Track 8 - “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” by Elton John (1975)

From the album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy

Music by Elton John; lyrics by Bernie Taupin

Performed by:

Elton John – lead vocals, piano

Davey Johnstone – guitar

Dee Murray – bass

Nigel Olsson - drums

Captain Fantastic, raised and regimented, hardly a hero

Just someone his mother might know

Very clearly a case for corn flakes and classics

“Two teas both with sugar please”, in the back of an alley

While little dirt cowboys turned brown in their saddles

Sweet chocolate biscuits and red rosy apples in summer

For it’s hay make and “Hey mom do the papers say anything good?

Are there chances in life for little Dirt Cowboys?

Should I make my way out of my home in the woods?”

In the year 2000, the movie Almost Famous was released, written and directed by Cameron Crowe. If you haven’t seen it, Almost Famous is a semi-autobiographical story of Crowe’s life and his beginnings as a writer and reporter for Rolling Stone magazine. His character, named William in the movie, is depicted as a weird little kid, living in San Diego with his older sister Anita (played by Zooey Deschanel), and being raised by his well-meaning, but very strict mother (played by Frances McDormand). On the day Anita turns 18, she is preparing to move out of the house and begin her new life and a career as a flight attendant. Before she leaves, she puts her hands on Williams’s shoulders, and tells him, “Look under your bed, it’ll set you free.” So, as Anita drives away, William goes to his room and drags out a large satchel, full of records. He starts to flip through them, running his hand over each one: Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys; Led Zeppelin II; Axis: Bold as Love by Jimi Hendrix, Cream’s Wheels of Fire, and Joni Mitchell’s Blue. When he arrives at Tommy by The Who, he opens the gatefold cover and sees a note from Anita: “Listen to Tommy with a candle burning and you will see your entire future.” William drops the needle on the vinyl record, lights the candle, and with the chords of The Who’s “Sparks” playing in the background, you see the wonderment on his face as he watches the record spinning on his turntable, his life forever changed. The scene fades to William as a teenager, scribbling band names on his notebook, and from there tells the story of his becoming a music writer. When I first saw Almost Famous, I loved this whole scene and thought it was brilliant; a perfect introduction to William’s love of music and how it truly changed his life, and then the transition to the rest of the story of how he becomes a journalist. I also had two thoughts. The first was that I bet there were millions of people out there who had had a moment like that, and whether they became a music writer or not, there was a song or album that made them discover and love music. Crowe’s depiction of his own life changing moment no doubt resonated with countless others. The second takeaway was that I knew exactly what album would be spinning on that turntable, and what song would be playing if I was writing a movie about my life. Elton John’s 1975 autobiographical concept album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, specifically the title track is the song and album that changed everything. You may think it’s odd that I would know that at five years old, but I just knew. From the album art on the gatefold cover to the lyric book, to the music itself, it was my world back then. When this “50 at 50” project was just an abstract idea and I was writing down song names in a notebook, this was the song I started with. It all begins and ends with Captain Fantastic. But this wasn’t the first Elton John song or record I heard; rather it was the first real album I was ever given as a gift, and that I ever owned, and that’s what made it so special to me. And I guess I really owe it to the arrival of my brother, in 1974, more than a year before the album was released.

Elton John began playing piano as a young boy, often playing classical pieces by ear. When he was seven, he began formal piano lessons, and when he was eleven, he earned a music scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London. While he was proficient with the classics and generally a good student, he found himself often skipping classes, and ended up leaving the Academy before taking final exams. At age 15, he got a job as a pianist at a local pub in Middlesex, playing several nights a week. Heavily influenced by the rock and roll records his mother played in the 50s, and the likes of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, John played popular standards and his own material, his first attempts at songwriting. In the mid-60’s, he formed a band called Bluesology, which would become an R&B backup band to popular blues artist Long John Baldry. Then in 1967, he would answer an ad in British magazine New Musical Express that would change the trajectory of his life and career. A&R manager Ray Williams had run the ad looking for new musicians for his label, Liberty Records. John was handed an envelope of lyrics, written by 17-year-old Bernie Taupin, who had also answered the ad. John went home and wrote music to the lyrics Taupin had written, and so was born a partnership that has continued for over five decades.

