Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player
Studio album by Elton John
Released	26 January 1973
Recorded	Château d'Hérouville, Hérouville, France, June 1972
Genre	Soft rock rock
Length	42:45
Label	MCA (US) DJM (UK)
Producer	Gus Dudgeon
Elton John chronology
Honky Château (1972)Honky Château1972 Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (1973) Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)Goodbye Yellow Brick Road1973
Singles from Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player
"Crocodile Rock"/"Elderberry Wine" Released: 27 October 1972 "Daniel" Released: 26 March 1973

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Robert Christgau	C+
Rolling Stone	(favourable)

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player is the sixth official album release for Elton John. Released by DJM Records, it was John's sixth normal studio album release, and was his second straight No. 1 album in the US, yielding his first No. 1 single in both the US and Canada: "Crocodile Rock". "Daniel" was also a major hit from the album, giving him his second Canadian No. 1 single on the RPM Top Singles Chart and just missing the top slot south of the border, stalling at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reaching No. 4 in the UK, one place higher than achieved by "Crocodile Rock".

Background

Once again, the team returned to France to record at the Château d'Hérouville, also known at the time as "Strawberry Studios," which was how the studio was credited in the album's sleeve. The album featured horns arranged by producer Gus Dudgeon on "Elderberry Wine" (the B-side to "Crocodile Rock"), "Midnight Creeper" and "I'm Gonna Be a Teenage Idol", the latter of which was inspired by John's friend, T-Rex frontman Marc Bolan. The horn players were the same ones, in fact, who were used on Honky Château. Paul Buckmaster returned to add strings on "Blues for Baby and Me" and "Have Mercy on the Criminal". During his Australian concerts with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 1986, John lauded Buckmaster's work on songs such as "Have Mercy on the Criminal", calling the string arrangements "revolutionary".

The album was a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic, topping the UK and US album charts. It is one of only two albums to feature just the core band of John on pianos and keyboards, Davey Johnstone on guitars, Dee Murray bass and Nigel Olsson on drums, without percussionist Ray Cooper. The other album is Breaking Hearts in 1984.

An outtake of note was a re-recording of "Skyline Pigeon", which became the B-side to the single of "Daniel".

Critics at the time called some of the performances, especially "Crocodile Rock", derivative, which John freely acknowledged years later. In His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John by author Elizabeth Rosenthal, John said "Crocodile Rock" was written as an overt homage to '50s records, and his vocal intentionally mimicked singer Bobby Vee. "High Flying Bird" was designed to sound like a Van Morrison record, and "Midnight Creeper" was a tip of the hat to the Rolling Stones.

John toured Australia during 1972 and was so inspired by Daddy Cool's hit single "Eagle Rock" that, with Taupin, he wrote "Crocodile Rock". The cover of this album has a photo of lyricist Taupin wearing a "Daddy Who?" promotional badge.

"Don't Shoot Me..." was also, according to John, the first album during which he felt comfortable experimenting with his vocal performances and style.

Packaging

The album's title comes from something Elton said during an evening spent with Groucho Marx. After an evening of constant ribbing from Marx, Elton's comeback was to hold his hands up and say, "Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player." The album's cover photograph, which shows a young couple outside a movie theatre whose marquee reads: Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player starring Elton John, also includes a movie poster of the Marx Brothers' film Go West. Whether this was an intentional tribute to Groucho, or merely a coincidence, is uncertain.

Track listing

All songs written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

Side one

1. "Daniel" – 3:54
2. "Teacher I Need You" – 4:10
3. "Elderberry Wine" – 3:33
4. "Blues for My Baby and Me" – 5:42
5. "Midnight Creeper" – 3:55

Side two

6. "Have Mercy on the Criminal" – 5:57
7. "I'm Going to Be a Teenage Idol" – 3:55
8. "Texan Love Song" – 3:33
9. "Crocodile Rock" – 3:58
10. "High Flying Bird" – 4:12

Bonus tracks (1995 Mercury and 1996 Rocket reissue)

11. "Screw You (Young Man's Blues)" – 4:43
12. "Jack Rabbit" – 1:49
13. "Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again)" – 2:51
14. "Skyline Pigeon" (Piano version) – 3:56

B-sides

Song	Format
"Skyline Pigeon" (Piano Version)	Daniel 7" (US/UK)

Personnel

• Elton John – vocals, acoustic piano, electric piano, Leslie piano (all tracks), Farfisa organ (track 9), harmonium (8), mellotron (1, 2)
• Davey Johnstone – acoustic, electric, and Leslie guitars (All tracks) ; banjo (track 1), sitar (4), mandolin (8), backing vocals (2, 7, 10)
• Dee Murray – bass guitar (All tracks), backing vocals (tracks 2, 7, 10)
• Nigel Olsson – drums (All tracks), maracas (track 1), backing vocals (tracks 2, 7, 10)

Additional musicians

• Ken Scott – ARP synthesizer (track 1)
• Gus Dudgeon – brass arrangement (tracks 3, 5, 7)
• Paul Buckmaster – orchestral arrangement (tracks 4, 6)
• Jacques Bolognesi – trombone (tracks 3, 5, 7)
• Ivan Jullien – trumpet (tracks 3, 5, 7)
• Jean-Louis Chautemps, Alain Hatot – saxophones (tracks 3, 5, 7)

Charts

Peak positions

Chart	Position
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart	1
Canadian RPM Albums Chart	1
Dutch Mega Albums Chart	2
Finnish Albums Chart	2
Italian Albums Chart	1
Japanese Oricon LPs Chart	4
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart	1
Spanish Albums Chart	1
UK Albums Chart	1
US Billboard 200	1
West German Media Control Albums Chart	16

Year-end charts

Chart (1973)	Position
Australian Albums Chart	4
Dutch Albums Chart	17
Italian Albums Chart	4
UK Albums Chart	1
U.S. Billboard Pop Albums	8
Chart (1974)	Position
U.S. Billboard Pop Albums	67

Certifications

Region	Certification
United States (RIAA)	3× Platinum

Chart precession and succession

Preceded by 20 Dynamic Hits by Various Artists	UK Year-End Album 1973	Succeeded by The Singles: 1969–1973 by The Carpenters
Preceded by The World Is a Ghetto by War	US Billboard 200 number-one album 3–16 March 1973	Succeeded by Dueling Banjos by Eric Weissberg
Preceded by Slayed? by Slade	UK number-one albums 10 February – 17 March 1973	Succeeded by Billion Dollar Babies by Alice Cooper
Preceded by The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd	Italian albums chart number-one album 10 March – 24 April 1973	Succeeded by Dettagli by Ornella Vanoni
Preceded by No Secrets by Carly Simon	Canadian RPM 100 number-one album 17–31 March 1973	Succeeded by Dueling Banjos by Eric Weissberg/Various Artists
Preceded by No Secrets by Carly Simon	Australian Kent Music Report number-one album 30 April – 20 May 1973	Succeeded by Hot August Night by Neil Diamond
Preceded by Back to Front by Gilbert O'Sullivan Norsk på topp by Various artists	Norwegian VG-lista number-one album 10 – 11 / 1973 14 / 1973	Succeeded by Who Do We Think We Are by Deep Purple Norsk på topp by Various artists