music.wikisort.org - Composition

"The Bitch Is Back" is a rock song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was the second single released from John's 1974 album Caribou, and reached number 1 in Canada (his sixth in that country),[4] number 4 in the United States and number 15 in the United Kingdom.[5]

"The Bitch Is Back"
Single by Elton John
from the album Caribou
B-side	"Cold Highway"
Released	3 September 1974 (1974-09-03)
Recorded	January 1974
Studio	Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado
Genre	Hard rock,[1][2] glam rock[3]
Length	3:44
Label	MCA, DJM, Rocket/Phonogram
Songwriter(s)	Elton John Bernie Taupin
Producer(s)	Gus Dudgeon
Elton John singles chronology
"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (1974) "The Bitch Is Back" (1974) "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (1974)
Official Audio
"The Bitch Is Back" on YouTube

With lyrics parodying John's celebrity lifestyle, the song has been identified as one of his best hard rock songs. In the US, it was certified Gold on 13 September 1995 by the Recording Industry Association of America.[6]

Background

The idea to create the song was inspired not by John or Taupin directly, but rather by Taupin's wife at the time, Maxine Feibelman, who would say, "The bitch is back," when John was in a bad mood.[7] Taupin then wrote the lyrics. Later, Elton would comment: "It is kind of my theme song."[8] Musically, the song originally was written in A-flat major, but is today performed live a half step lower in the key of G major.

Reception

Cash Box said that "Elton and the band are in rare form here and prove that rock comes as easily as the ballads do" and that "the hooks are incredible, the vocals are intense and the playing is right there."[9]

Controversy

Several radio stations in the United States and elsewhere refused to play the song because of the word "bitch". For example, in 1976, the program director of WPIX-FM in New York told Billboard, "We will play records that are borderline suggestive records such as 'Disco Lady' by Johnny [sic] Taylor but we will not play 'The Bitch Is Back' by Elton John. We won't play those types of records no matter how popular they get."[10] John responded to the controversy, quipping "some radio stations in America are more puritanical than others."[11]

Chart performance

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[13]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Covers

The song was twice recorded by Tina Turner, once for her Rough album in 1978, and again for the John/Taupin tribute album Two Rooms in 1991. Turner also performed the song in her live show in the late 1970s, and with John at the 1995 VH1 Fashion and Music Awards and VH1 Divas Live '99. For her rendition Turner earned a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Performance.[14]

Rihanna covered the song with Elton at the third annual Fashion Rocks Concert in 2006.[8]

Taron Egerton covered the song for the Elton John biopic Rocketman. It was the first song featured in the film.

Miley Cyrus covered the song for the 2018 cover album Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

In Hocus Pocus 2, Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker sang the song in character as the Sanderson Sisters with the song rewritten as "The Witches Are Back".

Personnel

This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2021)

See also

• List of RPM number-one singles of 1974

References

External links

• Elton John – The Bitch Is Back on YouTube

На других языках

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[de] The Bitch Is Back

The Bitch Is Back (dt. etwa „Die Zicke ist zurück“) ist ein Musiktitel des britischen Sängers und Komponisten Elton John, der Liedtext wurde von Bernie Taupin geschrieben.

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- [en] The Bitch Is Back

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[es] The Bitch Is Back

«The Bitch Is Back» es una canción de Elton John, escrita junto con su amigo y colaborador Bernie Taupin. Fue el segundo sencillo publicado de su álbum de 1974, Caribou, y alcanzó la posición #1 en Canadá, #4 en los Estados Unidos y el #15 en el Reino Unido.[3] Con letras que parodian su estilo de vida de celebridad, la canción ha sido identificada como una de sus mejores piezas de hard rock.[4] En los Estados Unidos, fue certificada con el disco de Oro el 13 de septiembre de 1995 por Recording Industry Association of America.[5]

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