Songoftheday 2/25/18 - I can't light no more of your darkness, all my pictures seem to fade to black and white...
from the album Duets (Elton John, 1993)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 16
Today's song of the day is from a pairing of two of the biggest stars of pop music, (the late) George Michael and (Sir) Elton John, who came together in 1991 to revisit one of Elton's most cherished songs. George, whose critically hailed but commercially muted Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1 album, which nonetheless scored a #1 hit with "Praying For Time" as well as a top ten follow-up in "Freedom '90", saw the third single "Waiting For That Day" top out at #27. Meanwhile, as Elton was coming off his first British #1 solo hit with "Sacrifice" in 1990, recapped his career with his To Be Continued box set, which had a new song "You Gotta Love Someone" that just missed the American top-40 at #43. On George's Cover To Cover tour in 1991, he would include the Elton John classic "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me", and in the London date at Wembley Arena, he brought Elton out to sing as a duet, as they also did back in 1985 at Live Aid. The resulting live recording was released as a stand-alone single, eventually finding its way onto Elton's Duets album in 1993. The result, which had two at-the-time still closeted gay superstars singing on this overdramatic (in a good way) song still had fans going crazy, as is shown in the music video, shot in Chicago...
The George Michael/Elton John live remake of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" did one better than the original by topping the American pop chart in February of 1991. It also spent two weeks atop Billboard's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio format list. Internationally, the single, benefiting a number of charities, was just as popular, spending two weeks at #1 in the UK, as well as topping the lists in Canada, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland. It also hit the top ten in Austria (#2), Ireland (#2), Sweden (#2), Australia (#3), Germany (#4), and New Zealand (#4).
George and Elton were nominated for a Grammy Award in 1993 for this recording for Best Pop Vocal Duo/Group, losing out to Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson's "Beauty and the Beast". (Similarly, the original lost out on Grammys for Record of the Year to Olivia Newton-John's "I Honestly Love You" and Pop Male Vocal to Stevie Wonder's Fulfillingness' First Finale in 1975.) This would also be George Michael's final #1 pop hit in the U.S.
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The original release of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" from Elton's album Caribou in 1974 spent two weeks at #2 on the American pop chart, but in his native UK only managed to climb to #16...
Also in 1991, British soul/pop singer Oleta Adams ("Get Here"), covered "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" for Two Rooms, the Elton John tribute album, and climbed to #33 on the British singles chart...
Lastly, here's the original time George and Elton got together for Live Aid in 1985...
Up tomorrow: Legit rap star gets haunted.
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