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The Bitch Is Back

Field	Value
name	The Bitch Is Back
image	The bitch is back elton john US single side-A.png
alt	side-A label
caption	One of side-A labels of the US single
type	single
artist	Elton John
album	Caribou
B-side	Cold Highway
released
recorded	January 1974
studio	Caribou Ranch (Nederland, Colorado)
* Hard rock<ref>{{cite news	url	https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/sep/13/elton-johns-50-greatest-songs-ranked	title=Elton John's 50 greatest songs – ranked!	last=Simpson	first=Dave	date=13 September 2018	work=The Guardian	access-date=8 August 2019	issn=0261-3077}}{{cite book	last1=Considine	first1=J.D.	last2=Coleman	first2=Mark	last3=Evans	first3=Paul	last4=McGee	first4=David	chapter=
Elton John	editor1-last	DeCurtis	editor1-first=Anthony	editor2-last=Henke	editor2-first=James	editor3-last=George-Warren	editor-first3=Holly	date=1992	title=Rolling Stone Album Guide	publisher=Random House	location=New York	pages= 151–153}}
* glam rock<ref>{{cite web	url	https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/g27458828/best-elton-john-songs/	title=Neither 'Rocket Man' Nor 'Tiny Dancer' Is Elton John's Best Song	last=Kirkl	first=Justin	date=29 May 2019	website=Esquire	access-date=8 August 2019}}
* power pop<ref name	"Marsh 1989"
length	3:44
producer	Gus Dudgeon
prev_title	Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
prev_year	1974
next_title	Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
next_year	1974
misc

| B-side = Cold Highway

Hard rock{{cite book|last1=Considine|first1=J.D.|last2=Coleman|first2=Mark|last3=Evans|first3=Paul|last4=McGee|first4=David|chapter= Elton John|editor1-last=DeCurtis|editor1-first=Anthony|editor2-last=Henke|editor2-first=James|editor3-last=George-Warren|editor-first3=Holly|date=1992|title=Rolling Stone Album Guide|publisher=Random House|location=New York|pages= 151–153}}
glam rock
power pop
MCA
DJM
Rocket
Phonogram
Elton John
Bernie Taupin

"The Bitch Is Back" is a song written by British musician Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was the second single released from John's 1974 album Caribou, and reached number one in Canada (his sixth in that country), number four in the United States and number 15 in the United Kingdom.

The lyrics parody John's celebrity lifestyle. In the US, it was certified Gold on 13 September 1995 by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Background

The idea to create the song was inspired not by John or Taupin directly, but rather by Taupin's wife at the time, Maxine Feibelman, who would say, "The bitch is back," when John was in a bad mood. Taupin then wrote the lyrics. Later, John would comment: "It is kind of my theme song." The song originally was written in A-flat major, but was later performed live a half step lower in the key of G major.

Reception

Cash Box said that "Elton and the band are in rare form here and prove that rock comes as easily as the ballads do" and that "the hooks are incredible, the vocals are intense and the playing is right there." Record World called it a "rambunctious rouser" that "doesn't mince words."

Controversy

Several radio stations in the United States and elsewhere refused to play the song because of the word "bitch". For example, in 1976, the program director of WPIX-FM in New York told Billboard, "We will play records that are borderline suggestive records such as 'Disco Lady' by Johnny [sic] Taylor but we will not play 'The Bitch Is Back' by Elton John. We won't play those types of records no matter how popular they get." John responded to the controversy, quipping "some radio stations in America are more puritanical than others."

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1974)	Peak
position
Australia	53
Canada RPM Top Singles	1
UK Singles Chart	15
Netherlands	26
US Cash Box Top 100	5

Year-end charts

Chart (1974)	Rank
Canada	34

Certifications

Covers

The song was twice recorded by Tina Turner, once for her Rough album in 1978, and again for the John/Taupin tribute album Two Rooms in 1991. Turner also performed the song in her live show in the late 1970s, and with John at the 1995 VH1 Fashion and Music Awards and VH1 Divas Live '99. For her rendition Turner earned a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Performance.

Rihanna covered the song with Elton at the third annual Fashion Rocks Concert in 2006.

"Feud", the sixteenth episode of Glees fourth season, uses "The Bitch Is Back" in a mash-up with Madonna's "Dress You Up", performed by Alex Newell and Blake Jenner.

Miley Cyrus covered the song for the 2018 cover album Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

Taron Egerton covered the song for the 2019 Elton John biopic Rocketman. It was the first song featured in the film.

In Hocus Pocus 2 (2022), Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker perform the song in character as the Sanderson Sisters with the song rewritten as "The Witches Are Back".

Personnel

Elton John – piano, vocals
Davey Johnstone – electric guitars
Dee Murray – bass, phased Pignose bass
Nigel Olsson – drums
Tower of Power horn section – brass
- Lenny Pickett – tenor sax (solo)
Ray Cooper – tambourine
Clydie King – backing vocals
Sherlie Matthews – backing vocals
Jessie Smith – backing vocals
Dusty Springfield – backing vocals

References

Simpson, Dave. (13 September 2018). "Elton John's 50 greatest songs – ranked!". [[The Guardian]].
Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Caribou – Elton John". [[AllMusic]].
Kirkl, Justin. (29 May 2019). "Neither 'Rocket Man' Nor 'Tiny Dancer' Is Elton John's Best Song".
(November 20, 2024). "The 74 Best Albums of 1974".
Marsh, Dave. (1989). "The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made". [[Plume (publisher).
(2 November 1074). "RPM Top Singles". [[RPM (magazine).
Guinness British Hit Singles, Fifth Edition, GRRR Books Ltd. and Guinness Superlatives Ltd., 1985, {{ISBN. 0-85112-429-1, p. 115.
"Gold & Platinum – RIAA: Elton John". [[Recording Industry Association of America]].
Rosenthal, Elizabeth J.. (2001). "His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John". Billboard Books.
"The Bitch Is Back by Elton John".
(14 September 1974). "CashBox Record Reviews". Cashbox.
(September 14, 1974). "Hits of the Week".
Williams, Jean. (25 December 1976). "Sex-Oriented Lyrics, Titles Stir a Storm".
Heller, Jason. (24 July 2012). "How Elton John's "The Bitch Is Back" said a lot without specifying anything".
Canada, Library and Archives. (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly".
(23 November 2020). "Tina Turner's GRAMMY Awards history". [[Grammy Award.
(4 April 2023). "Elton John All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track". Running Press.
(2008). "Icons of R & B and Soul: An Encyclopedia of the Artists who Revolutionized Rhythm". ABC-CLIO.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1974-singles 1974-songs 1974-controversies-in-the-united-states elton-john-songs tina-turner-songs songs-with-music-by-elton-john songs-with-lyrics-by-bernie-taupin song-recordings-produced-by-gus-dudgeon rpm-top-singles-number-one-singles djm-records-singles phonogram-records-singles mca-records-singles the-rocket-record-company-singles british-hard-rock-songs obscenity-controversies-in-music

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