Song of the day for December 21 2023
The song for today that I chose is Don’t Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee, from Eltons final show at Dodger Stadium.
On Decemeber 21 2005 Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish became the first gay celebrities to register their relationship as a civil partnership. The 20 minute ceremony took place at The Guild Hall, Windsor, England, guest’s included Ringo Starr, Victoria Beckham, Joss Stone, Sting, Elvis Costello, Jamie Cullum, George Michael and The Osbournes – Ozzy, Sharon, Jack and Kelly.
And on December 21 2014 Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish formally converted their civil partnership to a marriage hosting a ceremony at their Windsor estate in Berkshire. David and Victoria Beckham, Ed Sheeran, Lulu and actor David Walliams were among the guests
“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” was the first No. 1 single in the UK for both John and Kiki Dee, topping the chart for six weeks in mid 1976. John would not enjoy a solo British chart-topper until “Sacrifice” in 1990. It also became his sixth No. 1 single in the US, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and spent one week on the Easy Listening chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1976, giving him his second consecutive appearance in the Billboard Year-end Top 3. In the U.S., it has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. After this duet with Dee, John failed to have another US solo number one single until “Candle in the Wind 1997”. This 21-year period included two intervening number one hits in America with musical partners: “That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne & Friends in 1986, and a 1992 re-make of John’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” with George Michael credited as a duet.
In 1977, John guest-starred on The Muppet Show and performed the track with Miss Piggy. In 1985, John and Dee performed the track to the crowd at Wembley Stadium during John’s set at Live Aid (where Dee sang backup). In 1988, John appeared with Minnie Mouse on the NBC special Totally Minnie miming to the track. He performed the track with Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan) at the 2001 British Comedy awards. He also performed it with the Spice Girls on his ITV tribute programme An Audience with … Elton John
