"Island Girl" is a song performed by Elton John that went to
number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and number 14 in
the UK in 1975. It was the first single taken from the album
Rock of the Westies. The lyrics are about a prostitute
and a man who wants to take her back to Jamaica.
The song is atmospheric, featuring gospel-ish piano behind
the famous scratchy, distorted repeated slide guitar intro. It
also features a high-strung Caribbean guitar sound,marimbas,
and a heavy bass guitar. Also notable is a shaky synthesizer
solo played by James Newton Howard.
The single's B-Side was "Sugar on the Floor", which was
written by Kiki Dee, who would go on to duet with Elton on a
number of occasions, most notably on their chart-topping 1976
single, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart".
Discography