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So just who is Crazy Water and what
possessed this person to create a web site dedicated to the music of Elton
John. Well here is the answer to that burning question, along with a
couple of pictures of me and my family.
My name is Robert Bruce Redfield Jr.
I
live in the Northeastern United States with my wife Diana. We have a
6 year old son,
Robert, a 15 year old son
named Jimmy and a 12 year old
daughter named Samantha.
The first Elton song I can remember
listening to was "Your Song." But I didn't know it was an
Elton song at the time since the one I was listening to was by Three Dog Night. I used to
listen to their Golden Biscuits album all the time and they did a cover
version of "Your Song." When I finally heard Elton's version of it I
actually thought it was not as good. I know better now but I still like
Three Dog Night's version. Hey I was 12 years old then.
It was 1972 when "Crocodile Rock" came out. That is the first record purchase I
ever made. I still remember the 45rpm, it was on MCA Records with the all black
label, before the rainbow logo. "Elderberry
Wine" was on the B-side.
My first album purchase was Caribou in
1974. After realizing that I could pay a little more for an album and
get more songs I went out and bought all the earlier albums either on vinyl or
8-track, remember those ?
"Ticking" from Caribou
was the first song that made me take notice of lyrics. They were so
powerful, they made quite an impression on a 15 year old boy. Today,
when I listen to music the lyrics are as important as the meldoy. A good lyric can make me appreciate
a song more.
My first concert was Elton in 1976.
The "Louder Than The Concorde But Not Quite As Pretty" tour was at Madison
Square Garden in New York City in August of that year. He opened with
"Grow Some Funk Of Your Own" and it just got better after
that. Kiki Dee was the surprise guest and she joined Elton for "Don't Go Breaking My
Heart." One of the funnier memories I have from that show was this big fat
Jamaican woman who came out during "Island Girl" to throw bananas
out to the crowd. People were throwing back at her, that is until Elton threw some
out. Never saw those come back at the stage, wonder why?.
I have seen Elton in concert over 30 times
since then, the most recent being this past October at the Garden for the
"One Night Only" shows.
So now fast forwarding to present I wanted
to show my appreciation for Elton's music in some small way and I thought a
web site was the best way for me to express myself.
I wanted to create a website that focused
on some unique aspect of Elton's career so originally I had started this site
with its primary focus being Elton's Top 40 Streak. I painstakingly
researched all of Elton's US singles chart history and presented it
here. I also have presented a list of the songs that officially extended
the streak over each year. Also I have spelled out the "unofficial
rules" of the streak. I also have the usual features of a fan site.
Since I maintain this site on my home
computer and it is hosted by AOL I do not have the ability to provide many of
the features that some sites do so I try and use free services whenever I
can. The forum, survey page and discussion list are examples of that.
Since The Crazy Water Site started it has
made its presence felt and I have over 160,000 hits since it started.
What makes me feel the best is when people email to tell me what they think of
my site and the feedback has been 99.9% positive since I started.
So there you have it. Now you know a
little about me. I hope you continue visiting and thanks for making my
site successful.
Bruce
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