Bennie and the Jets explained

Bennie and the Jets
Cover:Elton John - Bennie and the Jets.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Elton John
Album:Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
B-Side:Harmony
Released:4 February 1974
Recorded:1973
Studio:Château d'Hérouville, France
Genre:
Length:5:23
Label:
Producer:Gus Dudgeon
Prev Title:Step into Christmas
Prev Year:1973
Next Title:Candle in the Wind
Next Year:1974

"Bennie and the Jets" (also titled "Benny & the Jets") is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John.[3] The song first appeared on the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album in 1973. "Bennie and the Jets" has been one of John's most popular songs and was performed during his appearance at Live Aid.

The track was a massive hit in the United States and Canada, released in 1974 as an A-side using the spelling "Bennie". In most territories the track was released as the B-side to "Candle in the Wind", using the spelling "Benny". Album artwork (back-cover track listing and center-panel design) consistently lists the song as "Bennie" while either "Bennie" or "Benny" appears on the vinyl album depending on territory. The track was released as an A-side in the UK in 1976, as "Benny and the Jets".

It is ranked number 371 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[4]

Song composition

The song tells of "Bennie and the Jets", a fictional band of whom the song's narrator is a fan. In a 2014 Rolling Stone interview, Taupin said "I saw Bennie and the Jets as a sort of proto-sci-fi punk band, fronted by an androgynous woman, who looks like something out of a Helmut Newton photograph."[5]

Produced by Gus Dudgeon, the song was recorded during the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road sessions in France at Château d'Hérouville's Strawberry Studios,[6] where John and Taupin had recorded their previous two albums Honky Château and Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player.

When performing the song live, John rarely plays the studio arrangement, and often makes subtle or even drastic changes, sometimes including phrases from Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" and closing with the five-note combination from John Williams' score for Close Encounters of the Third Kind.[7] During his live performances, the piano solo has been played in all sorts of variations, from very close to the original to wildly improvised and extended versions, such as the elaborate version during his Central Park concert in 1980, the version from his 30 June 1984, Wembley Stadium performance and another take on it during the "Elton and his band" part of the show recorded in Sydney, Australia, on December 14, 1986, his last show before his throat surgery in January 1987.[8]

Production

Despite sounding as though recorded live, the song was actually recorded in studio, with live sound effects added in later. Producer Gus Dudgeon explained:[9]

Dudgeon mixed in sounds from a 1972 performance of John in Royal Festival Hall and a 1970 Jimi Hendrix concert at the Isle of Wight.[10] He included a series of whistles from a live concert in Vancouver, and added hand claps and various shouts.[11]

North American single release

The song was the closing track on side one of the double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and John was set against releasing it as a single, believing it would fail. CKLW in Windsor, Ontario, began heavy airplay of the song and it became the No. 1 song in the Detroit market.[12] This attention caused other American and Canadian Top 40 stations to add it to their playlists as well. As a result, the song peaked at No. 1 on the US singles chart in 1974. In the US, it was certified Gold on 8 April 1974 and Platinum on 13 September 1995 by the RIAA,[13] and had sold 2.8 million copies by August 1976.[14]

Cash Box said that "the song is a strong one and worth every second of its 5:10."[15] Record World said that "With Elton showcasing his remarkable voice range, it can't miss grabbing the top spot."[16]

"Bennie and the Jets" was John's first Top 40 hit on what at the time was called the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart, where it peaked at No. 15, the highest position out of the three of his singles which reached that chart.[17] The acceptance of "Bennie" on R&B radio helped land John, a huge soul music fan, a guest appearance on 17 May 1975 edition of Soul Train, where he played "Bennie and the Jets" and "Philadelphia Freedom". In Canada, it held the No. 1 spot on the RPM national singles chart for two weeks (13–20 April), becoming his first No. 1 single of 1974 and his fourth overall.[18] [19]

Personnel

Music video

In May 2017, the music video for "Bennie and the Jets" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival as a winner of Elton John: The Cut, a competition organised in partnership with AKQA, Pulse Films, and YouTube in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of his songwriting relationship with Bernie Taupin. The competition called upon independent filmmakers to submit treatments for music videos for one of three Elton John songs from the 1970s, with each song falling within a specific concept category. "Bennie and the Jets" was designated for the choreography category, and was directed by Jack Whiteley and Laura Brownhill. The video was influenced by early cinema and the work of Busby Berkeley, portraying characters as participants on a talent show auditioning for Bennie.[20] [21]

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1974)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[22] 5
Canada RPM Top Singles1
New Zealand[23] 13
US Hot Soul Singles (Billboard)[24] 15
US Cash Box Top 100[25] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1974)Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)34
Canada[26] 6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[27] 9
U.S. Cash Box[28] 12

