Island Girl


"Island Girl" is a song performed by Elton John that went to number one for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and number 14 in the UK in 1975. In the U.S., it was certified Gold in 1975 and Platinum in 1995 by the RIAA. It was the first single taken from the album Rock of the Westies. The song was written by John and his songwriting collaborator Bernie Taupin.
The song which "Island Girl" replaced at number one was "Bad Blood," by Neil Sedaka. Elton had provided uncredited backing and duetting vocals on this collaboration.

Lyrics

The lyrics are about a prostitute in New York City and a Jamaican man who wants to take her back to Jamaica.

Music and single

The song is atmospheric, featuring gospel-ish piano behind the famous distorted slide-guitar intro. It also features a high-strung Caribbean guitar sound, marimbas, and a heavy bass guitar. Also notable is a shaky synthesizer solo played by James Newton Howard.
The single's B-side was "Sugar on the Floor", which was written by Kiki Dee, who would go on to duet with John on a number of occasions, most notably on their chart-topping 1976 single, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart".

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Rank
Canada143
U.S. Billboard64

All-time charts

Sales and certifications

Personnel