Simple Life (Elton John song)


"Simple Life" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin and was the fourth single release from John's 1992 album, The One. "Simple Life" was John's thirteenth number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, spending three weeks at the number-one spot, and reached number thirty on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at number three on Canada's RPM Top Singles chart and topped the RPM Adult Contemporary chart for three weeks. This song's appearance in the US top 40 set a record, as John had achieved a top-forty hit for 24 consecutive years, breaking the old record of 23 years set by Elvis Presley in 1977.

Song information

The single remix of "Simple Life" is somewhat different from its album counterpart. The single version has a faster tempo, a more defined drumbeat, more harmonica, less synthesized bass, and is over ninety seconds shorter than the version found on The One; whilst the album version is 6:25 minutes in length, the single version is 4:54 minutes long. The single version also omits the chorus after the second verse, contributing to its shorter length.
The music video, directed by Russell Mulcahy, features Elton singing from inside a cube in the middle of a stadium, which slowly rotates and shows people dancing around the cube.

Formats and pressings

The single remix of "Simple Life" can be found on 7" vinyl, audio cassette single, CD single pressings and a rare radio-only promo compilation released in 1992. The radio-only promo disc containing the single remix was released prior to the "Simple Life" CD single and was out-of-print before it was released to the market. The radio-only promo was, as implied through its name, released only to radio stations. Moreover, the radio-only promo was only released in major US cities and not Britain, making the radio-only promo disc pressing extremely rare.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts