Tiny Dancer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Background and writingEdit

The words of the song were written by Bernie Taupin to capture the spirit of California in 1970 encapsulated by the many beautiful women he met there. A common misconception is that the song was written for Maxine Feibelman, Taupin's first wife. Rather, it was simply dedicated to her on the album Madman Across the Water.[2][3]

The song features a piano-based melody during verses and an arrangement that at the start features pedal steel guitar and light percussion but, transitioning subtly halfway through one of the choruses, by the end is driven by Paul Buckmaster's dynamic strings, along with a barely heard backing choir.

Due to the song lacking a strong hook, "Tiny Dancer" was initially a non-starter as a single in the US, reaching only #41 on the U.S. pop chart, and was not even released as a single in the UK. The song fared better in Canada, where John had much of his early commercial breakthrough success, peaking at #19. It was also a hit in Australia, peaking at #13. Eventually, the song slowly became one of John's most popular songs even in the territories that initially failed to embrace it, and the full-length version is now a fixture on North American, UK and Australian adult contemporary and rock radio stations.

It was ranked No. 397 on the 2010 List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[4]

Other versionsEdit

• "Tiny Dancer" has been covered by Lani Hall in the 1970s, by the Red Hot Chili Peppers with John Frusciante on vocals since the early 1990s, by Dave Grohl on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.[7][8][9]
• In 2002, Ben Folds covered "Tiny Dancer" for his live album, Ben Folds Live. The song was later released as a promo single.
• Country music artist Tim McGraw covered the song on his 2002 album Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors. McGraw also performed the song, with Elton John, at the American Music Awards.
• It is referenced in Rihanna's 2006 single SOS, as she mentions the lyric "Just hold me close boy, 'cause I'm your tiny dancer".
• In 2008, a version was released by Italian DJ Marco DeMark and singer Casey Barnes. It was later remixed by Deadmau5 & Moto Blanco.
• In 2009, DJ Ironik and Chipmunk created a remix of the song, featuring John singing the chorus, which peaked at No.3 in the UK Singles Chart.
• Corey Taylor played this song at his Sonisphere FestivalKnebworth solo performance as the opening number.
• A sample of the "Tiny Dancer" chorus is featured in a mash-up by Girl Talk called "Smash Your Head" (from the 2006 album Night Ripper).
• A version featuring Mary Black, Paddy Casey and Declan O'Rourke was recorded in Galway, Ireland in 2012 as a charity single.[10][11]
• A country version of this song was created by Disk Eyes Productions for a 'Gone Country' series featuring the songs of Elton John in 2005.
• On 8 April 2013, Caroline Glaser performed "Tiny Dancer" before a live audience and celebrity judges in her national TV debut on the hit show The Voice. On the Season Five final performances, Will Champlin and his coach, Adam Levine, sang it for the collaboration portion.

In popular cultureEdit

• In 1971, John performed the song on the first series of The Old Grey Whistle Test. The performance has been released as part of The Old Grey Whistle Test - Volumes 1-3 Box Set.[12]
• It is referenced in Rihanna's 2006 single "SOS", as she mentions the lyric "Just hold me close boy 'cause I'm your tiny dancer."
• A reference to this song was made in sitcoms Friends and Will and Grace. In both shows, the same joke was used where Phoebe Buffay in the former and Grace Adler in the latter confuses the lyrics as "Hold me close, young Tony Danza" and "Hold me closer, Tony Danza", respectively. The same mistake was committed in Drop Dead Diva.
• The song was featured in 1980 in "The Americanization of Ivan" episode of WKRP in Cincinnati. References to the song were made throughout the show, and was featured during the closing credits.
• The cast of Almost Famous (2000) sings along to the song while riding in the tour bus. It is also featured as instrumental incidental music in a phonic reference to the character Penny Lane.
• The first line of the 2000 Fuel song "Prove" mentions the lyric "Lay me down in sheets of linen".
• The song was featured in a Budweiser TV commercial starring Peter Stormare and Andrew Sensenig that premiered during Fox Broadcasting's telecast of Super Bowl XLV on 6 February 2011.[13]
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt performed the song in a lip-syncing competition against Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Merchant on Fallon's Late Night show.[14]
• In the season 2 episode of The Office called "The Dundies," Michael Scott sings the song but changing he words to "You have won a tiny Dundie," an office award, before bar patrons mock him, calling out "Sing it, Elton!" Later the "Tiny Dancer" chorus plays over the final scene as Jim Halpert watches Pam Beesly and Angela Martin drive away.
• Beginning in April 2015 the Bennington radio show on Sirius XM began using Tiny Dancer as their ending theme song.
• The UK based department store chain John Lewis, use the song on their August 2015 insurance advert.
• Tiny Dancer is the name of a recurring villain in the PBS children's program Odd Squad.
• Chicago's mayor, Rahm Emanuel. former chief of staff in President Obama's first administration, is called "Tiny Dancer" in critical media stories because of Emanuel's short height and the ballet lessons he was encouraged to take by his mother.

ReferencesEdit

1. ^Dan, "Under Cover: Tiny Dancer - As Heard On", 20 April 2012, "[1]", 24 July 2012
2. ^"Bernie Taupin :: Discography". berniejtaupin.com. 
3. ^"Tiny Dancer by Elton John", 24 July 2012.
4. ^"500 Greatest Songs of All Time". 4 July 2011. Archived from the original on 7 April 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2013. 
5. ^"Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. 
6. ^http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.7687&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=4njnvrh1jgqpq28ugofunq7347
7. ^"Lani Hall's Tiny Dancer cover of Elton John's Tiny Dancer", "[2]", 24 July 2012
8. ^"Red Hot Cilli Peppers - Tiny Dancer", 11 April 2008" on YouTube, 24 July 2012
9. ^"Dave Grohl - Tiny Dancer", "[3]", 24 July 2012
10. ^"Elton heads galaxy of stars backing Lily-Mae's cancer fight", November 2012
11. ^"Tiny Dancer - A Song for Lily-Mae", November 2012
12. ^The Old Grey Whistle Test (DVD). Warner Home Video. 2003. 
13. ^"Budweiser Elton John Tiny Dancer Peter Stormare Super Bowl XLV Commercial Ad 2011" on YouTube, 6 February 2011, 24 July 2012
14. ^"Lip Sync Battle with Joseph Gordon Levitt, Stephen Merchant and Jimmy Fallon" on YouTube, 24 September 2013

External linksEdit