Below is the write-up about George Michael and Elton John’s song “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” from the book “The Billboard Book of Number One Hits: The Inside Story Behind Every Number One Single on Billboard’s Hot 100 from 1955 to Present” by Fred Bronson.
Writers: Elton John / Bernie Taupin
Producer: George Michael
February 1, 1992
1 week
George Michael embarked on his “Cover to Cover” tour in 1991. Although he sang some of his own hits like “Careless Whisper” and “Faith,” the majority of each concert was devoted to George’s favorite songs from the “70s and 80s, like David Bowie’s “Fame,” McFadden and Whitehead’s “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” and Terence Trent Darby’s “Sign Your Name.”
In a video documentary, George talked about why he loves singing other people’s hits: “One of the main attractions of a song written by someone else is that there’s nothing personal about it. There is some kind of release for me in the middle of a performance to actually stop singing me and just say, ‘Right, this is an instrument and this is using it to the best of my ability.’
“Range is something that again is a very important consideration. That’s a very strong reason for me doing so many Stevie Wonder covers. I’ve done over various sets four or five Stevie Wonder covers. And apart from the fact that I consider him an incredible writer . . . the key that he was writing for (in the *70s) is perfectly suited to my voice, and somehow I’ve really managed to get something out of his songs live.”
Another favorite source of cover material for George was his friend, Elton John. As a child, George avidly collected Elton’s albums. His friendship with Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley was originally cemented when the two schoolmates discovered they both owned and loved Elton’s double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.
After George became famous, his admiration for Elton’s work became mutual. On March 13, 1985, George was the youngest person to be named Songwriter of the Year at the annual Ivor Novello awards in London—the person making the presentation was Elton John. The pair first recorded together that year for Elton’s album Ice on Fire. George appeared on the first two singles, sharing lead vocals with Elton on “Wrap Her Up” and singing backgrounds on “Nikita.” Elton returned the favor by playing piano on “The Edge of Heaven,” a Wham! single that peaked at number 10 in August, 1986. He also joined George onstage in Honolulu on April 5, 1988, for George’s solo concert debut in the U.S. They duetted on “Candle in the Wind.”
In March, 1991, George was performing at Wembley Stadium on the “Cover to Cover” tour when Elton surprised him backstage. They spontaneously decided to do a duet and picked “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” a song that George had performed at Live Aid in July, 1988, and was already including in his set.
The song had appeared originally on Elton’s Caribou album in 1974. Elton has described it as one of his three favorites that he’s written, and mentions the song was influenced by the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” and “Good Vibrations.”
A recording of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” from the Wembley concert was released as a single; it entered the Hot 100 at number 72 the week of December 7, 1991. When it went to number one eight weeks later, it was the seventh number one hit for both Elton and George (counting only his post-Wham! hits).
While the Wembley track is featured on the single, the footage in the video is not from that same concert. “The video for the single was actually shot
over several days,” confirms Michael Pagnotta, George’s publicist. “It was shot just prior to George’s U.S. ‘Cover to Cover’ tour, which began in October. It was shot in an airline hangar in Burbank (California) where George had been rehearsing; Elton came in for a night, and they ran through the song a couple times. Then the song was filmed in its entirety live in Chicago in the middle of October as part of that ‘Cover to Cover’ tour, and
when Elton came out from the wings, the place went crazy.”
The proceeds from the single were divided among 10 different charities for children, AIDS and education. George recorded another cover of an
Elton John song in 1991. He sang “Tonight,” from the Blue Moves album, on Two Rooms, an all-star compilation saluting the 25th anniversary of the
writing partnership of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.
THE TOP FIVE
Week of February 1, 1992
- Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me – George Michael/Elton John
- I Love Your Smile – Shanice
- All 4 Love – Color Me Badd
- Diamonds and Pearls – Prince and the New Power Generation
- Can’t Let Go – Mariah Carey
