Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player
Studio album by Elton John
Released	26 January 1973
Recorded	Château d'Hérouville, Hérouville, France, June 1972
Genre	Piano rock, Glam rock
Length	42:45
Label	MCA Records (US/Canada) DJM Records (UK)
Producer	Gus Dudgeon
Elton John chronology
Honky Château (1972) Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (1973) Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	(C+) [2]
Rolling Stone	(favourable) [3]

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player is the sixth studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John. It was released by DJM Records.

This was Elton's second straight # 1 album in America and yielded his first # 1 single in both the U.S. and Canada – "Crocodile Rock".^[4] "Daniel" was also a major hit from the album, giving him his second Canadian # 1 single on the RPM Top Singles Chart^[5] and just missing the top slot south of the border, stalling at # 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and reaching # 4 in the U.K., one place higher than achieved by Crocodile Rock. According to writer Philip Norman in his early 1990s authorized biography, "Elton," during a party in Los Angeles, Elton's friend Groucho Marx jokingly pointed his index fingers at the singer, as if holding a pair of six-shooters. John is reported to have put up his hands and said, "Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player," so naming the album.^{[citation needed]} (The album's cover photograph, which shows a young couple going to see a fictional movie, "Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player, starring Elton John," also includes a movie poster of the Marx Brothers' "Go West," though whether this was an intentional subtle tribute to Groucho is uncertain.)

Once again, the team returned to France to record at the Château d'Hérouville, also known at the time as "Strawberry Studios," which was how the studio was credited in the album's sleeve. The album featured horns arranged by producer Gus Dudgeon on "Elderberry Wine" (the b-side to "Crocodile Rock"), "Midnight Creeper" and "I'm Gonna Be A Teenage Idol," the latter of which was inspired by Elton's friend, T-Rex frontman Marc Bolan. The horn players were the same ones, in fact, who were used on "Honky Château." Paul Buckmaster returned to add strings on "Blues For Baby And Me" and "Have Mercy On The Criminal." During his Australian concerts with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 1986, Elton lauded Buckmaster's work on songs such as "Have Mercy On The Criminal," calling the string arrangements "revolutionary."

The album was a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic, topping the UK and US album charts and selling about 14 million copies worldwide. It is one of only two albums to feature just the core band of Elton, Davey Johnstone, Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson, without percussionist Ray Cooper. The other album is Breaking Hearts.

One of the only outtakes of note was a re-recording of "Skyline Pigeon," which became the b-side to the single of "Daniel."

Critics at the time called some of the performances, especially "Crocodile Rock," derivative, which Elton freely acknowledged years later. In "His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John" by author Elizabeth Rosenthal, Elton said "Crocodile Rock" was written as an overt homage to '50s records, and his vocal intentionally mimicked Bobby Vee. "High Flying Bird" was designed to sound like a Van Morrison record, and "Midnight Creeper" was a tip of the hat to the Rolling Stones.

"Don't Shoot Me ..." was also, according to John, the first album during which he felt comfortable experimenting with his vocal performances and style.

Track listing

All songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin

Side one

1. "Daniel" – 3:54
2. "Teacher I Need You" – 4:10
3. "Elderberry Wine" – 3:33
4. "Blues for My Baby and Me" – 5:42
5. "Midnight Creeper" – 3:55

Side two

6. "Have Mercy on the Criminal" – 5:57
7. "I'm Going to Be a Teenage Idol" – 3:55
8. "Texan Love Song" – 3:33
9. "Crocodile Rock" – 3:58
10. "High Flying Bird" – 4:12

Bonus tracks (1995 Mercury and 1996 Rocket reissue)

11. "Screw You (Young Man's Blues)" – 4:43
12. "Jack Rabbit" – 1:49
13. "Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again)" – 2:51
14. "Skyline Pigeon" [Piano version] – 3:56

B-sides

Song	Format
"Skyline Pigeon" (Piano Version)	Daniel 7" (US/UK)

