21 at 33 is the fourteenth studio album by English musician
Elton John, released in 1980. It was his 21st album in total, made when John was 33 years old, hence the title.[4][5] Three singles were released from the album, including "
Little Jeannie", his highest-charting U.S. single in 5 years. The album sold over 900,000 copies in the United States, missing a Platinum certification.[6]
The album was recorded at Super Bear Studios,
Nice, France, in September 1979 and at
Rumbo Recorders and Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, California, from January to March 1980.
The title is derived from the fact that this was John's 21st album and was recorded at the age of 33. According to the liner notes in the remastered edition of the album, the count includes thirteen previous studio albums, two
greatest hits compilations, two live albums, as well as the soundtrack release Friends, the three-song 12-inch EP The Thom Bell Sessions and the
UK-only rarities collection Lady Samantha.
John has not played any of the material in concert since touring in 1980, with the exception of "
Little Jeannie", which, despite having been a huge North American hit (#3 Pop and #1 Adult Contemporary in the United States, and #1 in Canada), was included only in the two concerts from 2000 titled One Night Only, and the warm up gig for the two Madison Square Garden concerts in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.[7]
Eleven more songs, excluding the B-sides, were recorded during these sessions: five of which were "Heart in the Right Place", "Carla/Etude", "Fanfare", "Chloe" and "
Elton's Song"; these would appear on John's next release, The Fox. Two other songs recorded were French-language duets with
France Gall, entitled "Les Aveux" and "Donner Pour Donner", which were respectively released in France as the A-side and B-side of a 7" single. One song was "The Retreat" which was the B-side of the single "Princess" in 1982 and was later included on the US edition of the To Be Continued box set and as a bonus track on remastered version of the album Too Low for Zero. The other three songs were the B-sides for singles released from The Fox in 1981.
In 2003, Mercury/Universal and The Rocket Record Company reissued the album on CD, remastered by Gary Moore; the new line-up contained no bonus tracks.
Personnel
Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.