Davey Johnstone

Although guitarist Davey Johnstone is best known for being a longtime member of Elton John's band, he has guested on numerous other artist's recordings over the years and is widely regarded as one of rock's most versatile players. He began first as an acoustic/folk player doing session work in England, when one day producer Gus Dudgeon asked Johnstone to play on Bernie Taupin's self-titled 1970 solo album, which resulted in a meeting with John and playing on his 1971 classic Madman Across the Water. Johnstone and John hit it off and he was automatically welcomed into John's band full time, playing on many of his best-known hits over the years; Johnstone's playing could adapt from serene ballads ("Candle in the Wind"), to pop ("Crocodile Rock"), and even raging riff rockers ("Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"). Word quickly got out to other artists about Johnstone's talents, resulting in numerous sessions from the '70s all the way to the next millennium, including Joan Armatrading, Kiki Dee (Johnstone's future wife), Leo Sayer, Alice Cooper, the Who, Meat Loaf, Stevie Nicks, Yvonne Elliman, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, George Jones, Belinda Carlisle, and Vonda Shepherd, among many others. But despite all of his extracurricular work, Johnstone has always made working with Elton John his top priority, playing on over 20 albums with the flamboyant piano man. Johnstone has issued a lone solo album during his career, the obscure 1973 release Smiling Face. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide