On Record
Elton John - Dave Laing†
Dave Laing† [+]
University of Liverpool
Dave Laing, who died suddenly in January 2019, was a writer, editor and lecturer, and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool. His works include The Sound of our Time (1969), Buddy Holly (1970), One Chord Wonders: Power and Meaning in Punk Rock (1985) and (with Phil Hardy) The Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music (1995). He is an editor of the Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World whose first volumes were published in 2003.
Description
Following directly from Chapter 2, this chapter is concerned with the key characteristics of Elton John’s vocal and instrumental work, as demonstrated on almost thirty albums worth of studio recordings. In particular, the different facets of his singing style are examined, as will the debt to rock ‘n’ roll and soul pianists evident in his playing.