Best Elton John Single
Since at least March 1968, the world has been gifted with original music by Reginald Dwight, the artist better known as Elton John. From the 60s up through the 2020s, Mr. John would go on to have one of the most successful music careers in pop history, spanning 31 studio albums, 10 soundtracks, 5 live albums, 16 compilation albums, and a slew of awards and accolades. Now that Elton has recently retired from live performing, the Great Pop Culture Debate wants to look back at his inimitable songbook and attempt to determine the Best Elton John Single of all time. We consider: “Your Song,” “Honky Cat,” “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me,” “The Bitch is Back,” “Crocodile Rock,” “I’m Still Standing,” “Rocket Man,” “Philadelphia Freedom,” “Tiny Dancer,” “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues,” “Candle in the Wind,” “Bennie and the Jets,” and more.
Join host Eric Rezsnyak, GPCD panelists Derek Mekita and Kate Racculia, and extra-special guest John Higgins, Feature Writer at EltonJohn.com and Sir Elton’s personal archivist, as they discuss 16 of the Rocket Man’s most beloved songs, narrowing them down until they make their final decision!
Want to play along at home? Download the listener bracket here and see if your picks match up with ours!
To listen to Round 1, showing how we got to the Sweet 16 down from the Top 32, become a Patreon supporter of the podcast today to access the exclusive Part 1 episode.
Round 2 Match-Ups:
Not a Patreon subscriber? Here’s a quick rundown of all the decisions we made in Round 1.
Match-Up 1: "Your Song” (1) vs. “Honky Cat” (5)
Match-Up 2: “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (3) vs. “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (2)
Match-Up 3: “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” (1) vs. “The Bitch Is Back” (4)
Match-Up 4: “Crocodile Rock” (3) vs. “I’m Still Standing” (2)
Match-Up 5: “Rocket Man” (1) vs. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (4)
Match-Up 6: “Philadelphia Freedom” (3) vs. “Tiny Dancer” (2)
Match-Up 7: “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” (1) vs. “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” (4)
Match-Up 8: “Candle in the Wind” (3) vs. “Bennie and the Jets” (2)
NOTE: John Higgins, our guest panelist for this episode and Feature Writer at EltonJohn.com, has shared some links detailing information he shared in the episode. We strongly encourage you to read through them:
“Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only the Piano Player” (information on the lost verse from “Daniel”)
And should you need it, here's a playlist with all Top 32 songs discussed in this episode, as well as a few bonus songs put forward by the panelists:
Want to play along at home?
Download the Listener Bracket and see if your picks match up with ours!
Sign up for our weekly newsletter!
Subscribe to find out what’s new in pop culture each week right in your inbox!
Vote in more pop culture polls!
Check out our Open Polls. Your votes determine our future debates!
Then, vote in our Future Topic Polls to have a say in what episodes we tackle next.
EPISODE CREDITS
Host: Eric Rezsnyak
Panel: Derek Mekita, Kate Racculia
Special Guest: John Higgins
Producer: Curtis Creekmore
Editors: Eric Rezsnyak, John Higgins
