Honky Cat

"Honky Cat" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was used as the opening track for John's fifth studio album, Honky Château, released in 1972.^[3]

"Honky Cat"
One of side-A labels of the US single
Single by Elton John
from the album Honky Château
B-side	"Slave"
Released	31 July 1972
Recorded	17 January 1972
Genre	Pop[1] rock[1][2] boogie-woogie[1]
Length	5:12
Label	Uni (USA), DJM (UK)
Songwriter(s)	Elton John Bernie Taupin
Producer(s)	Gus Dudgeon
Elton John singles chronology
"Rocket Man" (1972) "Honky Cat" (1972) "Crocodile Rock" (1972)
Audio
"Honky Cat" on YouTube

"Honky Cat" was also released as the A-side of John's thirteenth single.^[3] The single reached No. 31 in the United Kingdom, and fared better in the United States, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 just as John launched an American tour in September 1972.^[4]

John has performed this song numerous times in the 50+ years since its release.^[5] A live version of the song was released on the Here side of the Here and There live set in 1976 (and its expanded CD version in 1995), and a solo piano version appeared on the EltonJohn.com Live in Madison Square Garden Vol. 1 limited edition CD, recorded in October 1999 during his 1999 solo tour.^[6]

Reception

Record World said that the "sparkling mix and funky backbeat suit Elton's slidy vocal down to the ground."^[7] Cash Box said "Faster than a speeding 'Rocket Man,' and more powerful for the rinky-tink fun of it all, this track from [John's] #1 LP should be his biggest ever."^[8] Winston Cook-Wilson of Spin called it John's "most underrated" single.^[9]

In 2018, Dave Simpson of The Guardian ranked the song No. 48 on his list of the 50 greatest Elton John songs.^[10] The following year, Justin Kirkland of Esquire ranked the song No. 27 on his list of the 30 best Elton John songs, calling it a "funky, horn-laden hit" and writing that "it's hard to compare the odd mix of electric piano and wheezing saxophone to any other single in Elton's songbook."^[11]

The song was also featured on the soundtrack to the 1998 movie Sliding Doors.

Covers

Lee Ann Womack covered the song on the 2018 tribute album Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1972–73) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report) 78 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] 10 Germany Singles Chart 41 New Zealand (Listener)[13] 4 UK Singles Chart 31 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[14] 8 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[15] 6 U.S. Cash Box Top 100[16] 18

Year-end charts Chart (1972) Rank Canada 87 U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[17] 84

Personnel

• Elton John – Fender Rhodes electric piano, acoustic piano, vocals
• Davey Johnstone – banjo
• Dee Murray – bass
• Nigel Olsson – drums
• Ivan Jullien – trumpet
• Jacques Bolognesi – trombone
• Jean-Louis Chautemps – saxophone
• Alain Hatot – saxophone

Production

• Gus Dudgeon – horn arranger, producer
• Ken Scott – engineer