Song · Elton John
“Philadelphia Freedom” by Elton John
From the album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975)
“Philadelphia Freedom” by Elton John appears on 11 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 1997 and 2026. It was first released in 1975 on the album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. Its best result is #60 on the WMGK Philly 500 (2023). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #7,105 indie & aaa song of all time.
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"Philadelphia Freedom" came out as a single in 1975, credited to the Elton John Band, and it was Elton and Bernie Taupin doing a favor for a friend: tennis star Billie Jean King, who played for the Philadelphia Freedoms. What they gave her was a big, strutting slice of Philly-flavored pop soul, with Gene Page's orchestral arrangement pumping in flutes, horns and strings and Gus Dudgeon producing.
It went to number one in the US, the fourth of six chart-toppers Elton racked up there, and in Canada it was his eighth number one on the RPM chart.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 751 | 102.3 WBAB | WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) | 1023 |
| 2022 | 542 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
| 2022 | 89 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2022) | 500 |
| 2023 | 60 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2023) | 500 |
| 2023 | 886 | 101.5 WPDH | WPDH Top 1015 (2023) | 1015 |
| 2023 | 733 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2023 | 134 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places | 800 |
| 2024 | 90 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2024) | 500 |
| 2024 | 922 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) | 1043 |
| 2025 | 330 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2025) | 500 |
| 2026 | 160 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2026) | 500 |
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