What songs did Elton John write with The Beatles?

The Beatles rapidly ballooned into a famous act, and that was impressive, but what’s even more impressive is how they were able to retain a constant level of relevance. Even today, six decades after the band originally dominated the charts, we still praise them as one of the greatest bands of all time. How did they do it? There are a few things, including the likes of cultural relevance, charm, but most importantly, great songwriting.

When you look at The Beatles’ discography, with every album, they were trying something new. They weren’t happy with just peddling the same sound over and over again, and instead grew into more mature songwriters with very specific ideas on what they thought constituted good music. Of course, these opinions began to differ, and when they differed too much, the band split.The Beatles rapidly ballooned into a famous act, and that was impressive, but what’s even more impressive is how they were able to retain a constant level of relevance. Even today, six decades after the band originally dominated the charts, we still praise them as one of the greatest bands of all time. How did they do it? There are a few things, including the likes of cultural relevance, charm, but most importantly, great songwriting.

When you look at The Beatles’ discography, with every album, they were trying something new. They weren’t happy with just peddling the same sound over and over again, and instead grew into more mature songwriters with very specific ideas on what they thought constituted good music. Of course, these opinions began to differ, and when they differed too much, the band split.

The Beatles rose to fame quickly; while they had been playing live and making music for some time, it seemed as though interest in them in America peaked overnight, which led to the famed Beatlemania. One moment, there was general interest, then they played a gig on The Ed Sullivan Show, and the next thing you know, music changed forever.

As fans of music, though, we’re well aware that just because you attain success quickly, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to retain it. How many times have we seen an artist skyrocket to fame and then, a few years later, we’re sitting around in a pub going, “Hey, do you remember XYZ?”

Even after that split, though, each band member managed to remain culturally relevant. Is that because they had been members of the biggest band that the world has ever seen? Sure, that helps, but they were also still making music, writing excellent songs, and constantly pushing to find their specific tone of voice. This meant doing a lot of soul searching and also being open to working with others. In the case of John Lennon and Ringo Starr, one of the other musicians they both collaborated with on songs was Elton John.

While ‘The Rocketman’ was never one for lyrics, he was always happy to contribute to writing music for artists and also provide backing vocals. He did this with John Lennon on the track, ‘Whatever Gets You thru the Night’. Elton was happy to help Lennon out wherever he needed, and when he heard the complete song, he was so proud of it that he told Lennon it would be a number one hit.

Lennon wasn’t so sure, but it was released on his 1974 album Walls and Bridges, and wouldn’t you know it, it went straight to number one. As a thank you, Lennon made a surprise appearance at Elton John’s show at Madison Square Garden in 1974, where the two of them played ‘I Saw Her Standing There’. Coincidentally, this was the same night that John Lennon and Yoko Ono reconvened after 18 months apart.

Elton also worked with Ringo Starr, as he and Bernie Taupin wrote the 1974 song ‘Snookeroo’ for the former Beatles drummer. The title came from a well-known English term for people who do nothing all day and night other than play snooker. The song didn’t do quite as well as ‘Whatever Gets You Thru the Night’, but it still managed to reach number three on the American charts. Who’d have thought the English expression would resonate so well in the States?