music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" is a 1976 duet by English musician Elton John and English singer Kiki Dee. It was written by John with Bernie Taupin under the pseudonyms "Ann Orson" and "Carte Blanche", respectively, and intended as an affectionate pastiche of the Motown style, notably the various duets recorded by Marvin Gaye and singers such as Tammi Terrell and Kim Weston.

"Don't Go Breaking My Heart"
Single by Elton John and Kiki Dee
B-side	"Snow Queen"
Released	21 June 1976
Recorded	27 March 1976[1]
Length	4:31
Label	Rocket (UK) MCA (US)
Songwriter(s)	Elton John Bernie Taupin[lower-alpha 1]
Producer(s)	Gus Dudgeon
Elton John singles chronology
"Pinball Wizard" (1976) "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (1976) "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (1976)
Kiki Dee singles chronology
"Once a Fool" (1975) "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (1976) "First Thing in the Morning" (1977)
Music video
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" on YouTube

John and Taupin originally intended to record the song with Dusty Springfield, but ultimately withdrew the offer; Springfield's partner Sue Cameron later said this was because she was too ill at the time.[2]

Reception

Cash Box said that "there are some great harmonies in the chorus" and that John and Dee "seem perfectly wedded in this tune."[3]

Chart performance

Writers John and Taupin received the 1976 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.[4]

Unlike many of John's singles from the 1970s, it was never included on an original album (although it was recorded during the Blue Moves sessions), but was subsequently released as the third single on the album Duets, in early 1994. This version of the song was recorded with RuPaul and reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart[5] and number one in Iceland.[6]

"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" was the first No. 1 single in the UK for both John and Kiki Dee, topping the chart for six weeks in mid 1976. John would not enjoy a solo British chart-topper until "Sacrifice" in 1990. It also became his sixth No. 1 single in the US, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and spent one week on the Easy Listening chart.[7] Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1976, giving him his second consecutive appearance in the Billboard Year-end Top 3.[8] In the U.S., it has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.[9] After this duet with Dee, John failed to have another US solo number one single until "Candle in the Wind 1997". This 21-year period included two intervening number one hits in America with musical partners: "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne & Friends in 1986, and a 1992 re-make of John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" with George Michael credited as a duet.

The B-side, "Snow Queen", was supposedly inspired by Cher, with John quoting past Sonny & Cher hits "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On", as well as the solo Cher song "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" during the fadeout of the song.

In 1977, John guest-starred on The Muppet Show and performed the track with Miss Piggy. In 1985, John and Dee performed the track to the crowd at Wembley Stadium during John's set at Live Aid (where Dee sang backup). In 1987, John appeared with Minnie Mouse on the NBC series Totally Minnie miming to the track. He performed the track with Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan) at the 2001 British Comedy awards. He also performed it with the Spice Girls on his ITV tribute programme An Audience with ... Elton John.

In June 2013, 37 years after its original release, the single reached one million sales in the UK.[10][11]

The B-side, "Snow Queen", remained unavailable on CD outside Australia until April 2019 when it was included as a bonus track on the reissue of Kiki Dee's Cage the Songbird album, included in the 5-CD box set The Rocket Years.[12] In May 2019 it was also included on the 3-CD box set Gold, a retrospective of Dee's career spanning various labels.^{[citation needed]} In 2020, it was also included on Elton John's 8-CD box set Jewel Box.

Personnel

Based on information on the Elton John official website.[1]

• Elton John – lead vocals and backing vocals, electric piano
• Kiki Dee – lead vocals and backing vocals
• James Newton Howard – acoustic piano and orchestral arrangements
• Caleb Quaye – electric guitar
• Kenny Passarelli – bass
• Roger Pope – drums
• Ray Cooper – tambourine, congas and bongos^{[citation needed]}
• Kiki Dee, Curt Boettcher,^{[citation needed]} Cindy Bullens, Ken Gold, Jon Joyce – uncredited backing vocals

Charts

Sales and certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[43][44]	Gold	50,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[45]	Platinum	150,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[46]	Gold	45,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[47]	Platinum	1,029,242[48]
United States (RIAA)[49]	Platinum	1,000,000
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Elton John and RuPaul version

"Don't Go Breaking My Heart"
Single by Elton John and RuPaul
from the album Duets
Released	14 February 1994
Recorded	1993
Genre	House disco
Label	MCA Rocket
Songwriter(s)	Ann Orson Carte Blanche
Producer(s)	Giorgio Moroder
Elton John singles chronology
"True Love" (1993) "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (1994) "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (1994)
RuPaul singles chronology
"House of Love" (1993) "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (1994) "Snapshot" (1996)
Music video
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" on YouTube

In 1994, Elton John and American drag queen, actor, model, singer, songwriter, and television personality RuPaul released the song as a duet. It was released as the third single from the album, Duets and reached number three on the Billboard Dance Club Songs in the US. In Europe, the song peaked at number-one in Iceland and within the top 10 in Portugal and the UK, the top 20 in Denmark, Ireland and Italy, and the top 30 in Austria, France and Switzerland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" peaked at number 18 in March 1994. Outside Europe, the song reached number 39 in New Zealand, number 45 in Australia, and number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.

Critical reception

AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the song as a "kitschy number".[50] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that John "recreates his classic Kiki Dee duet with the world's favorite drag queen. Revamped quasi-rave/hi-NRG version of the track is way stronger than the less-than-pleasing mix on John's current collection, rendering it a formidable contender for action on both dancefloors and radio. Oodles of good fun."[51] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report commented, "Thanks to producer Giorgio Moroder, there's a few more beats per minute, as well as a hilarious video, and a super performance of a great tune."[52] Alan Jones from Music Week rated it four out of five, calling it "somewhat soulessly produced" and a "smash-bound but tacky remake".[53] John Kilgo from The Network Forty stated that this remake of the previous number-one smash "is for real..."[54] Tom Doyle from Smash Hits gave it one out of five, saying that "the music sounds like it was done with the help of a Gameboy running low on batteries".[55]

Music video

A music video was made to accompany the song, featuring Elton John and RuPaul. It was directed by Randy Barbota.[56] The video was uploaded to YouTube in December 2016. As of August 2020^[update], it has amassed more than 2 million views.[57]

Track listing

Charts

Other versions

The musical comedy troupe the Capitol Steps recorded a parody of the song, in which then President George W. Bush is told by his wife Laura Bush, "Don't go faking you're smart".[70]

Notes

References

На других языках

---

[de] Don’t Go Breaking My Heart

Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (englisch Brich mir nicht mein Herz) ist ein Duett von Elton John und Kiki Dee aus dem Jahr 1976. Es wurde von Elton John und Bernie Taupin unter den Pseudonymen „Ann Orson“ und „Carte Blanche“ komponiert.

---

- [en] Don't Go Breaking My Heart

---

[it] Don't Go Breaking My Heart

Don't Go Breaking My Heart è un brano musicale cantato in duetto da Elton John e Kiki Dee. Il brano fu scritto da Elton John e Bernie Taupin, sotto gli pseudonimi di "Ann Orson" e "Carte Blanche", ed intesa come una affettuosa presa in giro dello stile dell'etichetta Motown, ed in particolar modo dei vari duetti registrati da Marvin Gaye.

---

[ru] Don’t Go Breaking My Heart

«Don’t Go Breaking My Heart» — песня в исполнении дуэта Элтона Джона и Кики Ди[1].

---

---