''Breaking Hearts'' is the eighteenth studio album by English musician

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

. It was released on 18 June 1984 through John's

Rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

label in the UK and

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

in the US. Like the preceding '' Too Low for Zero'' (1983), the album was produced by Chris Thomas and features the classic

Elton John Band The Elton John Band is the band that backs singer, composer and pianist Elton John on both studio and live recordings. The band has gone through several lineup changes, but Nigel Olsson, Davey Johnstone, and Ray Cooper have been members (albeit ...

lineup of Davey Johnstone on guitar, Dee Murray on bass, and Nigel Olsson on drums. Upon release, ''Breaking Hearts'' was a commercial success, peaking at number two in the UK and number 20 in the US. " Sad Songs (Say So Much)" was released as the album's lead single and reached number five in the US and number seven in the UK. Four further singles were released, including " Passengers", which reached number five in the UK, as well as " Who Wears These Shoes?" and "In Neon", both of which reached the top 40 in the US.

Background

This album would be the last to feature all (core) members of the "classic

lineup" playing their instruments (although they would reunite to provide backing vocals on John's ''

Reg Strikes Back ''Reg Strikes Back'' is the twenty-first studio album by English musician Elton John, released in 1988. It was his self-proclaimed comeback album, and his own way of fighting back against bad press. The "Reg" in ''Reg Strikes Back'' refers to ...

'' album). It was the last of Elton John's studio albums to feature bass from Dee Murray, who would die in 1992 of skin cancer, and it was the last studio album until 2001's ''

Songs from the West Coast ''Songs from the West Coast'' is the twenty-sixth studio album by English musician Elton John, released worldwide on 1 October 2001. Background For this album, Elton John once again collaborated with long-time lyricist Bernie Taupin, marking ...

'' that would feature Nigel Olsson on drums. It was also the last recorded album in which John played both piano and keyboards in the studio by himself. ''Breaking Hearts'' was also the first album since '' Victim of Love'' to not feature a string or horn section on any track. This is one of only two albums with John's classic band to which (unofficial member)

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 ...

did not contribute at all, the other being 1973's ''

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player ''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player'' is the sixth studio album by English musician Elton John. Released on 26 January 1973 by DJM Records, it was the first of two studio albums he released in 1973 (the second was '' Goodbye Yellow Br ...

''. Shortly after the tour, the band line-up would change and

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...

, John's former producer, would produce the next two albums. In the US, it was certified gold in September 1984 and platinum in August 1998 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/o ...

. John has continued performing " Sad Songs (Say So Much)" as of 2023, as he included the song in his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour setlist. Apart from the 1984

Breaking Hearts Tour Breaking Hearts Tour was the North American leg of the Elton John Breaking Hearts Tour. The European leg was dubbed " European Express". The tour started on 17 August 1984, at Tempe, Arizona. It included five sold-out concerts in New York Cit ...

(both the European and the North American leg), no other songs from the album have been performed live except "Restless" and " Passengers", on the following 1985–1986 Ice on Fire World Tour (the latter song only performed on the UK leg).

Track listing

* Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–10 on CD reissues.

Personnel

Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.

Musicians

– lead and backing vocals, synthesizers (tracks 1–3, 5–7, 9, 10), pianos (tracks 3–5, 7–10),

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

(track 5),

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

(track 7),

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

(track 10) * Davey Johnstone – backing vocals (tracks 1–4, 6–10), electric guitar (tracks 1–3, 5, 7–9), acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 6–8, 10),

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

(track 9) * Dee Murray – bass guitar (tracks 1–3, 5–10), backing vocals (tracks 1–4, 6–10) * Nigel Olsson – drums (tracks 1–3, 5–10), backing vocals (tracks 1–4, 6–10) * Andrew Thompson – saxophone (track 5)

Production

* Chris Thomas – producer * Renate Blauel – recording * Tim Young – mastering (UK) *

Greg Fulginiti Gregory Fulginiti (born 1951) is an American recording and mastering engineer. He was nominated for the TEC Awards by '' Mix'' magazine six times, in 1985 and 1987–1991. Career Fulginiti grew up in Wildwood, New Jersey, and graduated from Wi ...

– mastering (US) * David Costa – art direction, design * Richard Young – photography * Patrick Jones – band photography *

Herb Ritts Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952 – December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on b ...

– Bernie Taupin photo

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control Elton John albums 1984 albums Albums produced by Chris Thomas (record producer) Geffen Records albums The Rocket Record Company albums Albums recorded at AIR Studios