"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is a song written by English musician

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and his lyricist

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...

. It was originally recorded by John for his eighth studio album, ''

Caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subsp ...

'' (1974), and was released as a single that peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and reached number 16 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top ...

. A version of the song recorded live as a duet between John and

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling music ...

reached number one in the UK in 1991 and in the US in 1992. The pair had performed the song together for the first time at

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

in July 1985.

Elton John version

Background

"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" was co-written by

and

during a ten-day period in January 1974 along with the other songs for John's ''

'' album. The song was released as the first single from the album in May 1974 in the United Kingdom, and on 10 June 1974 in the United States. The chorus of the song is supported with a horn arrangement by Del Newman, and features backing vocals by

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's ''de ...

and

Bruce Johnston Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is a member of the Beach Boys. Johnston also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Br ...

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by their ...

and

Toni Tennille Cathryn Antoinette "Toni" Tennille (born May 8, 1940) is an American singer-songwriter and keyboardist, best known as one-half of the 1970s duo Captain & Tennille with her former husband Daryl Dragon; their signature song is " Love Will Keep U ...

. The original backing vocalists were

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...

Danny Hutton Daniel Anthony Hutton (born September 10, 1942) is an Irish-American singer, best known as one of the three lead vocalists in the band Three Dog Night. Hutton was a songwriter and singer for Hanna-Barbera Records from 1965 to 1966. Hutton had a ...

Gerry Beckley Gerald Linford Beckley (born September 12, 1952), better known as Gerry Beckley, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician, and a founding member of the band America. Early life Beckley was born to an American father and an English mothe ...

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dr ...

and

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

but according to Bruce "everyone was afraid of one another and I couldn't get a performance out of anyone". Also on the song are percussion accents provided by

Ray Cooper Raymond Cooper (born 19 September 1947) is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John (as ...

and a

mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. ...

played by Dave Hentschel.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it "a gradually building track with pretty lyrics that is as brilliant in performance as it is in production" "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" charted on 1 June 1974 in the UK, reaching number 16 on the

. The song reached the top 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart after four weeks, peaking at number two for two weeks from 27 July behind

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

's "

Annie's Song "Annie's Song" (also known as "Annie's Song (You Fill Up My Senses)") is a song in time written and recorded by American singer-songwriter John Denver. The song was released as the lead single from his eighth studio album '' Back Home Again''. ...

". In the US, the single was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a Brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, s ...

on 6 September 1974 by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. In Canada, it reached number one, becoming his fifth chart topper in that country.

Track listings

* May 1974 US and UK 7" vinyl single # "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" # "Sick City" * February 1991 UK 7" vinyl single and cassette # "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" # "Song for Guy" * February 1991 UK 12" vinyl and CD single # "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" # "Song for Guy" # "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"

Personnel

– piano, organ, vocals *

Davey Johnstone David William Logan Johnstone (born 6 May 1951) is a British rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Career Johnstone's first work was with Noel Murphy in ...

– electric guitar, acoustic guitar *

Dee Murray Dee Murray (born David Murray Oates; 3 April 1946 – 15 January 1992) was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Biography Murray was born in Gillingham ...

– bass *

Nigel Olsson Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...

– drums *

– tambourine, bells *

David Hentschel David Hentschel (born 18 December 1952) is an English recording engineer, film score composer and music producer who engineered on George Harrison's '' All Things Must Pass'' and Elton John's ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'', as well as for such ...

– mellotron *

– backing vocals *

– backing vocals * Billy Hinsche – backing vocals *

– backing vocals * Vocals arranged by Bruce Johnston with help from The Captain * Horns arranged by Del Newman

Accolades

Grammy Awards

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1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, , rowspan="2", "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" , ,

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, , , - , Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male , , , -

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

1986–1987 live version

Elton John recorded a live version on 14 December 1986 that appears on the ''

Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra ''Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra'', released in 1987, is the twenty-eighth official album release for English musician Elton John. It is a live album recorded at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on 14 December 1986 with ...

