TOP 100 SONGS BY ELTON JOHN. This post: #40-31. Next instalment: tomorrow.

Caffé Latte` celebrates Elton John’s 70th birthday on March 25 and a half century of songwriting with Bernie Taupin (for the Top 50 tracks, assume they were written by this talented duo unless otherwise stated) with a retrospective highlighting: THE 100 GREATEST SONGS OF ELTON JOHN

40 FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND / LOVE LIES BLEEDING Year: 1973 Album: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road The opening track on Elton's watershed LP 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' runs for 11 minutes. It begins with the instrumental "Funeral For A Friend" and segues directly into the song "Love Lies Bleeding".  Elton still opens many concerts with this epic classic medley.

39 PART TIME LOVE Year: 1978 Album: A Single Man Advocating open relationships, Elton's upbeat hit song "Part Time Love" was written by the pianist with Gary Osborne.

38 CIRCLE OF LIFE Year: 1994 Album: The Lion King (film soundtrack) Elton and Tim Rice created "Circle Of Life" for the Disney motion picture 'The Lion King'. After the box office success of the film, it became an enduring musical that is still performed on stages in various countries to this day.

37 ORIGINAL SIN Year: 2001 Album: Songs From The West Coast "Original Sin" is a well crafted love song that is sadly underrated.

36 ARE YOU READY FOR LOVE Year: 1979 Album: The Thom Bell Sessions [E.P.] Elton recorded "Are You Ready For Love" in 1977. The funky R&B song was written by Thom Bell, his nephew Leroy Bell and Casey James. The original version found on the 1979 'Thom Bell Sessions' E.P. is over 8 minutes in duration. A new remix of the track was issued in 2003 and reached #1 in Britain.

35 YOU CAN MAKE HISTORY (YOUNG AGAIN) Year: 1995 Album: Love Songs The 'Love Songs' compilation album included new ballad "You Can Make History (Young Again)". The song re-surfaced 2 years later as 1 of the 3 tracks on the global hit single "Candle In The Wind 1997"

34 NOBODY WINS Year: 1981 Album: The Fox "Nobody Wins" was a French song originally entitled "J'veux d'la Tendresse". Jean-Paul Dreau composed it. New English lyrics were written by Gary Osborne.

33 PLEASE Year: 1995 Album: Made In England The 4th single lifted off the 'Made In England' album was the upbeat "Please". This is another underrated highlight from Elton's songbook.

32 SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT Year: 1997 Album: The Big Picture Along with being included on 'The Big Picture', the romantic track "Something About The Way You Look Tonight" was part of the double A-sided single "Candle In The Wind 1997". The disc was issued in September 1997, following the tragic death of Princess Diana. Elton performed the latter track at her funeral which was watched by an unprecedented worldwide audience. The release has sold in excess of 33 million copies. It remains the best selling single in British and American history.

31 COLD AS CHRISTMAS Year: 1983 Album: Too Low For Zero The 'Too Low For Zero' album opens with the anguish of "Cold As Christmas (In The Middle Of the Year)". It deals with a relationship that has soured resulting in icy terms between the couple. Kiki Dee added background vocals to the sad song.

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