original poster of the Marx Brothers film Go West in tribute.

My very well-worn original copy, with the lyric booklet (not included with MP3’s):

This would be the 2nd Elton John album I’d own, the first being the predecessor, Honky Chateau. Before Honky Chateau was Madman Across The Water. Some fans took these consecutive titles as commentary from a British artist on American politics, with the “Madman” referring to Nixon, and Honky Chateau being “White House.” Don’t Shoot Me… is one of only 3 of Elton’s albums to be recorded solely with his legendary band of Davey Johnstone, Nigel Olsson and Dee Murray, without percussionist Ray Cooper. The album includes a song about his friend Marc Bolan, “I’m Going to Be a Teenage Idol.” From the booklet:

EJ always included a couple of non-singles in the shows, and Don’t Shoot Me… was often represented, sometimes with the Side 2 opener “Have Mercy On The Criminal” (with a great Paul Buckmaster arrangement). But in 1984, another of the album’s cuts was in the show, “Teacher, I Need You”:

Elton John was my first Rock and Roll Hero. It’s been a 53 year ride at this point. My 1st show (the actual first show of my life), August 17, 1976. My last, with many shows in between, was on his farewell tour at Giants Stadium, July 23, 2022, perfectly bookended with one of my sons coming with me to say goodbye.

That first show in ’76 show was unbelievable. He’d sold out Madison Square Garden for 7 nights, unheard of at the time. “Island Girl” had just been a big hit, from the album Rock Of The Westies, recorded west of the Rockies in at Caribou Studios. Davey Johnstone and Ray Cooper were still there but the lineup was changed and expanded. Kenny Passarelli from Mannassas was on bass, Roger Pope on drums and Caleb Quaye on guitar, both of whom had appeared on Tumbleweed Connection in ’71. Three backing singers and future soundtrack king James Newton Howard on additional keyboards. He opened with “Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” and closed 3+ hours later with “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.” I believe Billy Connolly opened the with a few tawdry acoustic songs, though I’ve never been able to confirm it was him. I don’t recall another show to this day that shook the Garden the way I remember it shaking on this night. Elton was a lunatic on stage in this era, jumping on and off the piano, running from one end to the other, throwing water in his roadie’s faces when they’d bring his piano bench back on stage after he’d thrown it off. It was like going to the circus.

Kiki Dee had a guest spot, and Divine was dancing around in the encore. Scroll down about 4 rows here at Getty Images to see a photo from that very night:
https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/elton-john-1976

I’m gonna let Brandi Carlile bring it home today. She idolizes Elton and they have a new duet album on the way, Who Believes in Angels? Brandi had a picture of Paul Buckmaster on her wall as a kid. He was the strings arranger Elton used on those early albums. Brandi met Paul before she hit it big. She was invited to watch a session he was conducting in Seattle. She was 16. The session wasn’t going well, Buckmaster was throwing tantrums and whatnot. He came in to the control room, he was stand-offish to her. She told him she’d be famous one day and he’d be arranging strings for her. She sang him some of Elton’s “Sixty Years On” which Paul had arranged in 1970. He choked up and told her one day he would in fact arrange strings for her. She called it. Buckmaster’s final work before earning his rainbow was on her breakthrough album By The Way, I Forgive You. She often covers Elton in her shows . “Madman Across The Water” was a steady in her sets for years. Then she added this one:

In honor of my 53 years on with Elton, Today’s Playlist is a SomethingIsHappening compendium of some of Elton’s best non-singles album tracks ’69 through ’80:

#EltonJohn #CrocodileRock# #Daniel #1973 #GrouchoMarx #Piano #BrandiCarlile #RockOfTheWesties #KikiDee #Divine #Truffaut #OscarWilde #ShootThePianoPlayer