The bitch is back
| The bitch is back | |
|---|---|
| Elton John | |
| publication | 3rd September 1974 |
| length | 3:42 |
| Genre (s) | Hard rock , glam rock |
| text | Bernie Taupin |
| music | Elton John |
| album | Caribou |
The Bitch Is Back is a song by the British singer and composer Elton John , the lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin .
The song is about John himself. He said it was "Kind of my theme song" (Eng .: his recognition song). Probably because of this, Dexter Fletcher chose it for his biopic Rocketman as the first title that was used.
background
One day John was in a bad mood and irritable. He was annoyed in front of his copywriter Bernie Taupin about someone else when his then wife Maxine entered the room. She understood the situation straight away, nodded knowingly and mumbled to her husband, "Oh-oh. The bitch is back ”. Taupin liked the phrase relating to John and used it for the album that was in the works.
The title should also be the first single release from the album 'Caribou'. This decision in 1974 was not without risk. The term 'bitch' is mostly understood vulgarly in English, especially in slang. Many particularly American radio stations therefore refused to play the song and kept this spell upright when it became a hit. Some broadcasters even tried to remove the word 'bitch' through post-processing. However, since the word was used 42 times, the results were rather ridiculous.
In the studio version, Dusty Springfield can be heard as one of the accompanying voices and in a live version from Madison Square Garden during the North American Tour in 1974 John Lennon plays the tambourine , released on the live album Here and There (new edition 1995).
B side
On the back of the single is the title "Cold Highway". The title was part of the re-releases of the album 'Caribou' from 1995.
occupation
- Elton John - vocals, piano
- Davey Johnstone - electric guitar
- Ray Cooper - tambourine
- Dee Murray - bass guitar
- Nigel Olsson - drums
- Lenny Pickett - tenor saxophone
- Clydie King - backing vocals
- Sherlie Matthews - backing vocals
- Jessie Mae Smith - backing vocals
- Dusty Springfield - backing vocals
- Tower of Power - brass instruments
production
- Gus Dudgeon - producer
Charts
| Year | single | Chart | position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | "The Bitch Is Back" | UK single chart | 15th |
| 1972 | "The Bitch Is Back" | US Billboard 100 | 4th |
Individual evidence
- ^ Philip Norman: Elton John. Harmony Books, New York 1992, ISBN 0-517-58762-9 , p. 259
- ↑ Jean Williams: Sex-Oriented Lyrics, Titles Stir a Storm . In: Billboard , December 25, 1976, p. 19. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
- ↑ https://www.songfacts.com/facts/elton-john/the-bitch-is-back