Elton John by Elton John
Elton John is the second album by English singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1970. However, because it was his first album released in America, many people there assumed it was his first album, as Empty Sky was not released in the US until 1975. Elton John includes his breakthrough hit, "Your Song", and helped to establish his career during what was considered the "singer-songwriter" era of popular music. In the US, it was certified gold on 17 February 1971 by the RIAA. In the same year, it was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In 2003, the album was ranked #468 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. This was the first of many Elton John albums produced by Gus Dudgeon. On 27 November 2012, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as an album cited as exhibiting "qualitative or historical significance".
Elton John's eponymous second record isn't just packed with the kinds of songs that would define the singer—they'd also help define the burgeoning singer/songwriter era of pop music. John and his co-writer Bernie Taupin touch the uplifting “Border Song” with gospel, imbue the haunting ballad “First Episode at Hienton” with an eerie theremin (which adds to the song’s foreboding narrative before lush string arrangements pour in) and make one of the decade's most memorable tunes with the pensive, piano-based opener “Your Song”. It’s a winner from start to finish.
