Elton John played a free concert in Central Park’s Great Lawn on September 13, 1980 for an estimated 400,000 people. Live video recording. On the stage the band includes original bassist and drummer, Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson.
“Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” Single by Elton John from the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
B-side “Jack Rabbit” / “Whenever You’re Ready (We’ll Go Steady Again)”
Released June 29, 1973
Recorded May 1973
Studio Château d’Hérouville, France
Label MCA, DJM
Songwriters Elton John and Bernie Taupin
Producer Gus Dudgeon
Charted No.12 in US, No.7 in UK
Elton’s songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, wrote the lyrics. Taupin called it his “first attempt to write a rock and roll song that was totally English.” Until then, most of his songwriting focused on American culture.
This song is about Taupin’s teen years going to British dance clubs, where fights were common. Many of Taupin’s songs are written to relate to Elton’s life, but not this one – it’s unlikely that Elton would be fighting in a club.
“Saturday” is one of the most aggressive and lively rock inspired tracks ever recorded by John. It features energetic, rapid-fire piano playing reminiscent of Jerry Lee Lewis. The song was one of the few John-Taupin songs that Elton said was not a “typical piano number”. According to John’s recollection in Elizabeth Rosenthal’s His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John, it may have been written on the piano at first, but the song ended up being recorded somewhat in reverse to the normal way he records, with the band putting their tracks down, and Elton overdubbing his piano afterward. (John’s typical process was to either record the piano first or play along with the band.) Elton called the song “hard to record”.
Elton would sometimes let fans come onstage and gather around his piano when he performed the song. That ended on March 1, 2018 when an overanxious fan kept touching him when he played it at a concert in Las Vegas. Elton stormed off the stage, and when he returned, declared, “No more coming on stage on ‘Saturday Night.’ You f–ked it up.”