By the time my father brought home Elton John’s Greatest Hits Volume 1, in late 1974, John was already an international superstar. Between 1970 and 1974, before the release of his first greatest hits collection, he released seven studio albums, generally considered classics and most containing best-selling singles. In fact, he scored six #1 albums in a row in the 1970s, all certified platinum. Elton John could have stopped releasing albums, and Greatest Hits Volume 1 could have been a career retrospective other artists might have envied: “Rocket Man”, “Your Song”, “Crocodile Rock”, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, plus others; you’ve heard all these songs before on the radio and maybe you have an Elton John playlist or CD somewhere. They’re some of the greatest songs in rock history, and there was no doubt at that time in 1974 that Elton John was the biggest musical act on the planet. But of course, I had no idea who Elton John was when dad put Greatest Hits Volume 1 on his stereo. My musical knowledge was limited to the 45s and few albums at my grandparent’s apartment around the block: Stevie Wonder’s “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”, Barry Manilow’s “Mandy”, and a battered copy of Magical Mystery Tour by the Beatles. After my dad played Greatest Hits the first time, I could not get enough of it, and I asked my parents to play that record all the time, and I became obsessed with Elton John in general. And it was about more than just the music; it was about Elton John’s whole image and appearance. On the cover of Greatest Hits, John wore a white three-piece suit with a white fedora hat, and large white sunglasses. In the photo on the back, he was wearing these big platform shoes. Who was this guy? He was like no one I’d seen in our neighborhood, that’s for sure. I would quickly learn that Elton John was also a flamboyant showman and performer, and it was that persona would play into why I would love Captain Fantastic.

OK, so what I’m about to share is going to make me sound like a spoiled brat, but it’s central to the story of this amazing album and song, so I will give you the short version and you can draw your own conclusion. My brother Jamie arrived earlier that year, in April 1974. To say I was welcoming to this new addition to our family would not be totally accurate. Being the first son, grandson, and nephew, I was resentful to no longer be the center of attention, and to have this new person competing with me. It was a tough first year of having a new little brother, but I remember at some point coming around and helping my mom out with him from time to time. When Jamie turned one, my parents threw a little party to celebrate his 1st birthday. The memories of that day are fuzzy, but I do remember there were NO presents for me, not even sympathy presents, which I know for a fact goes on today in some families when one sibling has a birthday, and the parents want to keep things civil. So, as promised, here’s the “spoiled brat” angle. I truly want to believe that Elton John’s Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy showed up because my parents did not want me to feel left out after Jamie’s 1st birthday. The timeframe sort of adds up, they knew I was obsessed with Elton John, and my parents are, well…they’re just great people who want everyone to be happy and everything to be “even.” As far back as I can remember, for Christmas, graduations, any occasion you can think of, my brother and I were always treated equal. Even today, they’re very cognizant of what they give the grandkids, so that everything is equal. So, when my dad brought that record home, still in the shopping bag from the record store, I really believe it was their way of making me feel included, weeks after Jamie’s birthday party. Back then though, all I cared about was getting the cellophane wrapper off the album cover. The artwork stretched over front and back, and when I opened the gatefold, I was able to see the entire illustration. Caricatures of Elton John (Captain Fantastic), in space-age top hat, glasses and cape, and Bernie Taupin (the Brown Dirt Cowboy), sitting in a bubble with his pencil and notebook, surrounded by woodland animals, adorned the front and back. The piano Elton John was riding on had legs that looked like they were crawling over all the psychedelic animals that I interpreted to be the audience. Members of the band floated over top of everything, in smaller bubbles. It was the most colorful, craziest looking picture I had ever seen. While I think the cover art was meant to be playful, there was also a certain sinister-ness about it. Inside the sleeve was the record itself, and then I found literally the best part: a lyric book. You mean I can read along as the music is playing?? I may never leave the house again! (Note: through the years, if a record, tape or CD did not come with lyrics, boy was I pissed!) Finally, my dad put the record on his turntable, and I had my Almost Famous moment; I stared at the record spinning and listened to the first track, “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy”, as these beautiful acoustic notes started playing. Then Elton started singing, and then the drums and bongos came in, and the electric guitar during the chorus…it was amazing, and it sounded ridiculous. I will talk more about my dad’s stereo from back then at some point down the road; it remains the best sounding stereo system I’ve ever heard. Then I remembered the lyric book and I began to read along with the songs as they played. It was an unbelievable experience. Up to that point, this was the best day of my life; I had my first album, and it was all so perfect, from the music to the cover to the lyric book. I couldn’t have asked for a better first record to own and listen to. The only thing missing was my own record player…but fortunately I wouldn’t have to wait until my brother’s 2nd birthday to get one. My father’s parents bought me a plastic record player right before my 5th birthday, from JC Penney. It was beige, with a removable plastic cover and a small built-in speaker on the front. The turntable was as big as a 45-rpm record, but it also played full albums. Now I could play Captain Fantastic and other records whenever I wanted, and not have to ask my parents to play them for me all the time. It didn’t sound like their stereo, but it was all mine. My record collection grew from there, but I couldn’t tell you the next album I got after Captain Fantastic…and honestly it doesn’t matter. I love music because of that album, that first track in particular, and I’ll never forget the first time I heard it. Of course, I have other favorite artists and bands, but as I mentioned, it begins and ends with this one. 😊

