Number 1 With A Bullet: Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock”
Elton John - "Crocodile Rock" (MCA, 1973)
“I never wanted to [be a performer] in the first place. I only wanted to be a songwriter.”
So said Elton John in a 1976 interview with Rolling Stone, three years after he scored his first #1 hit with “Crocodile Rock.”
About “Crocodile Rock,” Elton said: “I always wanted to write one song, a nostalgia song, a rock and roll song which captured the right sounds.”
“‘Crocodile Rock’ is just a combination of so many songs, really. ‘Little Darling,’ ‘Oh Carol,’ some Beach Boys, they’re in there as well, I supposed. Eddie Cochran. It’s just a combination of songs.”
From wherever Elton John’s inspiration sprung, “Crocodile Rock” struck a chord with record buyers, spending three weeks at #1 in 1973. Not a bad start for an intrepid “non-performer,” the first of eight #1′s he’d have in his long career.
Me and Suzie had so much fun
Holding hands and skimming stones
Had an old gold Chevy, a place of my own
But the biggest kick I ever got
Check out more songs that were “#1 with a Bullet.
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