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Elton John · S6 E1
The Fox & Jump Up!
Early '80s albums that land with a thud. The hits dry up, the critics pile on, and Elton wonders if it's over
1981. Geffen Records listens to the tracks Elton has recorded for his new album, rejects six of them, and sends him back to the studio.
Elton John -- Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) (1982). A tribute to John Lennon, murdered fifteen months before this song was recorded. The "garden" in the title is Madison Square Garden, where Lennon made his final live appearance onstage with Elton.
Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny), Elton John (1982)
Bernie Taupin was afraid a tribute to Lennon would come across as clumsy, but he sent the lyrics anyway. The result is one of the most restrained songs Elton has ever recorded: sparse piano, controlled vocal, grief sitting just below the surface without ever tipping into melodrama. Listen for how Elton holds back where a lesser singer would push.
The Famine Years
The Fox lands in May 1981 and peaks at number 21 on the Billboard 200. For a man who used to debut at number one, it's a free fall. Jump Up! follows a year later with slightly better reviews but the same sense of drift. Two albums in two years, and neither one sounds like an artist who knows what he wants to say.
“It's probably the worst album we've ever made. A terrible, awful, disposable album. Except for 'Empty Garden,' which is one of our finest.”
— Bernie Taupin on Jump Up!, 2019 interview
TAP TO REVEAL: What happened when Elton performed 'Empty Garden' at Madison Square Garden in August 1982?
Madison Square Garden, New York City
Where John Lennon made his final live concert appearance on Thanksgiving 1974, performing with Elton. In August 1982, Elton returned to the same stage to debut 'Empty Garden' with Yoko and Sean in the audience.
The Fox & Jump Up!: Quick Hits
What is the 'garden' in 'Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)' a reference to?
Nobody Wins -- Elton John
The biggest single from The Fox (1981). Elton heard the original French melody, "J'veux d'la tendresse" by Jean-Paul Dreau, while on holiday in St. Tropez and asked Gary Osborne to write English lyrics. Osborne, drawing on conversations about Elton's cold relationship with his father, turned it into a song about two people destroying each other. In France, it hit number one. In America, it barely cracked the top 40.
Nobody Wins, Elton John (1981)
Based on a French pop song Elton fell in love with on the Cote d'Azur. Gary Osborne rewrote the lyrics in English, drawing on Elton's difficult relationship with his father Stanley. On the surface it's about a failing romance. Underneath, it's about the damage that silence does.
One Song Worth Saving
The Fox and Jump Up! are largely forgotten today, and Bernie Taupin would be the first to agree. But "Empty Garden" survives both albums. It's the proof that even in the worst stretch of his career, Elton can still write a song that stops a room.
The famine years are almost over. Next: a phone call to Bernie Taupin, a reunion album called Too Low for Zero, and two singles that put Elton John back on the radio for good.
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