The 5 O’clock Shadow: November 12, 2019
Elton John sang backing vocals on the original version of this song. There was a legendary wager between Elton john and the original artist over whether the song would go to #1. It did, Elton John won the bet and the original artist had to join him onstage at MSG. It would turn out to be the original artist’s last live performance.
The Shadow artist are a trio of brothers. The drummer’s name is Ringo. After years of touring they somehow slipped a tape to Willie Nelson. Nelson took them under his wing, inviting them to Farm Aid, letting them use his home studio and flying them out to Maui for shows. In Hawaii, at Nelson’s urging, Ringo had his first piece of sushi, which he didn’t like, and his first taste of hot sake, which he did.
The song is about doing what works for you. It was his first U.S. #1 as a solo artist.
