Hello everyone! It is with great enthusiasm that we begin this interview with Andrea Grasso and Luca Perasi, authors of the book Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. The Making of an Epic Album. Released on August 29, 2025, this work delves into the creation of one of the most iconic albums in Elton John’s career, widely regarded as the pinnacle of his musical journey. Co-authored by Andrea Grasso, one of the leading Elton John collectors and experts, and Luca Perasi, a renowned music journalist and collaborator with MPL Communications, the book provides a detailed analysis of the album’s recording process, including exclusive interviews, exact recording dates, and previously unknown stories behind the tracks that make up this milestone in pop music. Through this interview, we aim to explore the behind-the-scenes creation of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, understand the authors’ motivations, and uncover new insights about a work that continues to inspire generations of fans and musicians.
Question 1
How did you
know each other? How did you decide to work together on this book?
Andea:
I knew Luca in 2012, we both were in a Beatles forum and he just released his
first book "Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions". I was very
interested in it so I immediately bought it and from then on I followed him as
a writer and bought his other McCartney books. Then in mid-2024 I read on his
Facebook that he was launching with his own publishing company the Milestones
series with albums by other artists, so I just tried to contact him to see if
by chance he was interested in collaborating for a book about an Elton album,
and he agreed. We both immediately thought that the album to work upon should
have been GYBR...
While we live 1300km away, luckily we were able to
also meet each other in a couple of occasions.
Question 2:
Elton John has had a remarkable career spanning decades, achieving what very few international stars have managed: releasing hits even beyond his period of greatest commercial success. While many artists reach their peak and then fade, living only off their past, Elton found ways to remain relevant, collaborating with other great musicians along the way — for example, contributing to a significant album by the Rolling Stones, a band that, outside of its peak period, also achieved this success. Considering this long and multifaceted career, does your new book focus on one of Elton’s most iconic albums? Could you explain the approach you took in this work? Is it a biographical account, a detailed analysis of a specific event, or something entirely different?
Luca:
When it comes to artists like Elton John, it's hard to know
where to begin. With a career spanning over six decades, Elton has few equals
in the history of pop and rock. Selecting an album from his remarkable career
could be difficult, but Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is undoubtedly the
album that everyone associates with Elton, myself included. The double album
has always been a challenging format, and I consider this one to be a showcase
of genres and styles that perfectly represents his skills as a composer,
musician, vocalist and bandleader. I wanted an album dedicated to Elton John to
be part of my Milestones book series, and if there's an album that can
be defined as a milestone, it's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It's an epic,
isn't it? Hence the title. The approach is purely historical. There’s no room for
personal opinions. Only facts were included. That was the premise when Andrea
and I talked about the work. In keeping with the format of my other books
dedicated to Paul McCartney – two of which are already in this series – we
focused on the making of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, starting with the
infamous Jamaican session and covering the album's entire legacy. Each song has
its own entry containing interesting information from Elton, Bernie and the
other musicians involved. We consulted numerous sources, and everything is
referenced in almost 350 footnotes. Andrea conducted two interesting
interviews: one with illustrator Ian Beck and the other with bassist David
Paton, who performed some of the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road songs live in
subsequent years. We have compiled a comprehensive account of the album that
will be useful for fans, music lovers, and future generations who want to know
what really happened. In an age when facts seem to be disappearing, it's
important to provide some objectivity. By the way, there’s nothing in it about
Elton's personal life; it’s only about his music. That’s the aim of both my
publisher and this book series.
Question 3:
Does the book also cover technical aspects, such as recording, instrumental and vocal techniques, as well as behind-the-scenes stories and curious facts about the making of the album?
Andrea:
Yes, since the book is like an
history book, we relied heavily on what everyone involved in the recording said
in over 50 years of interviews! So among the main topics of the book there are
indeed the ones that you mention: tehcnical aspects of the recording,
behind-the-scenes anecdotes and fun facts! I think that even the most devoted
and knowledgeable fans will find something that they didn’t know before, or at
least that they couldn’t remember!
