“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John

"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" gives Elton John's 1973 album its name, and it's the gentle, gorgeous eye of the storm. Elton wrote the melody, Bernie Taupin wrote the words, and the road in the title runs straight out of The Wizard of Oz. Elton's piano rolls along unhurried, his voice leaps up into a high, aching register on the chorus, and his band, Davey Johnstone on guitar, Dee Murray on bass and Nigel Olsson on drums, fill in the harmonies behind him. Gus Dudgeon produced, with David Hentschel at the desk.

Critics have been lining up to praise it ever since, and some count it among the finest songs he ever cut. Rolling Stone placed it at No. 390 on its list of the 500 greatest songs in 2010, and in America it has gone gold, then platinum, then double platinum.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.