#022 The Beach Boys-Crocodile Rock

Original by Elton John (click to hear)

"Crocodile Rock" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and recorded in June 1972 at the Strawberry Studios, Château d'Hérouville in France. It was released on 27 October 1972 in the UK and 20 November 1972 in the US, as a pre-release single from his forthcoming 1973 album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player, and became his first U.S. number-one single, reaching the top spot on 3 February 1973, and stayed there for three weeks. It was the first song released as a single on the MCA label (catalog #40000) after MCA dissolved its Uni, Decca, Kapp and Coral labels. (John had previously been with the Uni label.) "Crocodile Rock" is dominated by a Farfisa organ, played by John. The Farfisa is instantly recognizable by its carnival-like sound and honky-tonk rhythm, while the lyrics take a nostalgic look at earlyrock 'n' roll, and a relationship with a woman named Suzie, which the writer instantly associates with the music of the era. Like The Tennessee Waltz and "Roll Over Beethoven", "Crocodile Rock" is a self-referential song, i.e. a song about the song itself. Regular Elton John band members, such as Davey Johnstone and Nigel Olsson, are among the song's performers.