Question 4:
During the creation of the book Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, how was the
division of tasks handled between you? Did each of you have specific
responsibilities, or was the work carried out collaboratively throughout all
stages?
Andrea:
first of all Luca, who has written
several music books in over a decade, gave me indications about the methods he
wanted to follow and gave me the structure of the book. My main task was to
find in my archive (papery and digital) all the interviews about the album,
Luca did the same with the reviews and we started from them to build our
“story”, and then together we collated everything together.
I also wrote interpretations of the Taupin lyrics, while
Luca wrote the musical analysis.
There
is no way to “measure” each one’s “quantity” of work, but I think we can say
each of us did 50% of the total work.
Question 5:
Your previous works, such as Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions 1969–2013
and the volumes of Music Is Ideas – The Stories Behind the Songs, are
widely recognized for their meticulous documentation and song-by-song approach,
balancing historical research with engaging narrative. In writing Goodbye
Yellow Brick Road, did you apply the same analytical method, or did the
nature of Elton John’s double album require a different narrative strategy?
Were there specific challenges in dealing with sources, interviews, or archival
material?
Luca:
I would say the method is very similar to that used in other
books, particularly those in the Milestones series. It basically covers
what happened before, during and after the recording of an album. There is no
big difference due to the fact that Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is a
double album, it's just that the chapter dedicated to the song is very long!
The research was a challenge in itself. The main challenge was that, unlike
McCartney, Elton did not give as many interviews to the press (he didn’t have
the time!). However, we found some interesting articles in newspapers and
Andrea had offline material from the Elton John website, which turned out to be
a treasure trove of information.
Question 6:
Having devoted much of your career to documenting music history, what was the
main challenge in approaching Elton John for this volume of the Milestones
series? Do you see parallels between the creative peaks of McCartney’s Band
on the Run and Elton’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, both of which
became defining milestones in their careers?
Luca:
The main
challenge, put simply, was that Elton couldn’t count on such an extensive
literature, so we really had to start from scratch. It’s ironic that you
mention the comparison between McCartney’s Band on the Run and Elton’s Goodbye
Yellow Brick Road, as it's something we highlighted in the introduction. In
particular, we noted that both albums were intended to be recorded in
non-European locations, and that things did not go smoothly in either case.
Elton gave up after just a few days in Jamaica, while McCartney spent three
weeks in Nigeria, recording more than half of his album there. However, he had
to return to London to finish it due to challenging conditions in the studio
and the surrounding environment. There was a certain cultural clash with British
musicians going outside the country in search of a vibe but ultimately
returning to Europe due to the technical standards required. Neither of them
checked the conditions of the studio beforehand, which is crazy, but at the
same time it's a fascinating aspect of both stories.
Question 7:
In the early 1970s, progressive rock was flourishing with bands like
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, and Jethro Tull pushing
the boundaries of musical complexity. Was Elton John in any way compelled or
motivated to create a track like 'Funeral for a Friend' to avoid being seen
merely as a pop artist with less instrumental and compositional depth? Did
critical pressures at the time influence the ambitious, prog-inspired nature of
this piece?
Andrea:
there are
many reviews mentioning the “prog” nature of the first track, and there are a
couple of interesting statements from Elton about how he composed it, including
an idea of a James Bond-type of soundtrack, but in the end he wanted to just
write an instrumental inspired by a funeral, nothing else, or at least that’s
what he declared. He didn’t mention prog-rock and he didn’t mention the bands
you’re mentioning (but, by the way, someone from the band actually was inspired
by The Beatles for his part!). So I guess it might have been just an
inconscious influence; in 1973 prog-rock was just “in the air”, so Elton might
have just absorbed it and then when something different from the usual pop song
“verse-bridge-chorus" happened, he just pulled out of his hat a prog
composition without even realizing.
