It’s impossible to delve much into hidden gems, when the man has had hits with everything he’s released (okay, maybe not Leather Jackets, but still). We’ve picked out 40 – some obvious, and a few not so – tracks from his 50-year career, touched upon his early Seventies superstar phase, sifted through his wonky Eighties, sober Nineties and beyond. A man who is fanatical about his own chart facts and stats – and, looking back over some 350 million album sales and 100 million singles and downloads, there really is nothing for him to be ashamed of here. This is a man who sold 33 million copies of one single, which is also the biggest-selling since charts began.
He’s one of the most successful artists of all time, nudging only Elvis for the most US Top 40 entries, and second only to The Beatles on combined album sales. You could easily construct an entirely different list, and you’d still get the essence of Elton.
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Where to start with a Top 40 of Elton John? No less than 30 studio albums, four live albums, seven soundtracks, 133 official singles, another 17 where he’s a key turn, plus countless other appearances. From 1970 to 2016, here’s Classic Pop’s (chronological) list of the Top 40 essential Elton John songs…