‘Ego’ by Elton John – Classic Hit or Miss

Remember this one? WOW -  This song starts rollicking piano accompanied by a train whistle, making it sound like there's a train rolling down a track. The song then goes into a steady 4/4 beat, then breaks down and goes to the chorus. Later in the song it goes in half tempo and then up again. A music video was made to accompany the song. It features synthesizers, and even carnival-esque organs, unusual for its time.

It was originally written during the sessions for his 1976 album Blue Moves but was left out. Elton said of the song by the time of its release:

"Ego was just something I had lying around, and I wanted to release it for a long time. Unfortunately, the time wasn't right. It's been disappointing. I really had hoped it would do well because I really liked it. I wrote the song jointly with Bernie Taupin, and we never thought of it as an autobiography until it came out. It's about the silliness of rock 'n' roll stars, and the video film was supposed to show just how stupid rock 'n' roll can be. It's the grotesque side of rock 'n' roll. And it's turned out to be one of the most sincere songs we've ever written."

The song is, as said, about rock stars and their fame which tend to get to their heads. Elton played this song live from 1978 up until 1980. It was also performed at his free concert in Central Park, 1980.

It squeaked in at #34 back in 1978 - how about today?