It’s strange this is the first song to appear in the Music Library Project by Elton John considering how many of his songs will feature here in the Music Library Project.
I listened to Elton more than any other music artist before I reached the age around 13. To say his early records did the rounds on our family turntable would be an understatement. All of my family adored his music.
Come to think of it he seemed the biggest superstar I can remember when I was growing up. One of my biggest regrets as far as my musical longings go is not seeing him in concert. I’m sad to read about him recently cutting short a New Zealand concert after falling ill with walking pneumonia. I have a lot more to say about Elton from a personal perspective, but I’ll leave that for other Elton music posts. I did write a review here of the recent bio-pic film Rocketman which I was pleasantly surprised by.
Now onto today’s track Blue Eyes. I doubt most of my readers will not be familiar with this tune. Elton John has always had a strong affiliation with Australia and that will be the subject for another time, but it’s interesting to note here that the video below for the song was filmed in Australia, on Sydney’s famous Bondi to Bronte walk. You know you have made it when you can put your white grand piano right in the middle of a turret overlooking the Tasman Sea!
It was a huge hit and spent 2 weeks at Number 1. According to wikipedia the song and video was in dedication to Elizabeth Taylor. When it pops onto my player I always love hearing it. It’s just a simple beautiful song although wiki claims harmonically, the song is complex, with the verses in the key of B flat, and the chorus in the key of D minor.
Not only have I included the original video below but also the sublime solo performance on Michael Parkinson’s show.
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Very pretty song…I haven’t used that expression in a while. It’s good to see other songs posted other than his early seventies music for a change. This is on the same album as Empty Garden…my favorite of the album.
‘Pretty’, yes I haven’t heard that used to describe a song in a while. I think the way Elton performs it on Michael Parkinson show seems to intensify the song because he goes fairly deep. I love a lot of Elton’s 80′ s stuff. Empty Garden – why doesn’t that ring a bell? I’ll have to look it up. I was a big fan of his ‘2 low for Zero record’….I lost track of a lot of his output after ‘Sleeping in the Past’.
Empty Garden was about Lennon…but that is not the reason I like it. It’s a really good song.
Yes he showed intensity in that performance.
I do like some of his 80s stuff. Sometimes it gets lost against his past.
I just listened to Empty Garden, yes of course I’ve heard it before but couldn’t remember the name. . Not high on my list of favourite Elton tracks, but it’s sweet. I think his 70s stuff is the ants pants, but I see what you mesn about his 80s period getting not enough due. He was a lucky buggar to have found Bernie Taupin. Fantastic lyricist.
His seventies stuff was just great. One after the other…it’s hard to compete with your past when it’s filled with Rocket Man, Levon, and Tiny Dancer.
Bernie was just as responsible as him…I agree.
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is easily in my top 10 favourite records. It’s one for the ages that record. Pure genius.
That one is one of my favorites by him…along with Tiny Dancer.
Matt…have you seen “Almost Famous?” That movie has Tiny Dancer on it…and its moving…really moving the way they presented it.
Excellent movie. Big fan of Cameron Crowe who wrote the forward on Dylan’s ‘Biograph’ bootleg. Tiny Dancer is wonderful.
That movie is one of my favorites of the last 20 years. Maybe it’s because its the time period I love best…but Crowe wrote it so well.
I have to see it again. It’s been too long. We’ll the story is semi autobiographical isn’t it?
Yes…he wrote for Rolling Stone when he was 16…he traveled with the Allman Brothers, Zeppelin,and The Eagles…combined the stories into one.
Wow, what an apprenticeship. Can you imagine?! He must had a prodigious talent for writing as a youngster.
The guys in the band had fun with him but…they really respected him also. Gregg Allman talked about how they liked him.
Elton nunca a defraudar a nadie con su música. Unas mejores que otra pero siempre en le pináculo de la gloria. Sigo disfrutando la noche con tu música.
Que chevere te gusta la musica tambien de Elton. No se por que no es mas popular en Sur America.
Creo que se debe más que nada a la promoción de su música. En Perú y Argentina las bandas inglesas pegaron una barbaridad.
Si entendi que Argentina es muy cosmopolitano con respeto de su disfrute de la musica extranjera. No lo sabia que Peru tambien les gustan las bandas ingleses. Que interesante.