Luca:
I don’t think he was looking for a progressive sound. The first track is just like a medley, and the unmistakable intro was added by David Hentschel to Elton's track. However, having such a long piece at the beginning of the album does make it a bit 'prog', and that's a good thing. It gives the whole album a certain character.
Question 8:
When it comes to choosing which tracks would be released on an album, producers don’t always get it right. Many songs released as B-sides could easily have been included on official albums, like “Into the Old Man’s Shoes”. Conversely, some tracks that made it onto official albums might have been better suited as B-sides. A clear example is “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”: the decision not to include it on Blue Moves prevented the album from reaching number one in both the UK and the US, except for the Cash Box chart. Similarly, on The Big Picture, some tracks were removed that could have been included, while on Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, I would have added the second version of “Skyline Pigeon” and replaced another track, although that choice is not easy. Do you consider Goodbye Yellow Brick Road untouchable, or would you change any track in the original lineup?
Andrea:
I have to
say the truth (and I can say it here, because in the book there is actually no
space for our own opinions!): I wouldn’t have added the 1973 version of
“Skyline Pigeon” to the album, simply because it was a song already released,
and in my own view studio albums should include only “brand new” songs; of
course that second version of “Pigeon” is wonderful and much better than the
1969 one, but for me its perfect place is as a B-side.
And for the same reason I wouldn’t have included “Grey
Seal”! Again: the 1973 version is much better than the original one, but it’s
not a “new” song, so I would have put it as a B-side too! And I would have
replaced it with “Screw You”, whose verses I like a lot. Sorry if everyone else
thinks differently...
Question 9:
Critics and audiences often look for a distinguishing element that makes an artist truly cult, something revolutionary for their time. David Bowie is not Gary Glitter; visual style alone does not constitute a cultural phenomenon. Looking back, could you point to the fact or facts that made Elton John, beyond being a pop-cultural phenomenon, a truly revolutionary element for his era? And if he wasn’t, is there any problem with that? This question has followed me for decades, and until now, I haven’t been able to answer it for myself — I hope to find some insight today.
Luca:
With someone
as distinguished as Elton John, it’s hard to pinpoint a single factor that made
him so successful. I would always prioritise talent over appearance, although
the latter certainly played a part in Elton John’s popularity. Revolutionary? I
don’t think of Elton in those terms; I prefer to think of him as an incredible
musician and a generous man who has made millions of people happy with his
songs. The musical aspect that I find so defining of him is his ability to put
his piano skills to the forefront without showing off his technical ability and
create such great melodies.
Question 10:
In this long career, the relationship between career length and
immortality has disappeared. Many groups and artists had a much shorter
trajectory compared to Elton John, such as Cream, Nirvana, Joy Division, Amy
Winehouse, and The Doors. I believe many of these artists were also
immortalized due to early death or personal drama. Elton, on the other hand,
did not die at the peak or shortly after the height of his career. This
situation is not part of his posthumous existence, and there are unreleased
tracks reserved for posthumous releases. In this context, will the album
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road become the reference point for future generations?
Wouldn’t that be somewhat unfair to his other equally important works? And is
this album Elton John in his essence?"
Andrea:
I’ve
already heard someone saying “If Elton had died in 1976, he would be a legend,
and much more famous than he is now...”, but I really don’t care. I already had
another idol (Freddie Mercury) die too soon and leaving us wondering what other
wonderful songs he could have created if he were still alive. So I prefer that
things went in the way they did: Elton is a legend anyway and he recorded music
for almost 50 years after the peak period. As much as I like his 70s albums, I
like all the rest of his career (even if I admit that sometimes the results
were not as brilliant) so I would not exchange that for 50 years of “myth”.
And I think that Goodbye Yellow
Brick Road is already the reference point for someone starting with Elton’s
music, and it will be for future generations; that’s why we chose to write a
book about this and not about another album. But of course it doesn’t mean it’s
the only excellent album he did; it’s probably the one that summarizes what
Elton John’s music is about. If you don’t like this, maybe you won’t like any
other album he did.
