Elton John - Grow Some Funk Of Your Own

Not so sure if it would be "fadeout edited" but merely an earlier fade. In doing a side-by-side comparison between the 4:45 version from Rock Of The Westies and Greatest Hits, Volume II, it's simply an earlier fade on Greatest Hits, Volume II to bring it to 4:15.

Edited by eriejwg

Would one then assume that the version on Greatest Hits, Volume II is neither the 45 nor LP version?

Edited to add: What about the promo 45 version? Anyone with one that can chime in with length?

Edited by eriejwg

Re: "Grow Some Funk of Your Own / I Feel Like a Bullet in the Gun of Robert
Ford"

Does anyone know the story on this odd #14 single? I was too young to listen
to the radio and was hoping that someone recalls the circumstances behind its
release pattern.

Elton had just wrapped 8 consecutive top 10 songs (including a huge 3 week
number one) when this double sided flop (relative) came along.

Were both songs played conspicuously - or pushed - on the radio? Did they
cannibalize each other's airplay resulting in a lower peak? And wasn't that an
unusual move in that era? Or was it just Elton fatigue?   "Grow Some Funk" is
listed FIRST on the Hot 100 - is that more or less accurate? (ie: what was the
official song follow-up to Island Girl?)

Thanks to any (fellow) old timers!

Paul, you're spot on. I was in radio in 1976, but it was
as a volunteer board operator/DJ at a radio reading
service station. I didn't get into commercial radio until
Summer, 1977 and don't recall that song getting airplay
anywhere by then.

To jebsib:

Everyone's comments to your question are of course accurate, but I wanted to add my perspective as I remembered it as a 15 year old Elton fan & chart "zealot".

Elton himself knew how to maximize sales; he had b-sides unavailable on albums, stand-alone singles not on albums, non-commercial singles ("Pinball Wizard") etc. He also was the first artist to have enough mojo to have an album debut at the #1 position ('Rock Of The Westies' also had enough initial impact to debut at #1).

"Island Girl" was released a few weeks ahead of the 'Westies' LP. Being a very catchy commercial single with his new band it was an instant airplay & sales hit. Since Elton was the hottest artist at the time, when 'Westies' came out every Elton fan bought it as the LP was set-up very well. Many stations spiked a variety of cuts from the album in the first couple of weeks of its release.

When "Island Girl" started to burn, MCA chose to cull a two-sided single from the album because there wasn't a consensus smash to pull from the album as various radio formats toyed with different cuts (e.g. AOR playing "Yell Help" medley).

When the "Grow Some Funk"/"Feel Like A Bullet' 45 was released top-40 radio jumped on one or both sides, but sales were limited because *every* Elton fan already owned the album, and primitive callout research was probably negligible because airplay was split (testing is for individual songs).

So, it really wasn't a true flop; just different circumstances than his last several singles.

On a side note, yes I know "Bennie And The Jets" became a #1 USA hit culled from the album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", but in late '73/early '74 not *every* Elton fan owned the double album, and that song also appealed to different (read R&B) fans in addition to typical EJ fans.

Andy

Edited by AndrewChouffi