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Next time…break out the mistletoe and drag your tree in from the garage! It’s Christmas in April as we talk about the first of two holiday songs on the playlist.

P.S.

 Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy debuted on the Billboard album chart at #1, the first album in history to do so. Then, later that year, in October…Elton John did it again, when Rock of the Westies debuted at #1. Other artists have had albums debut at #1 the week of their release, but he did it first. I’m not going to recap Elton John’s career. You know who he is…icon of icons, with record sales of 300 million worldwide, Grammys, an Oscar and a Tony. There has been plenty written about him, but I highly recommend listening to actor Taron Egerton narrate John’s 2019 autobiography, Me. Egerton portrayed John in the 2019 film Rocketman, which I also recommend. You can find Me on Audible, and Rocketman on Amazon Prime. I’m also going to call out Chris Molanphy’s awesome Hit Parade podcast again; he does an amazing episode about Elton John’s Billboard chart feats, and the parallels to George Michael’s career. You can find that here.

I continued to listen to Elton John’s music throughout the 1970s, and I still return to those early albums, and his first two Greatest Hits collections all the time. And of course, I have Captain Fantastic on vinyl, a gift from my wife on my 50th birthday. It still sounds like it did over 40 years ago, and I play it whenever I can. I wish I still I had that original copy my parents gave me when I was five, but like many of the musical souvenirs I will talk about on this trip, it was probably lost or misplaced or simply given away. I’m grateful to have had it at all though, and I’ll make sure to hang on to the copy I have now.

My dad’s stereo was replaced by a slicker model in the 80s, but you guessed it, that’s a story for another time. And that brother I mentioned…he turned out to be better than OK. Turns out he also developed a bit of an obsession with music, so much so that he ended up becoming a pretty good percussionist. Jamie has also introduced me to dozens of new artists throughout the years, especially during those teenage years when music was more important than just about everything. It was great growing up in a house that always seemed to have music playing, and to have a sibling to talk about music with, go to concerts with and not mind so much when I “borrowed” CD’s. But we owe it all to our parents…they usually let us play our records as loud as we wanted, at least for a while until they came banging on the bedroom door. 😊

See you next time…

 JS

4/24/2022