Honky Château is the fifth studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released in 1972, and was titled after the 18th century French chateau where it was recorded, Château d'Hérouville. The album reached number one in the US, the first of John's seven consecutive US number one albums.
Two singles were released worldwide from Honky Château, "Rocket Man" and "Honky Cat". A third single, "Hercules", was prepared for release, but this never materialised. This was the final Elton John album on the Uni label in the US and Canada before MCA consolidated all of its various labels under the MCA brand. This and John's earlier Uni albums were later reissued on MCA Records.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 357 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It was revised to number 359 in 2012, and raised to number 251 in a 2020 list. It was certified gold in July 1972 and platinum in October 1995 by the RIAA.
Tracklist:
0:00 Honky cat
5:12 Mellow
10:44 I think i’m going to kill myself
14:20 Susie (dramas)
17:45 Rocket man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)
22:27 Salvation
26:26 Slave
30:49 Amy
34:52 Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
39:51 Hercules
Personnel
Track numbers refer to CD and digital releases of the album.
Elton John – vocals, acoustic piano (1–6, 8–10), Fender Rhodes (1), Hammond organ (2, 4), harmonium (6)
David Hentschel – ARP synthesizer (5, 10) (credited as "David Henschel" on sleeve)
Davey Johnstone – banjo (1, 7); electric, acoustic and slide guitars (2–10); backing vocals (3, 5, 6, 8, 10), steel guitar (7), mandolin (9)
Dee Murray – bass guitar, backing vocals (3, 5, 6, 8, 10)
Nigel Olsson – drums (1–8, 10), tambourine (2, 4), backing vocals (3, 5, 6, 8, 10), congas (7)
Ray Cooper – congas (8)
Jean-Louis Chautemps – saxophone (1)
Alain Hatot – saxophone (1)
Jacques Bolognesi – trombone (1)
Ivan Jullien – trumpet (1)
Jean-Luc Ponty – electric violin (2, 8)
"Legs" Larry Smith – tap dance (3)
Gus Dudgeon – brass arrangements (1), additional backing vocals (10), whistle (10)
Madeline Bell – backing vocals (6)
Tony Hazzard – backing vocals (6), additional backing vocals (10)
Liza Strike – backing vocals (6)
Larry Steel – backing vocals (6)
