Song · Elton John
“Burn Down the Mission” by Elton John
From the album Tumbleweed Connection (1970)
“Burn Down the Mission” by Elton John appears on 9 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1991 and 2022. It was first released in 1970 on the album Tumbleweed Connection. Its best result is #460 on the WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991).
Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote "Burn Down the Mission" for Tumbleweed Connection, his third album, cut at Trident Studios in London in March 1970 and in British shops that October, with America getting it in January 1971. The whole record is a concept piece soaked in country-and-western and Americana themes.
Elton sings and plays piano, Herbie Flowers plays bass guitar with Chris Laurence on double bass, Brian Dee adds organ, Mike Egan and Les Thatcher play acoustic guitars, and Barry Morgan and Robin Jones handle the percussion, Jones on congas and tambourine. Gus Dudgeon produced and Robin Geoffrey Cable engineered. The album peaked at number two in the UK and five in the US, and in 2012 Rolling Stone ranked it 458th among the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 460 | WNEW-FM | WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) | 500 |
| 1997 | 663 | 102.3 WBAB | WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) | 1023 |
| 2002 | 633 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) | 923 |
| 2004 | 632 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) | 923 |
| 2011 | 1080 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) | 1100 |
| 2012 | 1153 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) | 1200 |
| 2013 | 995 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) | 1000 |
| 2014 | 899 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2022 | 747 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
Also listed as: Burn Down The Mission.
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