DON'T SHOOT ME I'M ONLY THE PIANO PLAYER

'''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player''' is the sixth studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John.
This was Elton's commercial breakthrough in America and yielded his first #1 single there - "Crocodile Rock." Along with "Crocodile Rock" '''Don't Shoot Me...''' contained more songs with a pop flavor, including "Elderberry Wine" (the b-side of "Crocodile Rock") and "Teacher, I Need You." Many long-time fans however, lamented this change, wishing he had stayed true to his original roots of simple piano ballads which were the staple on most of his earlier albums.

Contents

Track listing

Bonus tracks (1996 CD reissue)

Personnel

Additional personnel

Charts

Certifications

Track listing

All songs written by John/Taupin.
#"Daniel" – 3:53
#"Teacher I Need You" – 4:10
#"Elderberry Wine" – 3:34
#"Blues for My Baby and Me" – 5:39
#"Midnight Creeper" – 3:52
#"Have Mercy on the Criminal" – 5:58
#"I'm Gonna Be a Teenage Idol" – 3:55
#"Texan Love Song" – 3:34
#"Crocodile Rock" – 3:58
#"High Flying Bird" – 4:12

Bonus tracks (1996 CD reissue)

#

"Screw You (Young Man's Blues)" – 4:43
#"Jack Rabbit" – 1:50
#"Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again)" – 2:51
#"Skyline Pigeon [Piano Version]" – 3:53

Personnel

★ Elton John – flute, piano, harmonium, keyboard, electric piano, vocals, mellotron, farfisa organ

★ Davey Johnstone – synthesizer, acoustic guitar, banjo, guitar, electric guitar, sitar, vocals, background vocals, Leslie speaker

★ Dee Murray – bass, background vocals

★ Nigel Olsson – drums, maracas, background vocals

Additional personnel

★ Gus Dudgeon – brass arrangements on 3 4 7

★ Jacques Bolognesi – trombone on 3 4 7

★ Ivan Jullien – trumpet on 3 4 7

★ Jean-Louis Chautemps – saxophone on 3 4 7

★ Alain Hatot – saxophone on 3 4 7

★ Paul Buckmaster – orchestra on 6

Charts

'Album'

Year	Chart	Position
1973	UK Album Chart	1
1973	Billboard Pop Albums	1

'Singles'

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1973	Crocodile Rock	UK Singles Chart	5
1973	Crocodile Rock	Billboard Pop Singles	1
1973	Daniel	UK Singles Chart	4
1973	Daniel	Billboard Adult Contemporary	1
1973	Daniel	Billboard Pop Singles	2

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – United States	Gold	February 12 1973
RIAA – United States	Platinum	March 23 1993
RIAA – United States	Double Platinum	March 23 1993
RIAA – United States	Triple Platinum	October 11 1995