Certifications

Covers and interpolations

Mondegreens in the song

The song contains the line "She's got electric boots, a mohair suit", which is often misheard as "She's got electric boobs, and mohair shoes".[36] A scene in the film 27 Dresses shows that this is but one of many mondegreens that listeners have invented for this song.[37]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Elton John: Bennie and the Jets. AllMusic. 11 August 2019.
  2. The Imperial Elton and George Edition. Hit Parade Music History and Music Trivia. Slate. Molanphy. Chris. 30 June 2017. 25 June 2023.
  3. Web site: Bill . Janovitz . Bennie & the Jets – Elton John | Song Info . . 9 October 2016.
  4. Bennie and the Jets ranked #371 on Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs List. Rolling Stone. 15 September 2021 . 24 September 2021.
  5. Greene . Andy . 14 March 2014 . Elton John & Bernie Taupin on 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' . Rolling Stone . en-US.
  6. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road at . Entertainment Weekly . 19 August 2008 . 26 May 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091120200821/http://www.wnew.com/2008/08/video-classi-12.html . 20 November 2009 .
  7. Web site: Elton John – Bennie and the Jets (Live at Hammersmith Odeon in 1982) . .
  8. Web site: Pop music star Elton John does not have throat .
  9. Web site: The Cut: The Making of 'Bennie And The Jets'. 2020-11-12. Elton John. en.
  10. Web site: Elton John – Bennie And The Jets (1974). 29 January 2016 . New Music United.
  11. Web site: ShieldSquare Captcha. 2020-11-12. songfacts.com. en.
  12. Web site: Karen. Bliss. 21 January 2016. The Legacy of Rosalie Trombley, Radio Pioneer Immortalized in Bob Seger's 'Rosalie' and Breaker of 'Bennie and the Jets' | Billboard. 9 October 2016. Readability.com.
  13. United States. single. John, Elton. Bennie _ the Jets. 2 July 2012.
  14. Jahr. Cliff. Elton John, Lonely at the Top: Rolling Stone's 1976 Cover Story. Rolling Stone. 2 February 2011. 2 July 2012.
  15. News: CashBox Record Reviews. 16 February 1974. 30. 2021-12-11. Cash Box.
  16. Record World. 16 February 1974. 2023-03-17. Hits of the Week. 1.
  17. Web site: AllMusic. Elton John: Charts and Awards. 21 August 2013.
  18. Web site: Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121020114305/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.5006a&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=ccntousk30frf6h4jsn237nm12. 20 October 2012. 26 May 2011. Collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  19. Web site: Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121020114345/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.5033a&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=ccntousk30frf6h4jsn237nm12. 20 October 2012. 26 May 2011. Collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  20. Web site: WATCH: Elton John and Bernie Taupin's 'Tiny Dancer,' 'Rocket Man' and 'Bennie and the Jets' Just Got New Music Videos. People. 26 May 2017.
  21. Web site: Elton John Premieres Three Music Videos for His '70s Classics. Out Magazine. 25 May 2017 . 26 May 2017.
  22. Web site: National Top 100 Singles for 1974. . 29 . . 30 December 1974 . 15 January 2022 .
  23. Web site: flavour of new zealand – search listener . Flavourofnz.co.nz . 9 October 2016 . 19 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170819143817/http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=801#n_view_location . dead .
  24. Elton John Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs). Billboard. 22 July 2017.
  25. Web site: CASH BOX Top 100 Singles . Cash Box . 13 April 1974.
  26. Web site: Image : RPM Weekly – Library and Archives Canada . Bac-lac.gc.ca . 17 July 2013 . 9 October 2016.
  27. Web site: Top 100 Hits of 1974/Top 100 Songs of 1974 . Musicoutfitters.com . 9 October 2016.
  28. Web site: Top 100 Year End Charts: 1974 . . 16 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120927045130/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/1974YESP.html . 27 September 2012 . dead .
  29. Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart. Billboard. 10 December 2018.
  30. Web site: The Sounds of Science at Beastie Boys store . https://web.archive.org/web/20080502070237/http://www.sammerch.com/product/478/BB_Anthology_The_Sounds_Of_Science_Book_%26_CD_Set . dead . 2 May 2008 . Sammerch.com . 26 May 2011 .
  31. News: Dearmore . Kelly . He got game – Page 1 – Music – Dallas . Dallas Observer . 28 May 1998 . 26 May 2011 . 17 June 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110617065123/http://www.dallasobserver.com/1998-05-28/music/he-got-game/ . dead .
  32. Web site: Miguel feat. Wale cover of Elton John's 'Bennie and the Jets' | WhoSampled. .
  33. Web site: Mary J. Blige – Deep Inside . YouTube . 16 June 2009 . 16 January 2021.
  34. Web site: Weber . Lindsey . Hear Miguel's 'Bennie and the Jets' Cover . . 8 September 2021 . 21 March 2014.
  35. Newman . Jason . Elton John Talks Miguel and Wale's 'Bennie and the Jets' Cover . . 8 September 2021 . 21 March 2014.
  36. Web site: Lawrence . DiStasi . DiStasiblog: Mondegreens . Distasiblog.blogspot.com . 29 July 2011 . 9 October 2016.
  37. News: Celebrating 10 Years of 27 Dresses' Insane, Iconic 'Bennie and the Jets' Scene . Vulture. 12 January 2018. It's the perfect 'drunken rom-com scene' song, because it's okay to sing the wrong words to this song; who even knows what the right words are?.

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