The Bitch Is Back (Elton John song)
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- "The Bitch Is Back" is also the title of TV episodes of both Melrose Place and Veronica Mars.
“The Bitch is Back” | |||||
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Single by Elton John from the album Caribou |
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B-side | "Cold Highway" | ||||
Released | September 3, 1974 | ||||
Format | 7-inch | ||||
Recorded | Caribou Ranch | ||||
Genre | Rock, glam rock | ||||
Length | 3:42 | ||||
Label | MCA, DJM, Rocket/Phonogram | ||||
Writer(s) | Elton John, Bernie Taupin | ||||
Producer | Gus Dudgeon | ||||
Elton John singles chronology | |||||
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"The Bitch Is Back" is a song by Elton John, written with Bernie Taupin. It was the second single released from his 1974 album Caribou, and reached number 4 in the United States and number 15 in the United Kingdom.
The song was twice recorded by Tina Turner: 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 Elton John at the VH1 Fashion and Music Awards 1995 and VH1 Divas Live '99.
The song was inspired not by John or Taupin directly, but rather by Bernie Taupin's wife of the time. When discussing the Caribou album, Elton John threw one of his legendary tantrums. This led to Taupin's wife to claim "the bitch is back". Taupin then wrote the lyric. Musically, the song originally was written in A flat major, but is today performed live a half step lower in the key of G major. The saxophone solo in the middle is nowadays usually performed by synthesizers, while a guitar solo occasionally substitutes, as can be seen in the concert videos One Night Only and Live in Australia, respectively.