One of most hated songs is a classic with fans – but he says he will “never sing it again”.
The Your Song hitmaker has a few tracks in his repertoire that he regrets ever writing. One, in fact, was written “as a joke”.
That track is Crocodile Rock, which Elton confessed he will “throw a party” when he never has to sing it again. Speaking on the Deeney Talks podcast, Elton told Watford footballer Troy Deeney: “The last time I have to sing Crocodile Rock I will probably throw a party. It was written as a kind of a joke, like a pastiche.
“Who am I to say, ‘I am not going to play it?’ he said. “Because I play to amuse people and to entertain people. But I have to say when the last show is done at the end of the tour I will never, ever sing that song again.”
Even the song’s co-writer Bernie Taupin admitted he isn’t a fan of the song. He told Esquire: “Crocodile Rock is a strange dichotomy because I don’t mind having created it, but it’s not something I would listen to.”
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Elton John has vowed never to sing one track again (Image: Getty)
The song accidentally became Elton’s first number one single in the US, and stayed in the top spot for three consecutive weeks. It also topped the Canadian charts for four weeks.
It was originally inspired by Elton’s discovery of Daddy Cool’s single Eagle Rock.
Elton hates Crocodile Rock (Image: Getty)
The track was controversial enough to inspire a lawsuit in the US District Court of Los Angeles, with Speedy Gonzales composer Buddy Kaye alleging that the writers incorporated chords from his track to create a falsetto tone in Crocodile Rock.
A settlement was reached outside of court and the case was eventually dismissed.
Elton said: “I wanted it to be a record about all the things I grew up with. Of course it’s a rip-off, it’s derivative in every sense of the word.”