There’s no real way to quantify the kind of pop songs that Elton John wrote in his prime.
His era of music was still considered the golden age of singer-songwriting, and while he may have adopted the outlandish outfits that came with the glam movement, nothing mattered more to him than sitting at the piano and playing the kind of tune that could melt someone’s heart. And that only came from him getting an education as to what all good songs are supposed to sound like.
When John was first listening to music, he knew that he wanted to hear everything he could get his hands on. The Beatles and Elvis Presley were great jumping off points for him but he wanted the chance to make an impact, and that involved getting a hold of any new artists that he found that he could learn a few chops from whenever the time called for it.
And with all that knowledge of pop history, it’s no big surprise why the roles have reversed in recent years. Despite wanting to create more music at every opportunity, John has taken on the role of the wise sage of modern pop music, usually lending his talents to wherever he’s needed. It could be laying down the perfect vocal for a Gorillaz track, having a brief cameo on a Queens of the Stone Age tune, or even going back to his roots of heartbreaking tunes with Brandi Carlile, but every step of the way he’s doing things the way he wants to.
Although John could bend his sound into a lot of different shapes, the one that never seemed to work for him was disco. He had arrived in the era when people like Donna Summer were coming up, and his larger-than-life persona would have fit right in, but if Victim of Love was anything to go by, it’s that John was starting to fall victim to some of his demons around that period of his life.
If there was anyone who could have made that switch, it was the Bee Gees. Despite being known for their leisure suits and medallions that they had on during every video for Saturday Night Fever, they already had perfect tunes like ‘To Love Somebody’ and ‘I Started a Joke’ under their belt to give them credibility to write dance bangers like ‘Tragedy’ and ‘Night Fever’.
John was already a fan for a long time, but he was reminded of the power behind their songs when ‘How Deep Is Love’ began picking up steam decades after its release, saying, “It’s a great kick to see a song stay silent for a while and then a new generation of people pick up on it and think it’s great. That happened with the Take That cover and will happen to The Bee Gees again and again. They have written some of the greatest pop songs ever.”
Granted, that could also come from John having his own experience with classic rock slowburns. No one in their right mind would have thought a song as long as ‘Tiny Dancer’ would have been one of his finest works, and yet after years away from the spotlight, it’s use in a movie like Almost Famous brought the entire tune back into the public consciousness and turned it into one of his greatest hits.
But even for all of the musical peaks that John reached throughout his career, he never wanted to be in competition with people like the Bee Gees. It was only about making the best music that he could, and there was no way that he was going to compete with the disco equivalent of The Beatles.
