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A Single Man (album)

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"Return to Paradise (song)" redirects here. For other songs, see Return to Paradise § Music.

A Single Man
Studio album by
Elton John
Released16 October 1978[1]
RecordedJanuary – September 1978
Studio
  • The Mill (Cookham, Berkshire)
GenreRock, pop, disco
Length48:46
LabelMCA (US)
Rocket (UK)
Producer
  • Clive Franks
  • Elton John
Elton John chronology
Greatest Hits Volume II
(1977) 		A Single Man
(1978) 		The Thom Bell Sessions
(1979)
Singles from A Single Man
  1. "Part-Time Love"
    Released: 13 October 1978[2]
  2. "Song for Guy"
    Released: 1 December 1978[3]
  3. "Return to Paradise"
    Released: February 1979 (EU)

A Single Man is the twelfth studio album by English musician Elton John. Released in 1978, it is the first album for which Gary Osborne replaced Bernie Taupin as lyricist. It is also the first of two (the second being Victim of Love) John albums that, on the original cut, have no tracks co-written by Taupin.

Production

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A Single Man is the first of Elton John's albums to not include work by lyricist Bernie Taupin, and the first since his debut Empty Sky without producer Gus Dudgeon. The returning members of his band are percussionist Ray Cooper and guitarist Davey Johnstone; the latter played on only one song on the album. Paul Buckmaster would not appear on another Elton John album until Made in England. Unlike previous compositions in which lyrics came first, John started writing melodies at a piano, and an album unintentionally came about from this. This is also John's first album on which he sings in a lower register. "Song for Guy" was written as a tribute to Guy Burchett, a young messenger employed by John's record label Rocket Records, who was killed in a motorcycle accident.

The staff and players of Watford Football Club, of which John was chairman at the time, provide backing vocals on "Big Dipper" and "Georgia". Also featured on these tracks are the backing vocals of the female staff from Rocket Records, credited as 'The South Audley Street Girls' Choir'.

The photo for the front cover was taken in the Long Walk, which is part of Windsor Great Park in Berkshire. The inside cover shows John in a Jaguar XK140 FHC. John stopped wearing his trademark glasses in public for a period during the late 1970s, and the album photo reflects this.

Release

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The album was released on 16 October 1978 by MCA in America, and by Rocket in the UK. Singles from the album were "Part-Time Love", October 1978; "Song for Guy", December 1978; and "Return to Paradise", February 1979. "Song for Guy" was a near-global success, charting high everywhere except the US and Canada, where John's label, MCA Records, initially refused to release it, though the single was eventually released there in March 1979.

A Single Man was John's first album ever to be officially released in the former USSR, though his previous releases had been smuggled into the country in various forms. It was released following the success of his A Single Man in Concert shows in Moscow and Leningrad, though it differed in two ways from its release elsewhere. Firstly, the album was re-titled Poyot Elton John ["Elton John sings" in Russian]. Secondly, both "Big Dipper" and "Part-Time Love" were removed, due to the subject matter of the songs. Curiously, John had performed "Part-Time Love" at the USSR shows without objection from Soviet officials.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Christgau's Record GuideC[5]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
Rolling Stone(not rated)[7]

In the US, A Single Man was certified gold in October 1978 and platinum in November of the same year by the RIAA. As with many of John's releases of the late 1970s and the 1980s, it received generally mixed reviews from critics.

Later releases

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The 1998 reissue has five bonus tracks, the first two being the 1978 flop single "Ego" and its B-side "Flinstone Boy". The next two tracks are the B-sides of "Part-Time Love" and "Song for Guy" ("I Cry at Night" and "Lovesick" respectively), and the last track, "Strangers", originally B-side of his 1979 disco-album title track, "Victim of Love". Some releases of his 1980 album, 21 at 33, also have "Strangers" as a bonus track.

Promotion and live performances

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At the time of release, John performed some songs from the album on shows such as Bruce Forsyth's Big Night (performing "Part-Time Love"), Countdown (miming "Georgia" and "Madness"), The Old Grey Whistle Test (performing "Shooting Star" and "Song for Guy"), The Morecambe & Wise Show (performing "Shine on Through"), Parkinson (performing "Song for Guy"), Rockpop (miming "Return to Paradise" and "Part-Time Love") and Top of the Pops (miming "Part-Time Love" and performing "Song for Guy"). He performed two solo sets: one for MCA personnel at the Century Plaza Hotel on 14 October 1978 (performing "Shine on Through", "Return to Paradise" and "Song for Guy") and the other at a RTL studio on 20 October 1978 (performing "Part-Time Love", "Shooting Star" and "Song for Guy"). John's tour in 1979 included songs from the album ("Part-Time Love" and "Song for Guy").

Since that period, songs other than "Song for Guy" have not been performed.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Elton John and Gary Osborne, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Shine on Through"3:45
2."Return to Paradise"4:15
3."I Don't Care"4:23
4."Big Dipper"4:04
5."It Ain't Gonna Be Easy"8:27
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Part-Time Love"3:16
2."Georgia"4:50
3."Shooting Star"2:44
4."Madness"5:53
5."Reverie" (John)0:53
6."Song for Guy" (John)6:35
Total length:48:46
  • Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–11 on CD reissues.
Bonus tracks (1998 Mercury reissue)
No.TitleLength
12."Ego" (John, Bernie Taupin)4:00
13."Flinstone Boy" (John)4:13
14."I Cry at Night" (John, Taupin)3:16
15."Lovesick" (John, Taupin)3:59
16."Strangers"4:46
Total length:69:00

Personnel

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Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.

Musicians

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Production

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  • Producers – Clive Franks and Elton John
  • Supervising producer – Mike Gill
  • Engineers – Phil Dunne, Stuart Epps, Clive Franks and Peter Mew
  • Mixing – Phil Dunne, Stuart Epps and Clive Franks
  • Mastered by Ian Cooper at Utopia Studios (London, UK)
  • Digital remastering – Gus Dudgeon
  • Coordination – David Croker and Alex Foster
  • Sleeve design – David Costa
  • Graphic design – Mike Storey
  • Photography – Terry O'Neill
  • Liner editor – John Tobler
  • Liner notes – Chris White

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[24] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[25] Gold 100,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[26] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[27] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[29] Platinum 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Elton John official timeline".
  2. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 70.
  3. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 52.
  4. ^ A Single Man at AllMusic
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: J". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 27 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "John, Elton". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. p. 2,003. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  7. ^ "A Single Man – Album Review". Rolling Stone. 25 January 1979. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  8. ^ a b c Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0071a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Elton John – A Single Man" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Elton John – A Single Man" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 25 March 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Elton John".
  13. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  14. ^ "Charts.nz – Elton John – A Single Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Elton John – A Single Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  16. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Elton John – A Single Man". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Elton John Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  20. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0069". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1979 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Hit Parade Italia – Gli album più venduti del 1979" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  23. ^ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  24. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Elton John – Single Man". Music Canada.
  25. ^ "French album certifications – Elton John – A Single Man" (in French). InfoDisc. Select ELTON JOHN and click OK. 
  26. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Elton John – Single Man" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Single Man in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  27. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Elton John – A Single Man". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  28. ^ "British album certifications – Elton John – Single Man". British Phonographic Industry.
  29. ^ "American album certifications – Elton John – Single Man". Recording Industry Association of America.
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