This song would have to rank in my top 10 Elton John "deep cuts".  "The Greatest Discovery" was featured on Elton's breakthrough eponymous album in 1970, and was part of a broad artistic and marketing strategy that his label gambled on by investing in sizable studio orchestras and elaborate arrangements by the late great legendary Paul Buckmaster.  Elton and his lyricist Bernie Taupin were writing songs that didn't sound like anyone else.  The music was sophisticated with complex chords and progressions, and the lyrics were like something out of classical literature & poetry.  They needed the gravitas of an orchestra, and it's nearly unheard of for a label to make that kind of investment in an unproven artist.

It paid off...."Elton John" was a hit album and produced a top 10 single in "Your Song", and in an era where it was common to listen to albums front to back, it took the music scene and his small but growing fan base by storm.  Among the tracks that made an impact, was this beautiful story of a little boy being introduced to his new baby brother for the first time.  The lyrics, melody, and arrangement are such a perfect blend that it literally feels like a story your mother read to you as a child that had existed for over a century.  It's sweet and innocent, but also big and emotional.  It is truly a remarkable piece of art.

I was first exposed to it when I bought Elton's 1986 live album from Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and was absolutely mesmerized from the first note.  The music drew me in first, but the more I paid attention to Bernie's lyrics, the more moved I felt.  Elton holds the lyrics to this song in particularly high regard as well....I've never encountered a live rendering of the song where he doesn't take a moment and acknowledge Bernie's brilliance.  Take this one in....it's not a hit single, and never would be....but the world would be a lesser place if this one hadn't been written and recorded.

Enjoy my cover of this song from a livestream show I did on July 22, 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and then check out two amazing performances by Elton himself.  The first is from a BBC broadcast in 1970 when the song was new and he was basically unknown and just breaking into the scene.  The second is from 1986 in Sydney, Australia backed by his touring band and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.  Notice that in both instances, he takes a moment to acknowledge the brilliant work of his writing partner, Bernie Taupin.

If you'd like to explore my piano method more deeply, my best students use my video courses and join me for conversation and twice monthly Q&A Livestreams in my private community...you can find it all HERE. Thanks.

 

If the video doesn't show above, use THIS LINK to see it on YouTube

If the video doesn't show above, use THIS LINK to see it on YouTube

If the video doesn't show above, use THIS LINK to see it on YouTube