"Wrap Her Up" by Elton John

Song#:  2514
Date:  10/26/1985
Debut:  53
Peak:  20
Weeks:  14
Genre:  Pop



Pop Bits:  John was bouncing back a bit in the 80s with two platinum albums in a row. Each LP featured one Top 10 hit plus two other Top 40 entries. Hoping to keep the streak going, John next issued out Ice on Fire, an album that reunited him with producer Gus Dudgeon. Dudgeon produced all of John's album output from 1970-1976 (ten albums, six consecutive #1's), which was his most successful period. But the reunion didn't provide the same results and this first single set the tone. It just barely made the Pop Top 20 while missing all other charts. This in-turn made the album stop at #48, which was a career worst for John. Eventually, the album would go gold thanks to the success of a second single, but the results certainly killed the momentum he built up from his two previous releases.

ReduxReview:  As much as I love Elton John, he recorded some wolf-wolf dogs along the way and this was one of them. In fact, the album is pretty terrible overall. This pseudo-pop/blues jam has a dense, yet tinny production that that borders on obnoxious. George Michael's ball crushing forced falsetto didn't help matters. Then there was the stupid list of ladies that went on way too long. I guess these were meant to reflect the women described in the lyrics, but it just didn't work. For me this ranks as one of the worst Elton John singles to have actually become somewhat of a hit.

ReduxRating:  2/10

Trivia:  John got a helping hand from another famous singer on this track and another from the album. Recognize the voice? It belongs to newly minted star George Michael. The Wham! leader lent his pipes to this track (uncredited) and also made an appearance in the song's associated video. Near the end of the song, the pair began a list of over 20 female celebrities that included Marlena Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, and Brigitte Bardot. Another name mentioned was Kiki Dee, John's duet partner on the 1976 #1 hit "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart." Dee also makes a cameo in the video and even sang background vocals on the song.

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