Welcome to the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Sleeping with the Past. This web site has been well over 5 years in the making and has been one hell of a journey to say the least. But the idea to make this site started long before that.
Around 10 years ago, I came across Elton John’s 1989 album, Sleeping with the Past, and struggled to find information on this album. Most biographies online at the time would acknowledge the success of Sacrifice as Elton’s first solo UK #1 but the album itself was an afterthought. I eventually found references to the album explaining it as Elton and Bernie’s tribute to 60’s R&B music but being a fan of that era as well I wanted more. Credit has to be given to the Elton John books by Claude Bernadin and Elizabeth Rosenthal which helped quench the thirst for more information on the album.
Personally, I felt this album didn’t get talked enough about online and if you’ve seen me around you EJ forums you know I’ve discussed various aspects of the album. Somewhere along the lines, I would stumble across an interview with information related to SWTP I had never seen before and slowly developed a desire to find out as much as I could about the album.
Since then, I’ve been blessed and extremely fortunate to talk with band members and individuals involved with the album. I am forever grateful for those willing to share their recollections for us fans. I still regret I was unable to get in contact with Guy Bablyon before his unfortunate passing. So I’ve done my best to fill in any gaps of information and piece together the most complete history of this album.
Though it was already album #22 by the time it was released in the Summer of 1989, I feel strongly this album isn’t just another Elton John release and holds a little more weight. First, the album started as a labor of love with Elton and Bernie writing lyrics based on the type of music they grew up with and were listening to when the met. Second, this was his first platinum selling album since 1978’s A Single Man and helped his career continue going as Elton himself was undergoing personal issues. And last of all, the album itself I find to have consistency and variety from track to track. It goes from Reggae to Gospel, to R&B to Pop yet the album gels together. The credit goes to Elton and Bernie, to the band, and the production crew.
So with that said, I welcome to you the site and hope you find it informative. I do plan to continue updating the site with information and new areas so please do keep checking back!
My dear friend Claude also wrote an recollection of the album for the site which you can find here.
– SWTP Webmaster