1971 Hit, Written by Bernie Taupin, Ranked Among 'Greatest' Soft Rock Songs of All Time
1971 Hit, Written by Bernie Taupin, Ranked Among 'Greatest' Soft Rock Songs of All Time
Louise ParksSat, August 29, 2026 at 11:20 PM UTC
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Some songs are immediate hits. Others take the long road to the top.
Such is the case with Elton John’s tender and epic 1971 ballad “Tiny Dancer,” a song that somehow failed to crack the Top 40 upon its original release but has since become one of the legendary singer-songwriter’s most cherished recordings.
Written by John and his longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, “Tiny Dancer” opens John’s fourth studio album, Madman Across the Water. As is customary in their extraordinary now nearly 60-year partnership, Taupin supplied the lyrics while John composed the music, transforming Taupin’s evocative images of life and love in LA into a soaring six-minute ballad.
Taupin was inspired to write “Tiny Dancer” upon his first trip to America in 1970. In a rare video chronicling the creation of the song, John mentions off-handedly that Taupin wrote the song about his then girlfriend, Maxine Feibelman, who was indeed ‘a seamstress for the band.’ However Taupin goes into greater depth in a later interview with Rolling Stone.
“We came to California in the fall of 1970 and it seemed like sunshine just radiated from the populace,” he says. “I guess I was trying to capture the spirit of that time, encapsulated by the women we met, especially at the clothes stores and restaurants and bars all up and down the Sunset Strip. They were these free spirits, sexy, all hip-huggers and lacy blouses, very ethereal the way they moved.”
Released as a U.S. single in February 1972, “Tiny Dancer” reached just No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 35 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It performed better elsewhere, climbing to No. 19 in Canada and No. 13 in Australia.
In hindsight, it’s hard to imagine a song of this stature having struggled in the beginning, but the radio edit explains it.
It turns out paring down the 6-minute ballad to a digestible 3:45 for single play did “Tiny Dancer” a great disservice. Truncating the organic build of the musical masterpiece seemed to detracted from its overall impact at the time. Luckily, in the mid-1970’s, album-oriented radio stations (AOR) started playing “Tiny Dancer” in all of its 6 minute and 12 second glory, and the recognition began.
But “Tiny Dancer”‘s biggest moment had yet to arrive.
Nearly three decades later, director Cameron Crowe gave the song an unforgettable second life in his acclaimed 2000 film Almost Famous.
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During one of the movie’s most memorable scenes, the musicians and their entourage, still raw from an inter-band brawl the night before, are all piled in a stoned silent sun-strewn tour bus. However as “Tiny Dancer” plays, the drummer starts playing along with his sticks, and it’s infectious. Each person on the bus joins in singing until the whole bus is alive with the simple joy that only a perfect song can illicit.
In this cinematic moment “Tiny Dancer” is transformed into an anthem of reconciliation, belonging, and the particular intimacy of life on the road. Crowe later called the song the “soul” of the movie, and even John himself developed a new and profound appreciation for it.
“I didn’t really pay that much attention to that song until it was brought back by that movie, which I’m forever grateful to Cameron for,” he said in a later interview. “I just love that song so much. Of all the songs I’ve written, that’s the best song.”
Its popularity has only grown since then.
No one cares, or remembers, that “Tiny Dancer” didn’t get its initial due, the song is universally loved. It’s been covered or performed by an eclectic slew of artists, including Ben Folds, Tim McGraw, Red Hot Chili Peppers with guitarist John Frusciante on vocals, and Florence + the Machine. John has famously (and generously) performed his masterpiece with Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Taron Egerton, and others.
Since Almost Famous, “Tiny Dancer” has also made an appearance in other films, including the 1975 drama Aloha, Bobby and Rose, but its enduring cultural presence has extended far beyond the movies.
More than five decades after John sat down at the piano and gave Taupin’s words a melody, Amazon Music ranks “Tiny Dancer” among its 100 Greatest Soft Rock Songs of all time.
The rest of the world caught on long ago.
Related: ’70s Rock Legend From Canada Turns 73 Today
This story was originally published by Parade on Aug 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
