story about the Vietnam War and the feelings brought on by returning home gave British singer Elton John and his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, their first Billboard #2 single in America. However, it wasn't without its share of questions, more for what wasn't there than for what was.

"Daniel" was the second single from Elton John's 1973 album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player. First charting on April 21, 1973, "Daniel" peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the charts for 12 weeks. Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player charted on Feb. 10, 1973, and remained on the charts for 89 weeks. It was the #1 album in the U.S. for two weeks and was certified gold by the R.I.A.A. on Feb. 12, 1973.

Born Reginald Dwight on March 25, 1947, the future Elton John displayed his musical skills while still a child. Having studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, he joined the group Bluesology, where he honed his songwriting skills. After Long John Baldry joined the group, its name was changed to The John Baldry Show. Reginald also changed his name, combining the names of group members Elton Dean and John Baldry into his new moniker, Elton John.

After a failed audition at Liberty Records Elton John was hooked up with lyricist Bernie Taupin. The two of them struck up a fast friendship, writing more than a dozen songs via correspondence before actually meeting face to face. After a few attempts at singles failed the duo finally hit the pop charts with the #92 "Border Song" in 1970. Elton John's next release, "Your Song," became his first Top 10, peaking at #8, and in 1973, he earned his first chart-topping hit with "Crocodile Rock."

That single's follow-up was a song called "Daniel." Bernie Taupin discussed in the book Two Rooms: Elton John & Bernie Taupin In Their Own Words how the idea for the song came to him. He explained, "The song was inspired by an article that I read when we were recording Don't Shoot Me in Chateau d'Arraville outside Paris. I was reading Newsweek in bed, late at night, and there was a piece about the vets coming home from Vietnam. The story was about a guy that went back to a small town in Texas. He'd been crippled in the Tet offensive. They'd lauded him when he came home and treated him like a hero, but he just wanted to go home, go back to the farm, and try to get back to the life he'd led before. I just embellished that and like everything I write, I probably ended up being very esoteric. But it is a song that is very important to me, because it was the one thing I said about the Vietnam war."

Backed with the song "Skyline Pigeon," one of the pair's first songwriting successes in Britain, "Daniel" entered the charts at #77, the week's highest debut. Within nine weeks, the tune was the #2 song in America, topping the Adult Contemporary charts as well.

However, "Daniel" did inspire its share of controversy, most notably about its missing last verse. The song had been set up as a story, but because of the length of the song the last portion of the lyrics were scrapped, leading many to question who exactly Daniel was. Taupin admitted, "'Daniel' has been the most misinterpreted song that we've ever written. It's been interpreted as a gay anthem, a family feud song, there's no end to it."

- Christopher G. Feldman, The Billboard Book of No. 2 Singles, Billboard, 2000.
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