Honky Cat

"Honky Cat" is a song composed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin. It was used as the opening track for John's fifth studio album, Honky Château, released in 1972.[3]

"Honky Cat"
Single by Elton John
from the album Honky Château
B-side"Slave"
Released31 July 1972
RecordedChâteau d'Hérouville, Hérouville, France, January 1972
Genre
Length5:13
LabelUni (USA), DJM (UK)
Songwriter(s)Elton John, Bernie Taupin
Elton John singles chronology
"Rocket Man"
(1972)		 "Honky Cat"
(1972)		 "Crocodile Rock"
(1972)

"Honky Cat" was also released as the A-side of John's thirteenth single.[3] The single reached No.  31 in the United Kingdom, and fared better in the United States, peaking at No.  8 on the Billboard Hot 100 just as John launched an American tour in September 1972.[4]

A live version of the song was released on the Here side of the Here and There live set in 1976 (and its expanded CD version in 1995), and a solo piano version appeared on the EltonJohn.com "Live in Madison Square Garden" Vol. 1 limited edition CD, recorded in October 1999.

Lee Ann Womack covered the song on the 2018 tribute album Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

Reception

In 2018, Dave Simpson of The Guardian ranked the song #48 on his list of the 50 greatest Elton John songs.[5] The following year, Justin Kirkland of Esquire ranked the song #27 on his list of the 30 best Elton John songs, calling it a "funky, horn-laden hit" and writing that "it's hard to compare the odd mix of electric piano and wheezing saxophone to any other single in Elton's songbook."[6] Winston Cook-Wilson of Spin called it John's "most underrated" single.[7]

Chart performance

Personnel
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References
  1. Woodstra, Christopher (2008). All Music Guide Required Listening: Classic Rock. Backbeat. p. 105. ISBN 978-0879309176.
  2. Pollock, Bruce (2005). Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 148. ISBN 978-0415970730.
  3. Mason, Stewart. "Honky Cat - Elton John". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  4. Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1991). Rock Movers and Shakers: An A-Z of People Who Made Rock Happen. Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0874366617.
  5. Simpson, Dave (13 September 2018). "Elton John's 50 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  6. Kirkland, Justin (29 May 2019). "The 30 Best Elton John Songs, Ranked". Esquire. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  7. Cook-Wilson, Winston (31 May 2019). "10 Essential Elton John Deep Cuts". Spin. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  8. Flavour of New Zealand, 22 January 1973
  9. Whitburn, Joel (1994). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990. Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-089-X.
  10. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles 9/30/72". Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  11. Whitburn, Joel (2000). Pop Annual 1955-1999. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 978-0898201420.


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