Forty years ago this week, "Island Girl" became Elton John's fifth number one single in America. At this time, the wonderfully colorful Brit, born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, was one of the biggest rock stars on the planet. His 1975 album, "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" became the first album ever to debut at number one on the Billboard Album Chart and the follow-up released later that year, "Rock of the Westies" (which "Island Girl" appears on) also debuted at the top of the chart. John also made an appearance as "the Pinball Wizard" in the filmed version of "Tommy", the rock opera by the Who. And the singer was so popular that he became the first solo white artist to perform on "Soul Train".
As for this number one song which held on to this spot for three weeks, "Island Girl" is pretty risque, especially for pop radio. It's about a New York city prostitute trying to be lured back home to Jamaica to save her from this life. This dance-flavored number, written by John and Bernie Taupin, was an interesting change of pace from the moving ballads and hard-edged rockers we usually heard from the singer.
"Island Girl" - Elton John (1975) mp3
One more interesting side note: "Island Girl" had knocked "Bad Blood" by Neil Sedaka out of the number one spot and Elton John made an uncredited appearance on that song performing background vocals. Enjoy this bonus of that song:
"Bad Blood" - Neil Sedaka (1975) mp3
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