Question 11:
How and when did you come to know this album? What are
your favourite moments?
Luca:
I bought Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
in 1993 on double cd. It quickly became one of my favorite albums of all times.
The album is
practically flawless but the finest moments for me are the opening track, “This
Song Has No Title”, “I’ve Seen That Movie Too”, “Danny Bailey” and “Harmony”.
Andrea:
Coincidentally, I listened to it for the first time in 1993 too! The year
before I discovered Elton's music so I was gradually trying to listen to all
the albums I could find. I agree that the album is practically flawless, and my
favourite tracks are "FFF/LLB" (that by the way is also my favourite
Elton track ever), "Sweet Painted Lady", "Harmony" and the
title-track. After more than 30 years I appreciate the album more and more with
each listening.
·
Question 12:
Could you both comment on some general aspects of the book Goodbye Yellow
Brick Road*, without giving away surprises, but in a way that sparks our
interest?
Luca:
Put simply, if you've had enough of gossip and want a book
that talks only about music, your wait is over!Would you like to know exactly
when these songs were recorded? Would you prefer facts to fantasy? This is your
book then.
Robson
Vianna: I would like to warmly thank Andrea Grasso and Luca Perasi for sharing
their insights, dedication, and passion in creating such a valuable
contribution to Elton John’s legacy. Their work not only celebrates Goodbye
Yellow Brick Road but also preserves its history for future generations of fans
and music lovers.
I
wish them great success with this book and their future projects.
Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
The Making of an Epic Album is available here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FP9GLK21/
Elton John’s Forgotten Charity Single: The Goaldiggers Song and the Curious B-Side
In 1977, at the height of his fame, Elton John lent his star power to an unusual charity project: The Goaldiggers Song. Released in April of that year, the single was produced to raise money for The Goaldiggers, a charity founded by football commentator Jimmy Hill to provide sports facilities for underprivileged children. Unlike Elton’s chart-topping hits of the 1970s, this record was never intended for mass distribution. In fact, only around 500 copies were pressed, making it one of the rarest Elton John releases in existence.
The A-Side: The Goaldiggers Song
The A-side of the single features Elton John alone at the piano, delivering a lighthearted performance lasting just over two minutes. The song itself has a playful quality, reflecting the good-natured purpose of the release. Though far from his major studio recordings, it carries Elton’s unmistakable energy and charm.
The B-Side: Jimmy, Brian, Elton & Eric
What makes this release truly unique, however, is its B-side. Titled “Jimmy, Brian, Elton & Eric,” the track is not a conventional song but rather a 12-minute recording of banter and comedy. The participants include:
-
Jimmy Hill – the well-known football pundit and charity founder
-
Brian Moore – a respected sports commentator
-
Elton John – at the piano, improvising and reacting
-
Eric Morecambe – one half of Britain’s legendary comedy duo, Morecambe and Wise
The session plays like a comedic sketch, with Elton occasionally tinkering on the piano while the group jokes, teases, and entertains. To fit the unusually long recording on a 7-inch record, the B-side had to be cut at 33⅓ rpm instead of the usual 45.
A Rare Collector’s Item
Because the single was distributed only by mail order and in very limited numbers, it has become a prized item among collectors of Elton John memorabilia. Copies occasionally appear on the market, often commanding high prices due to their rarity and quirky history.
Legacy
While The Goaldiggers Song never entered Elton John’s official discography in the same way as his studio albums and hit singles, it remains a fascinating footnote in his career. The single reflects Elton’s generosity, his close ties to British culture of the 1970s, and his willingness to poke fun at himself alongside some of the country’s most beloved entertainers.
For fans and collectors alike, The Goaldiggers Song and its remarkable B-side Jimmy, Brian, Elton & Eric are not just curiosities — they are windows into a playful and charitable moment in Elton John’s storied career.
Below is the edited tape featuring only the music, separated from the interview.