Personnel

• Elton John – vocals, piano, electric piano, Leslie piano, Farfisa organ, harmonium, mellotron
• Davey Johnstone – acoustic, electric, and Leslie guitars, banjo, sitar, mandolin
• Dee Murray – bass
• Nigel Olsson – drums, maracas

Additional musicians

• Davey, Dee, Nigel – Backing vocals (tracks 2, 7, 10)
• Ken Scott – A.R.P. synthesizer (track 1)
• Gus Dudgeon – Brass Arrangement (tracks 3, 5, 7)
• Paul Buckmaster – Orchestral Arrangement (tracks 4 and 6)
• Jacques Bolognesi – Trombone
• Ivan Jullien – Trumpet
• Jean-Louis Chautemps & Alain Hatot – Saxophones

Charts

Chart positions Chart Peak position Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart[6] 1 Canadian RPM Albums Chart[7] 1 Dutch Mega Albums Chart[8] 2 Italian Albums Chart[9] 1 Japanese Oricon LP Chart[10] 4 Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[11] 1 UK Albums Chart[12] 1 U.S. Billboard 200 [13] 1 West German Media Control Albums Chart[14] 16

Year-end charts Chart (1973) Position Italian Albums Chart[9] 4 Australian Albums Chart[6] 4 UK Albums Chart[15] 1 U.S. Billboard Year-End[16][17] 8 Certifications Region Certification United States (RIAA)[18] 3× Platinum

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by The World Is a Ghetto by War	US Billboard 200 number-one album 3 – 16 March 1973	Succeeded by Dueling Banjos by Eric Weissberg
Preceded by Slayed? by Slade	UK number-one albums 10 March – 17 April 1973	Succeeded by Billion Dollar Babies by Alice Cooper
Preceded by No Secrets by Carly Simon	Canadian RPM 100 number-one album 17 – 31 March 1973	Succeeded by Dueling Banjos by Eric Weissberg/Various Artists
Preceded by No Secrets by Carly Simon	Australian Kent Music Report number-one album 30 April – 20 May 1973	Succeeded by Hot August Night by Neil Diamond
Preceded by Back to Front by Gilbert O'Sullivan Norsk på topp by Various artists	Norwegian VG-lista number-one album 10 – 11 / 1973 14 / 1973	Succeeded by Who Do We Think We Are by Deep Purple Norsk på topp by Various artists

References

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r10447
2. ^ http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=418&name=Elton+John
3. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/eltonjohn/albums/album/232106/review/5942200/dont_shoot_me_im_only_the_piano_player
4. ^ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.5312&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=ccntousk30frf6h4jsn237nm12
5. ^ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.4825&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=ccntousk30frf6h4jsn237nm12
6. ^ ^{a b} Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0646119176. 
7. ^ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2011-10-29
8. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Elton John - Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player" (in Dutch) (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Don't+Shoot+Me+I'm+Only+The+Piano+Player&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
9. ^ ^{a b} "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1973" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1973.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
10. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4871310779. 
11. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Elton John - Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Elton+John&titel=Don't+Shoot+Me+I'm+Only+The+Piano+Player&cat=a. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
12. ^ "Chart Stats - Elton John - Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=37493. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
13. ^ "allmusic ((( Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r10447/charts-awards. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
14. ^ "Album Search: Elton John - Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player" (in German). Media Control. http://www.charts.de/album.asp?artist=Elton+John&title=Don't+Shoot+Me+I'm+Only+The+Piano+Player&cat=a&country=de. Retrieved 2011-10-29. 
15. ^ "The Official UK Charts Company : ALBUM CHART HISTORY". Archived from the original on 2010-08-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20071217020442/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1973.php. Retrieved 2007-12-17. 
16. ^ "Top Pop Albums of 1973". billboard.biz. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/others/top-pop-albums-of-1973-855834.story. Retrieved 2010-12-10. 
17. ^ "Top Pop Albums of 1973". http://www005.upp.so-net.ne.jp/meichiku/bl701.HTM#73. Retrieved 2011-08-10. 
18. ^ "American album certifications – Elton John – Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Don%27t+Shoot+Me+I%27m+Only+the+Piano+Player%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH