The Elton John album rejected by his label: “I was gutted, I have to say”
Despite climbing almost every possible mountain in the music industry, Elton John has still needed to deal with adversity since establishing himself as a world-famous superstar. Although he’s a household name with a devoted fanbase in the millions, his record label once refused to release one of his studio albums.
As an elder statesman of music, Elton is comfortable with existing outside of the hit parade. He’s already endured decades at the top of the charts and no longer expects his new releases to compete with the new breed of pop stars, artists who are more familiar to a younger audience. Nevertheless, there is still a priceless prestige attached to his name.
Since the release of his biopic, Rocketman, in 2019, Elton has regained relevance in the mainstream and possibly become as popular as ever before. Additionally, his farewell appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2023 proved to be a landmark moment in the festival’s history, with almost the entire crowd at Worthy Farm flocking to the Pyramid Stage to witness his final UK tour show.
Yet, less than a decade before his first and final headline set at Glastonbury, John was persona non grata with his record label. While this seems farcical now, considering his current standing, the music industry can change quickly, and John is currently being treated with the respect he deserves. Furthermore, every label would be willing to distribute his new album.
In 2015, John completed work on his forthcoming record, Wonderful Crazy Night, which was slated to be released through Capitol Records. However, despite being signed to the label, they were unwilling to be associated with the LP, leaving John in a perilous position.
During an interview with Rolling Stone, John opened up about the ordeal and explained why it was a blessing in disguise. The singer admitted: “I was gutted, I have to say. I thought, ‘This is a fucking good record, and I can’t understand why they don’t want to put it out’. But they’ve done me a favour.”
He continued: “I was so upset for about a week, and then I landed on Island’s doorstep with David Massey and they are so thrilled. They have a lot of young artists on their label. I am, by far, the oldest artist they have. They have The Killers, who are friends of mine. I’m 68 years old, and I’ve made 33 studio albums. All I’m asking for at this age is for them to like it, to be enthusiastic and to do their best. I can ask for no more.”
As Island Records and Capitol Records are both owned by Universal Music Group, it was a simple transfer for John. However, if they also weren’t receptive to the record, the English musician could have found himself with an album that he was unable to share with his fans. Thankfully, this didn’t turn out to be the case.
Although John admitted that he’s no longer “going to sell a million albums”, Wonderful Crazy Night still proved to be an international success, reaching the top ten in several territories across the globe.