Song · Elton John
“Take Me To The Pilot” by Elton John
From the album Elton John (1970)
“Take Me To The Pilot” by Elton John appears on 11 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1997 and 2026. It was first released in 1970 on the album Elton John. Its best result is #218 on the KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026).
"Take Me to the Pilot" rolls off Elton John, the singer's self-titled second album from 1970, Elton's music hitched to a Bernie Taupin lyric. It was cut at Trident Studios in London that January, with Gus Dudgeon producing, Robin Geoffrey Cable engineering and Paul Buckmaster arranging, and Elton at the piano and out front on vocals.
Behind him Caleb Quaye takes the guitar solo, Alan Parker adds more guitar, Alan Weighall plays bass, Barry Morgan drums and Dennis "Ace" Lopez percussion, and six backing singers pile in: Madeline Bell, Tony Burrows, Roger Cook, Lesley Duncan, Kay Garner and Tony Hazzard. In America it went out that October as the A-side, with "Your Song" on the flip, but the disc jockeys turned it over, "Your Song" became his first hit, and "Pilot" ended up the B-side after all.
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 | 515 | 102.3 WBAB | WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) | 1023 |
| 2002 | 479 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) | 923 |
| 2004 | 482 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) | 923 |
| 2011 | 807 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) | 1100 |
| 2012 | 839 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) | 1200 |
| 2019 | 970 | 102.5 KZOK | KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 | 1025 |
| 2020 | 627 | 102.5 KZOK | KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) | 1025 |
| 2022 | 609 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
| 2022 | 687 | 102.5 KZOK | KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) | 1025 |
| 2025 | 646 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) | 1043 |
| 2026 | 218 | KSHE 95 | KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026) | 499 |
Also listed as: Take Me to the Pilot.
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