‘Whatever Gets You Thru the Night’ began taking shape in the
early summer of 1974. It was initially a rough demo and early versions
feature a segue into John’s song ‘Jealous Guy’. John
took inspiration for the melody of the song from George McCrae’s ‘Rock
Your Baby’ that had been released in May 1974, before later topping the
Billboard chart.
As work on his new album, Walls And Bridges was underway, a second,
more polished, version of the song was recorded at the Record Plant in
New York in high summer, with the help of Elton John.
Elton had been in the US recording his album, Captain Fantastic and the
Brown Dirt Cowboy. Having completed his record, Elton was staying in
New York and one evening stopped by the studio where he added harmony
vocals, piano and organ to the track.
According to John, “I was fiddling about one night and Elton John
walked in with Tony King of Apple. Elton said, ‘Say, can I put a bit of
piano on that?’ I said, ‘Sure, love it!’ He zapped in. I was amazed at
his ability: I knew him, but I’d never seen him play. A fine musician,
great piano player. I was really pleasantly surprised at the way he
could get in on such a loose track and add to it and keep up with the
rhythm changes – obviously, ’cause it doesn’t keep the same rhythm. And
then he sang with me. We had a great time.”
Having sung their harmony vocal around one microphone, Elton also
added organ to the track, despite his own admission that “I’m the worst
organist. But we put that on and it was over and done with in five
minutes.”
When they finished the recording, John told Elton that he was the only Beatle that had not achieved a No.1 single. Elton’s response was to bet John that if ‘Whatever Gets You Thru the Night’ went to No.1, John would join Elton on stage at New York’s Madison Square Garden at Thanksgiving. There’s little doubt that John thought there was only a slim chance of him having to keep to his side of the deal. But shortly after ‘Whatever Gets You Thru the Night’ made No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 16 November, Elton called to remind him. Lennon to his credit did just as he had promised, despite later saying, “It wasn’t like I promised some agent or something, so I was suddenly stuck. I had to go on stage in the middle of nothing.”
On 28 November 1974 John Lennon, dressed in a black suit and playing a black Fender Telecaster, joined Elton on stage to perform his chart-topping record along with a version of ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ and ‘I Saw Her Standing There’; ironically the latter originally had Paul McCartney on lead vocal. This was John Lennon’s last major concert appearance, but his appearance has an interesting coda. At this time John was estranged from his wife Yoko, but he had arranged for tickets to be sent to her. Yoko, for her part, sent orchids to her husband and Elton, which they both wore onstage. John and Yoko nervously met backstage after the show and then fully resumed their relationship in February 1975.
John Lennon returned the favour by adding backing vocals and guitar to Elton’s recording of ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ in late July. It came out as a single during the week before the Madison Square Garden concert, going on to top the US Hot 100 for the first two weeks of January 1975. Lennon is credited on the recording as Dr. Winston O’Boogie, but it was fooling no one, especially as the b-side was Lennon’s, ‘One Day (At a Time)’, a cover of a track that had originally featured on Mind Games. Elton’s follow-up, in early 1975, was ‘Philadelphia Freedom’ and the b-side was ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, recorded at Madison Square Garden and featuring John Lennon.
When they finished the recording, John told Elton that he was the only Beatle that had not achieved a No.1 single. Elton’s response was to bet John that if ‘Whatever Gets You Thru the Night’ went to No.1, John would join Elton on stage at New York’s Madison Square Garden at Thanksgiving. There’s little doubt that John thought there was only a slim chance of him having to keep to his side of the deal. But shortly after ‘Whatever Gets You Thru the Night’ made No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 16 November, Elton called to remind him. Lennon to his credit did just as he had promised, despite later saying, “It wasn’t like I promised some agent or something, so I was suddenly stuck. I had to go on stage in the middle of nothing.”
On 28 November 1974 John Lennon, dressed in a black suit and playing a black Fender Telecaster, joined Elton on stage to perform his chart-topping record along with a version of ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ and ‘I Saw Her Standing There’; ironically the latter originally had Paul McCartney on lead vocal. This was John Lennon’s last major concert appearance, but his appearance has an interesting coda. At this time John was estranged from his wife Yoko, but he had arranged for tickets to be sent to her. Yoko, for her part, sent orchids to her husband and Elton, which they both wore onstage. John and Yoko nervously met backstage after the show and then fully resumed their relationship in February 1975.
John Lennon returned the favour by adding backing vocals and guitar to Elton’s recording of ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ in late July. It came out as a single during the week before the Madison Square Garden concert, going on to top the US Hot 100 for the first two weeks of January 1975. Lennon is credited on the recording as Dr. Winston O’Boogie, but it was fooling no one, especially as the b-side was Lennon’s, ‘One Day (At a Time)’, a cover of a track that had originally featured on Mind Games. Elton’s follow-up, in early 1975, was ‘Philadelphia Freedom’ and the b-side was ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, recorded at Madison Square Garden and featuring John Lennon.
In a lovely footnote to the story, as a result of working together,
and becoming friends, John and Yoko asked Elton to be Sean’s godfather
following his birth in October 1975.
Listen to John & Elton’s collaborations on SpotifyLennon’s catalogue was Mastered for iTunes in 2014, you can preview and download it here
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