Album · 1973
by Elton John
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player is an album by Elton John, released in 1973 on EMI, with 10 tracks.
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10 tracks · 43 min
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player is the sixth studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released by DJM Records. This was John's second straight No. 1 album in the US and yielded his first No. 1 single in both the US and Canada: "Crocodile Rock". "Daniel" was also a major hit from the album, giving him his second Canadian No. 1 single on the RPM Top Singles Chart and just missing the top slot south of the border, stalling at No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reaching No. 4 in the UK, one place higher than achieved by "Crocodile Rock". According to writer Philip Norman in his early 1990s authorized biography, "Elton," during a party in Los Angeles, John's friend Groucho Marx jokingly pointed his index fingers at the singer, as if holding a pair of six-shooters. John is reported to have put up his hands and said, "Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player", so naming the album. (The album's cover photograph, which shows a young couple going to see a fictional movie, "Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player, starring Elton John", also includes a movie poster of the Marx Brothers' "Go West", though whether this was an intentional subtle tribute to Groucho is …
