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Songfacts:  You can leave comments about the song at the bottom of the page.

Carl Wilson and Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys sang backup. Elton was a big fan of The Beach Boys.

Toni Tennille and Daryl Dragon, who would later have several hits and their own TV show as The Captain & Tennille, performed on this. The idea was to have a huge chorus made up of semi-famous singers in the background. Dusty Springfield, as well as members of America and Three Dog Night recorded vocals for the song, but all the voices sounded terrible when mixed together so they just used Wilson, Johnston, and Tennille.

This was extremely difficult and frustrating to record. Elton was not satisfied with any of his vocal takes, and the producer Gus Dudgeon had fits trying to mix all the voices and instruments that went into this. In Philip Norman's book Sir Elton: The Definitive Biography, Dudgeon said, "When Elton recorded this track, he was in a filthy mood. On some takes, he'd scream it, on others he'd mumble it, or he'd just stand there, staring at the control room. Eventually, he flung off his headphones and said, "Okay, let's hear what we got." When Gus played it for him, Elton said, "That's a load of ******* crap. You can send it to Engelbert Humperdinck, and if he doesn't like it, you can give it to Lulu as a demo." (thanks, Jason - Madison, WI)

Elton claims he would not have attempted a song like this early in his career. He feels his voice has improved over the years, and by 1974, he had enough confidence and ability to sing with a very broad range.

This was released as a live duet with George Michael in 1991. That version was taken from a George Michael concert in London on March 25, 1991, which was Elton's 44th birthday. Elton appeared as a surprise guest at the show. The duet was a #1 hit in both the US and UK. (thanks, Dylan - Port Orange, FL)

The duet with Michael was the only #1 single in the rock era to be recorded outdoors. (thanks, Brad Wind - Miami, FL)

Roger Daltry of The Who sang this song in 1987. This version was used in the hit motion picture The Lost Boys. (thanks, Mike - santa barbara, CA)

The horns heard on the last refrain and at the outro to this song were played by the horn section from the band Tower of Power, who had a hit single in 1972 titled "You're Still A Young Man." (thanks, Sam - Lincoln, NE)

Oleta Adams recorded this for the album Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin. Other artists who covered the song include Joe Cocker, Obsession, and The Three Degrees. Various orchestras have also recorded the song, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Comments:

Further to the remarks attributed to Brad Wind, the George Michael and Elton John version was not the only UK No 1 recorded outdoors. The EP Five Live, which featured George Michael and the surviving members of Queen, was recorded at the Freddie Mercury memorial concert at Wembley Stadium in 1992, and topped the UK chart in May 1993.
- Colin, London, United Kingdom

This song has nothing to do with suicide, you're thinking of 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight'. I like most of Elton John's songs, but not this one. This song and the rest of the songs on the album 'Caribou' were written and recorded in too much of a rush, and the critics (and Gus Dudgeon, album producer, as far as that goes) were quick to notice the drop in overall quality from 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'.
- Liquid Len, Ottawa, Canada

OMG! I totally did not know that Toni Tennille and a couple of the Beach Boys did the back up! I just listened to it closer, and I can totally hear it now! That's so cool! I love songfacts!
- Mary, Phoenix, AZ

Variations of this song's title have more recently been used for Michael Jackson jokes!!
- fyodor, Denver, CO

I consider this song to be Elton's masterpiece and best of his recordings. He has his best voice here, though he reportedly wasn't satisfied with it. Also ironically it didn't go to number 1 in the US.
- Ivan, Dallas, TX

Roger Daltry does a good version of this.
- Johnny, Los Angeles, CA

One of Elton's greatest songs and recordings.
- Steve, Fenton, MO

This song appear at the end titles of The Lost Boys (Joel Schumacher, 1987). It's a movie about vampires...and you know, sun and vampires...
- Antonio, Brugge, Belgium

As Jason mentioned correctly, Elton was in a vicious mood at the time of recording this song, contrary to the fact that when Elton first wrote this song to Bernie's lyrics, he broke down and wept like a baby. It was typical for Elton to come up masterpiece songs like this while his personal life was falling apart from excesses of drugs, drink and a rock and roll lifestyle.
- michael, Kearny, NJ

Was written about a suicide attempt Elton made in his early career.
- Holly, Trenton, NJ

Geoff, if you read the facts properly, you'd have noticed this: "Released as a live duet with George Michael in 1991" - you see, the duet at the concert with George Michael came much, MUCH later. The songfacts are referring to the original recording.
- Aimee, Auckland, New Zealand

Coincidentally, despite Elton's lack of satisfaction regarding his vocals, he won his first performance Grammy for Male Vocalist of the Year (1974).
- John, Greeneville, TN

The song was not recorded outside. It was recorded during a George Michael concert at the Rosemont Horizon near Chicago. I was there. -Molly Kehr
- Geoff, Tucson, AZ