Album · Elton John
Madman Across the Water by Elton John
Madman Across the Water is an album by Elton John, released in 1971. 3 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 158 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Tiny Dancer”, on 86 lists with a best position of #4.
Madman Across the Water, Elton John's fourth studio album, came out on 5 November 1971 on DJM and Uni, his third record in a single year, and it's the sound of a rising star stretching out. Gus Dudgeon produced, Bernie Taupin wrote the words, Elton wrote and played the music across nine tracks, and this time the arrangements go wide and dramatic, his first real step into progressive rock. Rick Wakeman of Yes drops in on Hammond organ for two songs.
"Levon" and "Tiny Dancer" were the singles, big, swelling piano ballads that take their sweet time getting to the chorus, and the brooding title track is the album at its most ominous. It went gold in America in February 1972 and kept on selling, reaching 3× platinum in December 2024, and a deluxe edition for its 50th anniversary in 2022 dug up 18 unreleased demos, outtakes and alternate takes.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Madman Across the Water on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiny Dancer#282 of all time | 86 | #4 | – | 1997–2026 | |
| 2 | Levon | 50 | #2 | – | 1991–2026 | |
| 3 | Madman Across The Water | 22 | #197 | – | 1997–2026 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.