'' album. In his 2019 autobiography, ''Me'', Elton claims that this performance is special because he thought it was the last time he was ever going to sing. The singer was going in to dangerous throat surgery a few days later. An edited version of this same recording was released as a single in 1987 and also appears in the '' To Be Continued...'' box set.

1990 MTV Unplugged

On 17 May 1990, Elton John recorded a performance on

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

at the Chelsea Studios in New York City. An acoustic version of the song was included as a track on '' The Unplugged Collection, Volume One.''

George Michael and Elton John version

Background

In 1991, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" was covered in a live version as a duet by

and Elton John. The pair had first performed the song at the

concert in 1985 (with Michael singing and John playing, featuring backup vocals by

Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more ...

partner

Andrew Ridgeley Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham!. Early life Ridgeley was born in Windlesham, Surrey, England, to parent ...

and

Kiki Dee Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records. Dee is best known for ...

). Six years later, George Michael's Cover to Cover tour regularly included the song, and for the final show at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

, London on 23 March 1991, Michael brought out John as a surprise guest to sing it with him.

Reception

Released as a single later that year, the song reached number one on both sides of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe a ...

, spending two weeks at number one on the

in December 1991 and one week on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart dated 1 February 1992. The duet also spent two weeks at number one on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

chart. This version of the song was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. It appears on John's ''

Love Songs A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order. ...

'' and '' Greatest Hits 1970–2002'' compilations, as well as his 1993 '' Duets'' album. The proceeds from the single were divided among 10 charities for children, AIDS and education.

Music video

The footage used for the single's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

(directed by

Andy Morahan Andrew Douglas Morahan (born 11 August 1958) is a British commercial, film and music video director. He is the son of director Christopher Morahan and the half-brother of actress Hattie Morahan. Married to Joanna Lewis, he has two children. V ...

) was taken from a "live" concert in Chicago with 70,000 fans. "The video was actually shot over several days," confirms Michael Pagnotta, George's publicist. "It was shot in an airline hangar in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, wh ...

where George had been rehearsing; Elton came in for a night and they ran through the song a couple of times. Then the song was filmed in its entirety live in Chicago in the middle of October as part of that Cover to Cover tour, and when Elton came out from the wings, that place went crazy."

Track listings

* US and UK 7" vinyl and cassette single # "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" # " I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)" * US and UK 12" vinyl single # "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" # "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)" # "

Last Christmas "Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, originally released in December 1984 on CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side on Epic Records with " Everything She Wants" in the UK. Described as a "high watermark of mid-80s ...

" * UK and Europe compact disc single (Epic 657656) # "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" # "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)" # " If You Were My Woman" # "

Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

" * US compact disc single (Columbia 44K-74240) # "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" # "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)" # "

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

" (Back to Reality Mix) # "If You Were My Woman" All b-sides and additional tracks were performed solo by George Michael, except Last Christmas which is performed by Michael's duo Wham!
The live version of "I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever)" had previously been issued as the lead track on a free promotional cassette given away at Michael's Wembley Arena gigs in March 1991. Therefore, it is likely to have been recorded at a venue earlier in the tour.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Other notable versions

* Jazz singer

Oleta Adams Oleta Adams (born May 4, 1953) is an American singer and pianist. She found limited success during the early 1980s, before gaining fame via her contributions to Tears for Fears's international chart-topping album '' The Seeds of Love'' (1989). H ...

recorded a cover version for the 1991 tribute album '' Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin''. It was released as a single and peaked at number 33 in the UK and at number 32 in the Netherlands.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me 1970s ballads 1974 singles 1974 songs 1991 singles 1992 singles The Beach Boys songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Columbia Records singles David Archuleta songs DJM Records singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Elton John songs Epic Records singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles George Michael songs MCA Records singles Music videos directed by Andy Morahan Number-one singles in Belgium Number-one singles in Greece Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Portugal Number-one singles in Switzerland Phonogram Records singles The Rocket Record Company singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Gus Dudgeon Song recordings produced by George Michael Songs with lyrics by Bernie Taupin Songs with music by Elton John UK Singles Chart number-one singles Male vocal duets