This is a fun and quirky number from 1970 that has become pretty legendary in Elton John's catalogue.  It was released as a single from his eponymous album with "Your Song" as the B-Side.  Interestingly enough, radio DJs around the US preferred "Your Song" and gave it the bulk of the spins on radio, and eventually with new shipments, the record company just inverted it to the A-Side with "Take Me to the Pilot" as the B-Side.  So, this never charted, but it's an upbeat rocker that has been a live staple for Elton for decades.  It features an innovative and prominent studio orchestral score, as it was part of a signature sound experiment that the label tried for him, starting with the 1970 album "Elton John", and I wrote about it in greater detail in an earlier post for a deep cut called "Sixty Years On", which you can read here.

"Take Me to the Pilot" is another one of these brilliant Elton songs that translates equally well to solo piano/vocal, a trio of piano/drums/bass, a full rock band with that rhythm section and guitars/organ/synthesizers/percussion, or a full symphony orchestra.  It just has a super catchy melody and chorus with a lyrical hook that you want to sing along with, and a truly infectious groove.  

However, by far the most amusing thing about this song for me is the complete nonsensical nature of the lyrics.  Nobody....not you, not me, not Elton, not even Bernie Taupin who wrote those lyrics, has any idea what they mean!  Taupin has blatantly admitted that he had no idea what he was writing, and it was just whatever sounded good at the time.  It's an abstract, impressionistic word salad, bordering on gibberish.  My favorite quote from Bernie Taupin about "Take Me to the Pilot" is, "At this point in my life, if someone could explain to me what that song means, that would be great!"

Two things stand out to me about this story.  First, it's a reminder that sometimes doing something random and weird can be just what the doctor ordered when it comes to creating art....you never know how much it might resonate with people.  Second, it shows the implicit trust Elton and Bernie have with each other, and how much they respect each others' respective roles in the writing partnership.  Elton had no damn clue what this song meant, but he didn't question the lyrics or force Bernie to rewrite a bunch of stuff.....he just said, "His job is to do this, and mine is to put a melody to it and record it."  That's what has allowed their partnership to thrive, flourish, and last for more than 50 years.

Enjoy my cover of this song from a livestream show I did on July 15, 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and then check out two amazing performances by Elton himself.  The first is at one of his iconic "solo" shows with just himself and Ray Cooper on percussion in 1994 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles.  The second is from 1986 in Sydney, Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and it's my favorite rendition of the song ever recorded....and I've heard them ALL!

If you'd like to explore my piano method more deeply, my best students use my video courses and join me for conversation and twice monthly Q&A Livestreams in my private community...you can find it all HERE. Thanks.

 

If the video doesn't show above, use THIS LINK to see it on YouTube

If the video doesn't show above, use THIS LINK to see it on YouTube

If the video doesn't show above, use THIS LINK to see it on YouTube