Island Girl

"Island Girl"
"Island Girl"
Single by Elton John
from the album Rock of the Westies
B-side	"Sugar on the Floor"
Released	29 September 1975
Recorded	June–July 1975
Genre	Rock; disco;
Length	3:42
Label	MCA (US); DJM (UK)
Songwriter(s)	Elton John, Bernie Taupin
Producer(s)	Gus Dudgeon
Elton John singles chronology

"Island Girl" is a song performed by Elton John that went to number one for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.^[1] and number 14 in the UK in 1975. In the U.S., it was certified Gold in 1975 and Platinum in 1995 by the RIAA.^[2] It was the first single taken from the album Rock of the Westies. The song was written by John and his songwriting collaborator Bernie Taupin.

The song which "Island Girl" replaced at number one was "Bad Blood," by Neil Sedaka. Elton had provided uncredited backing and duetting vocals on this collaboration.

Lyrics[]

The lyrics are about a Jamaican prostitute in New York City and a Jamaican man who wants to take her back to Jamaica.

Music and single[]

The song is atmospheric, featuring gospel-ish piano behind the famous distorted slide-guitar intro. It also features a high-strung Caribbean guitar sound, marimbas, and a heavy bass guitar. Also notable is a shaky synthesizer solo played by James Newton Howard.

The single's B-side was "Sugar on the Floor", which was written by Kiki Dee, who would go on to duet with John on a number of occasions, most notably on their chart-topping 1976 single, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart".

Chart performance[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (1975–76)	Peak position
Australia	12
Canadian RPM Top Singles	4
New Zealand^[3]	4
UK	14
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[4]	1
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary^[5]	27
U.S. Cash Box Top 100^[6]	1

Year-end charts[]

Chart (1975)	Rank
Canada^[7]	38
U.S. Cash Box^[8]	10

Chart (1976)	Rank
Canada^[9]	143
U.S. Billboard^[10]	64

All-time charts[]

Chart (1958-2018)	Position
US Billboard Hot 100^[11]	502

Sales and certifications[]


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[12]	2× Gold	150,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[13]	Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel[]

Ray Cooper – congas, tambourine, marimba
Kiki Dee – backing vocals
James Newton Howard – ARP synthesizer, Mellotron solo
Davey Johnstone – Ovation guitar, slide electric guitars, banjo, backing vocals
Elton John – piano, lead vocal, backing vocals (credited as "Ann Orson")
Kenny Passarelli – bass, backing vocals
Roger Pope – drums
Caleb Quaye – acoustic guitar, backing vocals

References[]

^ "Weekly Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 Songs from the First 50 Years", Billboard.com. 2008.
^ "American certifications – Island Girl". Recording Industry Association of America.
^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1976-01-26. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
^ "Music: Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. 1975-11-08. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 122.
^ "Top 100 1975-11-15". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
^ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1975". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-01-17.
^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-01-23. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
^ "Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
^ "Canadian single certifications – Elton John – Island Girl". Music Canada. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
^ "American single certifications – John, Elton – Island Girl". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 22 November 2012.

External links[]

[1] "Weekly Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 Songs from the First 50 Years", Billboard.com. 2008.

[2] "American certifications – Island Girl". Recording Industry Association of America.

[3] "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1976-01-26. Retrieved 2016-10-10.

[4] "Music: Top 100 Songs | Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. 1975-11-08. Retrieved 2016-10-10.

[5] Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 122.

[6] "Top 100 1975-11-15". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-09-06.

[7] "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-10.

[8] "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1975". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-01-17.

[9] "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-01-23. Retrieved 2016-10-10.

[10] "Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.

[11] "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.

[CanadaElton_JohnIsland_GirlsingleCertRef-12] "Canadian single certifications – Elton John – Island Girl". Music Canada. Retrieved 22 November 2012.

[United_StatesJohn,_EltonIsland_GirlsingleCertRef-13] "American single certifications – John, Elton – Island Girl". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 22 November 2012.

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hide v t Elton John songs
1960s	"Skyline Pigeon" (1968) "I've Been Loving You" (1968) "Lady Samantha" (1969) "It's Me That You Need" (1969)
1970s	"Border Song" (1970) "Rock and Roll Madonna" (1970) "From Denver to L.A." (1970) "Take Me to the Pilot" (1970) "Your Song" (1970) "Friends" (1971) "Levon" (1971) "Indian Sunset" (1971) "Tiny Dancer" (1972) "Rocket Man" (1972) "Honky Cat" (1972) "I Think I'm Going to Kill Myself" (1972) "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" (1972) "Crocodile Rock" (1972) "Elderberry Wine" (1972) "Daniel" (1972) "Have Mercy on the Criminal" (1972) "Teacher I Need You" (1973) "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" (1973) "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" (1973) "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973) "Step into Christmas" (1973) "Candle in the Wind" (1974) "Bennie and the Jets" (1974) "Harmony" (1974) "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (1974) "The Bitch Is Back" (1974) "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (1974) "Philadelphia Freedom" (1975) "I Saw Her Standing There" (1975) "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" (1975) "Island Girl" (1975) "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" (1976) "I Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)" (1976) "Pinball Wizard" (1976) "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (1976) "Cage the Songbird" (1976) "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (1976) "Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance!)" (1977) "Crazy Water" (1977) "The Goaldiggers Song" (1977) "Ego" (1978) "Part-Time Love" (1978) "Song for Guy" (1978) "Are You Ready for Love" (1979) "Mama Can't Buy You Love" (1979) "Johnny B. Goode" (1979)
1980s	"Little Jeannie" (1980) "Sartorial Eloquence (Don't Ya Wanna Play This Game No More?)" (1980) "Dear God" (1980) "Whatever Gets You thru the Night" (1981) "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" (1981) "Blue Eyes" (1982) "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)" (1982) "Ball and Chain" (1982) "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1982) "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" (1983) "I'm Still Standing" (1983) "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" (1984) "Passengers" (1984) "Nikita" (1985) "That's What Friends Are For" (1985) "Wrap Her Up" (1985) "Take Me to the Pilot" (1988) "I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That" (1988) "Town of Plenty" (1988) "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two)" (1988) "Healing Hands" (1989) "Sacrifice" (1989)
1990s	"Club at the End of the Street" (1990) "You Gotta Love Someone" (1990) "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (1991) "The One" (1992) "Runaway Train" (1992) "The Last Song" (1992) "Simple Life" (1993) "True Love" (1993) "Shakey Ground" (1994) "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (1994) "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (1994) "Circle of Life" (1994) "Believe" (1995) "Made in England" (1995) "When the Money's Gone" (1995) "You Can Make History (Young Again)" (1996) "The Madness of King Scar" (1997) "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" (1997) "Candle in the Wind 1997" (1997) "Written in the Stars" (1999)
2000s	"I Want Love" (2001) "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" (2002) "Original Sin" (2002) "Are You Ready for Love" (2003) "Ghetto Gospel" (2005) "Electricity" (2005) "The Bridge" (2006) "Joseph, Better You than Me" (2008) "Tiny Dancer (Hold Me Closer)" (2009)
2010s	"Good Morning to the Night" (2012) "Sad" (2012) "Looking Up" (2015) "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" (2019)
2020s	"Ordinary Man" (2020) "Sine from Above" (2020) "Learn to Fly" (2020) "The Pink Phantom" (2020) "It's a Sin" (2021) "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" (2021)
Related	Albums discography Videography
Category:Elton John