Runaway Train (Elton John and Eric Clapton song)
"Runaway Train" is a pop rock song recorded by the British rock-pop musicians Elton John and Eric Clapton.[1] A CD, cassette and 7" vinyl single from Elton John's album The One was released in July 1992 which was later also accompanied by a music video shot the same year.[2] It was also used in the Lethal Weapon 3 movie soundtrack.
"Runaway Train" | ||||
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Single by Elton John and Eric Clapton | ||||
from the album The One and Lethal Weapon 3 soundtrack | ||||
B-side | "Understanding Women (Extended Mix)" | |||
Released | 20 July 1992 | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 5:23 | |||
Label | MCA · Rocket | |||
Songwriter(s) | John · Taupin · Romo | |||
Producer(s) | Chris Thomas | |||
Elton John and Eric Clapton singles chronology | ||||
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Writing and recording
The music for the song was written by Elton John and Olle Romo while the lyrics were written by John's long-time collaborator Bernie Taupin.[3] For the recording of his instrumental part, John used the Roland RD-1000 digital piano. Eric Clapton sings a duet with John for this track. Clapton takes the main singing part and improvised a couple guitar solos while recording.[4] The song is in the key of G minor. For the studio recordings, Clapton used a capo on the third guitar fret, but never used it for live performances when John and Clapton went on tour in 1992.[5]
Music video and release
The song was released in July 1992 as the third single of Elton John's studio album The One and from the Lethal Weapon 3 soundtrack. Then, it was available for several European countries.[6] A music video to accompany the single was released in late 1992. It consists of video snippets while Clapton and John are performing the song during the 1992 Eric Clapton World Tour in London's Wembley Stadium.[7] it also peaked on the United States mainstream rock billboard charts at #10
Personnel
Taken from the single release liner notes.[3]
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Track listings
- CD Maxi single[8]
- "Runaway Train" – 5:23
- "Aretha & Elton - Through The Storm" – 4:21
- "George Michael & Elton John - Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" – 5:49
- "Elton John & Cliff Richard - Slow Rivers" – 3:10
- 7" vinyl single[8]
- "Runaway Train" – 5:23
- "Elton John - Understanding Women" – 9:31
Chart performance
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Netherlands (NVPI)[24] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Norway (IFPI Norway)[17] | Gold | |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
References
- "Runaway Train – Elton John | Listen, Appearances, Song Review | AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "Elton John & Eric Clapton – Runaway Train – hitparade.ch". Schweizer Hitparade (in German). Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "Elton John Lyrics: Runaway Train". Eltonography.com. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "Elton John – Runaway Train (duet with Eric Clapton) Lyrics". LetsSingIt.com. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "1992 Eric Clapton Tour and Set List Archive | Where's Eric!". Where's Eric!. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- Werner, Lutz (2004). MCA Records Publishing. New York City: Wonderful Books.
- "Runaway Train of Elton John in video on Jukebox". Jukebo.de. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "Elton John & Eric Clapton – Runaway Train – austriancharts.at". Ö3 Austria Top 40 (in German). Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- "Austriancharts.at – Elton John & Eric Clapton – Runaway Train" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "Ultratop.be – Elton John & Eric Clapton – Runaway Train" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "InfoDisc : Tout les Titres par Artiste > "Elton JOHN & Eric CLAPTON" > "OK" > "Runway Train" (in French). InfoDisc.fr. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "Musicline.de – Elton John & Eric Clapton Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "M&D: Classifiche" (in Italian). Musica e dischi. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "Nederlandse Top 40 – Elton John & Eric Clapton" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Elton John & Eric Clapton – Runaway Train" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- Gayvin, James (1993). Top 30 Singles of 1992 – VG-lista. Dublin: Limited Publishing.
- "Swisscharts.com – Elton John & Eric Clapton – Runaway Train". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "Elton John – Awards – AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "Hits 1992 Österreich | Single-Charts" (in German). Chartsurfer.de. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "Hit Parade Italia – Top Annuali Single: 1992". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "Hits 1992 Schweiz | Single-Charts" (in German). Chartsurfer.de. Retrieved 2015-07-31.
- "Dutch single certifications – Eric Clapton & Elton John – Runaway Train" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)