Daniel (song)

"Daniel"
Single by Elton John
from the album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player
B-side	"Skyline Pigeon"
Released	26 March 1973
Format	Vinyl record (7")
Recorded	June 1972
Genre	Soft rock
Length	3:54
Label	MCA (US) DJM (UK)
Writer(s)	Elton John, Bernie Taupin
Producer(s)	Gus Dudgeon
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Elton John singles chronology
"Crocodile Rock" (1972) "Daniel" (1973) "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" (1973)

"Daniel" is a major hit song and ballad by Elton John. It appeared on the 1973 album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player. It was written by John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin. In the United Kingdom, the song reached no. 4 in the official chart.^[1] In the USA the song reached No. 2 on the pop charts (only held from number one by "My Love" by Paul McCartney & Wings) and No. 1 on the adult contemporary charts^[2] for two weeks in the spring of 1973. In the United States, it was certified Gold on 13 September 1995 by the RIAA. In Canada, it became his second No. 1 single, following "Crocodile Rock" earlier in the year, holding the position for two weeks in the RPM 100 national singles chart.^[3] Writers John and Taupin received the 1973 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.^[4]

Donatella Versace named her son Daniel Versace after this song.^[5]

Composition

Bernie Taupin wrote "Daniel" after reading an article in either Time or Newsweek about a Vietnam War veteran who had been wounded, and wanted to get away from the attention he was receiving when he went back home.^[6] A verse in the original draft was cut from the final version, which has led to some speculation on the contents.^[7]

"'Daniel' had been the most misinterpreted song that we'd ever written," explained Taupin, in the Two Rooms tribute project. "The story was about a guy that went back to a small town in Texas, returning from the Vietnam War. They'd lauded him when he came home and treated him like a hero. But, he just wanted to go home, go back to the farm, and try to get back to the life that he'd led before. I wanted to write something that was sympathetic to the people that came home."

Personnel

• Elton John – Fender Rhodes electric piano, "flute" Mellotron, vocals
• Davey Johnstone – acoustic guitar, banjo
• Dee Murray – bass
• Nigel Olsson – drums, maracas
• Ken Scott – ARP synthesizer

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts Chart (1973) Peak position Canadian RPM 100 Top Singles[3] 1 Dutch Top 40[8] 14 GfK Dutch Charts Singles Top 100[9] 15 German Singles Chart[10] 27 Irish Singles Chart[11] 4 New Zealand Singles Chart[12] 2 Norwegian Singles Chart[13] 8 South African Singles Chart[14] 6 Swiss Singles Chart[15] 5 UK Singles Chart[1] 4 US Billboard Hot 100[2] 2 US Billboard Easy Listening[2] 1 US Cash Box Top 100[16] 2 Zimbabwe Singles Chart[17] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1973) Rank Australia 55 Canada 19 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [18] 48 U.S. Cash Box [19] 44

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Year	Recipient/Nominated work	Award	Result
1974	"Daniel"	Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male[20]	Nominated

Covers

"Daniel" was covered on the 1991 album Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin by Wilson Phillips. It reached number seven on the US Adult Contemporary chart as an album cut.^[21]

"Daniel" was covered on the 2005 album The Brave and the Bold by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & Tortoise.

See also

• List of RPM number-one singles of 1973 (Canada)
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1973 (U.S.)

References

1. "Chart Stats - Elton John - Daniel". Retrieved 28 January 2009.
2. "allmusic - Elton John - Billboard singles". Retrieved 28 January 2009.
3. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
4. Lister, David, Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion, The Independent (London), 28 May 1994
5. http://www.getnetworth.com/tag/donatella-versace-daniel-versace/
6. Joseph J. Foy (5 February 2015). American Politics Through Popular Culture. University Press of Kentucky. p. 203.
7. "Bernie Taupin Interview". Billboard: 14. 4 October 1997.
8. "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 9, 1973". Retrieved 28 January 2009.
9. "dutchcharts.nl - Elton John - Daniel". Retrieved 28 January 2009.
10. "charts-surfer.de search results". Retrieved 28 January 2009.
11. "irishcharts.ie search results". Retrieved 28 January 2009.
12. "Flavour of New Zealand - search listener". flavourofnz.co.nz.
13. "norwegiancharts.com - Elton John - Daniel". Retrieved 28 January 2009.
14. ""Daniel" on the South African Singles Chart". Springbok Radio. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
15. "Elton John - Daniel - hitparade.ch". Retrieved 28 January 2009.
16. http://50.6.195.142/archives/70s_files/19730616.html
17. • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
18. http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1973.htm
19. http://50.6.195.142/archives/70s_files/1973YESP.html
20. "Grammy Awards: Best Pop Vocal Performance - Male". rockonthenet.com. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
21. "allmusic - Wilson Phillips - Billboard singles". Retrieved 28 January 2009.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics