Lady Samantha
"Lady Samantha" | ||||
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Single by Elton John | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 17 January 1969 (UK) / (US) January 1970 (US) (Second release) | |||
Recorded | December 1968 DJM Studios | |||
Length | 3:04 | |||
Label | Philips (UK 1969) DJM (US 1969) Congress (US 1970) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Elton John, Bernie Taupin | |||
Producer(s) | Steve Brown | |||
Elton John singles chronology | ||||
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"Lady Samantha" is a song by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin. It was released on 17 January 1969 as his second single, six months before his first album, Empty Sky, came out. It appeared on its 1995 reissue as a bonus track.
Performances
Recorded in December 1968 along with its B-side, "All Across the Havens," it was performed on several radio broadcasts including John's first BBC radio airing on 28 October 1968, with Caleb Quaye on guitar[1] but forgotten afterward. Despite the performances, John never played it in concert.
Chart performance and releases
John's first single, "I've Been Loving You," did not fare well on the British charts. This song went the same way. It was praised by critics, and yielded what producer Gus Dudgeon, who became a fan of the song upon hearing it on the radio, later called "a turntable hit." The song garnered a fair amount of airplay, but sold few copies and failed to chart. It was John's final single on the Philips label. This was also John's first American single, released on the DJM label in the United States, but it failed to chart there as well. It was re-released a year later, this time on the Congress label, but again failed to chart. Its B-side was his third British single, "It's Me That You Need."
"Lady Samantha" also surfaced in other reissue configurations, including as a double B-side (with "It's Me That You Need") to a DJM single issue of "Rocket Man" in 1972, and again as part of a DJM album compilation titled Lady Samantha, released in the US in 1980 and earlier in the UK in 1974 in cassette/8 track tape-only format with different cover art. This collection featured rarities and B-sides from the earliest days of John's career. It later also appeared on the MCA Records' 4-CD boxed set To Be Continued... in 1990, and on Mercury's 2-CD Rare Masters compilation released in 1992, prior to its inclusion as a bonus track on the CD reissue of Empty Sky in 1995.
Bernie Taupin remembers in "His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John" by Elizabeth Rosenthal that the song was the first to represent the songwriting team's new direction, courtesy of advice from producer Steve Brown, who suggested the two should write what they like and please themselves, not the marketplace.
Other versions
American rock group Three Dog Night recorded the song in 1969. It appeared as the second track on their second album, Suitable for Framing, and was also included on the band's retrospective compilation, Celebrate: The Three Dog Night Story.
New Zealand singer Shane Hales, known professionally as Shane,[2] released the song as a single in 1969. It reached number 3 on charts of that country.
Personnel
- Elton John – electric piano, organ, vocals
- Caleb Quaye – guitar
- Tony Murray – bass
- Roger Pope – drums
References
- v
- t
- e
- "I've Been Loving You" (1968)
- "Skyline Pigeon" (1968)
- "Lady Samantha" (1969)
- "It's Me That You Need" (1969)
- "Border Song" (1970)
- "Rock and Roll Madonna" (1970)
- "From Denver to L.A." (1970)
- "Take Me to the Pilot" (1970)
- "Your Song" (1970)
- "Come Down in Time" (1970)
- "Friends" (1971)
- "Levon" (1971)
- "Indian Sunset" (1971)
- "Tiny Dancer" (1972)
- "Rocket Man" (1972)
- "Honky Cat" (1972)
- "I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself" (1972)
- "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" (1972)
- "Crocodile Rock" (1972)
- "Elderberry Wine" (1972)
- "Daniel" (1972)
- "Have Mercy on the Criminal" (1972)
- "Teacher I Need You" (1973)
- "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" (1973)
- "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" (1973)
- "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973)
- "Step into Christmas" (1973)
- "Candle in the Wind" (1974)
- "Bennie and the Jets" (1974)
- "Harmony" (1974)
- "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (1974)
- "The Bitch Is Back" (1974)
- "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (1974)
- "Philadelphia Freedom" (1975)
- "I Saw Her Standing There" (1975)
- "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" (1975)
- "We All Fall in Love Sometimes" (1975)
- "Island Girl" (1975)
- "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" (1976)
- "I Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)" (1976)
- "Pinball Wizard" (1976)
- "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (1976)
- "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (1976)
- "Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance!)" (1977)
- "Crazy Water" (1977)
- "The Goaldiggers Song" (1977)
- "Ego" (1978)
- "Part-Time Love" (1978)
- "Song for Guy" (1978)
- "Are You Ready for Love" (1979)
- "Mama Can't Buy You Love" (1979)
- "Johnny B. Goode" (1979)
- "Little Jeannie" (1980)
- "Sartorial Eloquence (Don't Ya Wanna Play This Game No More?)" (1980)
- "Dear God" (1980)
- "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" (1981)
- "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" (1981)
- "Blue Eyes" (1982)
- "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)" (1982)
- "Ball and Chain" (1982)
- "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1982)
- "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" (1983)
- "I'm Still Standing" (1983)
- "Kiss the Bride" (1983)
- "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" (1984)
- "Passengers" (1984)
- "Nikita" (1985)
- "That's What Friends Are For" (1985)
- "Wrap Her Up" (1985)
- "Heartache All Over the World" (1986)
- "Slow Rivers" (1986)
- "Take Me to the Pilot" (1988)
- "I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That" (1988)
- "Town of Plenty" (1988)
- "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two)" (1988)
- "Healing Hands" (1989)
- "Sacrifice" (1989)
- "Club at the End of the Street" (1990)
- "You Gotta Love Someone" (1990)
- "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (1991)
- "The One" (1992)
- "Runaway Train" (1992)
- "The Last Song" (1992)
- "Simple Life" (1993)
- "True Love" (1993)
- "Shakey Ground" (1994)
- "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (1994)
- "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (1994)
- "Circle of Life" (1994)
- "Believe" (1995)
- "Made in England" (1995)
- "When the Money's Gone" (1995)
- "You Can Make History (Young Again)" (1996)
- "Live Like Horses" (1996)
- "The Madness of King Scar" (1997)
- "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" (1997)
- "Candle in the Wind 1997" (1997)
- "Written in the Stars" (1999)
- "Someday Out of the Blue" (2000)
- "I Want Love" (2001)
- "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" (2002)
- "Original Sin" (2002)
- "Are You Ready for Love" (2003)
- "Ghetto Gospel" (2005)
- "Electricity" (2005)
- "The Bridge" (2006)
- "Joseph, Better You than Me" (2008)
- "Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)" (2009)
- "All of the Lights" (2010)
- "Good Morning to the Night" (2012)
- "Sad" (2012)
- "Looking Up" (2015)
- "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" (2019)
- "Ordinary Man" (2020)
- "Sine from Above" (2020)
- "The Pink Phantom" (2020)
- "It's a Sin" (2021)
- "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" (2021)
- "Merry Christmas" (2021)
- "Sausage Rolls for Everyone" (2021)
- "Hold Me Closer" (2022)
- Category:Elton John