Honky Cat
| "Honky Cat" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of side-A labels of the US single | ||||
| Single by Elton John | ||||
| from the album Honky Château | ||||
| B-side | "Slave" | |||
| Released | 31 July 1972 | |||
| Recorded | 17 January 1972 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:12 | |||
| Label | Uni (USA), DJM (UK) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Gus Dudgeon | |||
| Elton John singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Honky Cat" on YouTube | ||||
"Honky Cat" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was used as the opening track for John's fifth studio album, Honky Château, released in 1972.[3]
"Honky Cat" was also released as the A-side of John's thirteenth single.[3] The single reached No. 31 in the United Kingdom, and fared better in the United States, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 just as John launched an American tour in September 1972.[4]
John has performed this song numerous times in the 50 years since its release.[5] A live version of the song was released on the Here side of the Here and There live set in 1976 (and its expanded CD version in 1995), and a solo piano version appeared on the EltonJohn.com Live in Madison Square Garden Vol. 1 limited edition CD, recorded in October 1999 during his 1999 solo tour.[6]
Reception
[edit]Record World said that the "sparkling mix and funky backbeat suit Elton's slidy vocal down to the ground."[7] Cash Box said "Faster than a speeding 'Rocket Man,' and more powerful for the rinky-tink fun of it all, this track from [John's] #1 LP should be his biggest ever."[8] Winston Cook-Wilson of Spin called it John's "most underrated" single.[9]
In 2018, Dave Simpson of The Guardian ranked the song No. 48 on his list of the 50 greatest Elton John songs.[10] The following year, Justin Kirkland of Esquire ranked the song No. 27 on his list of the 30 best Elton John songs, calling it a "funky, horn-laden hit" and writing that "it's hard to compare the odd mix of electric piano and wheezing saxophone to any other single in Elton's songbook."[11]
Covers
[edit]Lee Ann Womack covered the song on the 2018 tribute album Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.
Chart performance
[edit] | This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2018) |
Weekly charts[edit]
|
Year-end charts[edit]
|
Personnel
[edit]- Elton John – Fender Rhodes electric piano, acoustic piano, vocals
- Davey Johnstone – banjo
- Dee Murray – bass
- Nigel Olsson – drums
- Ivan Jullien – trumpet
- Jacques Bolognesi – trombone
- Jean-Louis Chautemps – saxophone
- Alain Hatot – saxophone
Production
[edit]- Gus Dudgeon – horn arranger, producer
- Ken Scott – engineer
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Woodstra, Chris (2008). All Music Guide Required Listening: Classic Rock. Backbeat. p. 105. ISBN 978-0879309176.
- ^ Pollock, Bruce (2005). Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 148. ISBN 978-0415970730.
- ^ a b Mason, Stewart. "Honky Cat – Elton John". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- ^ Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1991). Rock Movers and Shakers: An A-Z of People Who Made Rock Happen. Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0874366617.
- ^ "Honky Cat by Elton John Song Statistics | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ "Elton John – Live At Madison Square Garden (Volume 1)". Discogs. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 12 August 1972. p. 1. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ "Cash Box Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 5 August 1972. p. 14. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ Cook-Wilson, Winston (31 May 2019). "10 Essential Elton John Deep Cuts". Spin. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ^ Simpson, Dave (13 September 2018). "Elton John's 50 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ^ Kirkland, Justin (29 May 2019). "The 30 Best Elton John Songs, Ranked". Esquire. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ^ Flavour of New Zealand, 22 January 1973
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1994). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990. Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-089-X.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles 9/30/72". Retrieved 2 February 2015.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2000). Pop Annual 1955–1999. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 978-0898201420.
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