Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting – Elton John | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#12); 1973
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
By mid-1973 Elton John’s single releases to date – which included the gentle balladry of Your Song and Daniel, the funky-lite sound of Honky Cat, and the pop nostalgia of Crocodile Rock – placed him solidly in the gentle singer/songwriter camp.
Therefore, when he unleashed the hard-rockin’ Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting as the lead-off single from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, fans were stunned.
Bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson also struggled initially with the decidedly non mellow demands of Saturday Night’s Alright, so Elton abandoned his piano during recording and sang standing up in order to help them get in the groove.
They did and Top 40 fans followed suit as the single exploded onto the airwaves two months ahead of the album, and kicked Elton’s sales into high gear.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Gus Dudgeon
Lyrics Written by:
- Elton John
- Bernie Taupin
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).