Bubbling Under: “Song for Guy” by Elton John

Detail from the UK Single Release of "Song for Guy"

Each week, Billboard magazine’s “Bubbling Under” chart features singles that rank below its famous Hot 100 chart. Some of rock’s most noteworthy performers have appeared on this chart, and each weekend we spotlight one of them.

It’s true that Elton John had a golden touch in the 1970s, with a long string of smash singles and albums. But in the spring of 1979, his new single missed the Hot 100 altogether.

Elton’s 1978 album A Single Man was his first without longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin — and it became his first release of all-new material ever to miss the Billboard top 10 entirely. The single “Part Time Love” reached #22, “Song for Guy,” which came out in the early spring of 1979, was a smash in the UK and became a staple of Elton’s live shows in Europe. But in the United States, it reached only #110 on Billboard‘s Bubbling Under chart. “Song for Guy” likely bombed in the States because it’s mostly instrumental, and it was probably too peaceful and reflective to fit on American rock stations.

Elton says “Song for Guy” was inspired by thoughts of death. It got its name when he learned that a 17-year-old messenger who worked for his record label, Guy Burchett, died in a motorcycle accident on the day he wrote it. It’s lovely, if a bit lengthy. Toward the end, it becomes rather moving when Elton begins singing the words “life isn’t everything,” suggesting that there’s more to our existence than the part of it we spend here.

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