Elton John released “Empty Garden,” his tribute to John Lennon

Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) Elton John

Writer(s): Elton John, Bernie Taupin (see lyrics here) Released: March 12, 1982 First Charted: March 20, 1982 Peak: 13 US, 12 CB, 48 HR, 9 RR, 18 AC, 51 UK, 8 CN, 63 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 7.6 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Singer, pianist, and composer Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in Pinner, Middlesex, England, in 1947. He released his debut album, Empty Sky, in 1969 and became the #1 artist of the 1970s according to the Billboard Hot 100 charts. He continued to be successful into the ‘80s and ‘90s, ranking in the top 10 in both of those decades. From a chart standpoint, the early ‘80s marked a low point in Elton’s career in which he went a whopping three years without a top-10 hit. He did, however, reach #12 with two singles – “Empty Garden” and “Blue Eyes” – both from his sixteenth album, 1982’s Jump Up! “Empty Garden” was a tribute to John Lennon, who was murdered 15 months earlier. Elton initially feared that such a song could be “clumsy” until he saw the words written by Bernie Taupin, the lyricist with whom he’d collaborated since the onset of his career. Elton rarely performed the song live after 1982 because of the painful memories it brought back. WK He and Elton were good friends; Elton was even the godfather for Lennon’s son Sean. Elton and Lennon collaborated on a few songs in the mid-‘70s. Lennon appeared on Elton’s cover of the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and Elton subsequently played on Lennon’s “Whatever Gets You Through the Night.” Both songs topped the Billboard Hot 100. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Elton John SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/28/2022.