Kiki Dee

In 1976 a pop duet played all over the world that was so light and so happy it seemed to have always existed: two voices answering each other, playing, flirting, in a song about not breaking each other's hearts. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", by Elton John and Kiki Dee. Everybody remembers Elton. Few really remember the woman who sang with him, and that woman had a story of her own that was worth as much as the duet's. This is the story of that friendship, and of what each of them gave the other.

Before the duet, a pioneer

Kiki Dee —born Pauline Matthews in England— was not just any backing singer Elton picked at random. She was a pioneer. She was the first British woman signed by Motown, the legendary label of American Black soul. At a time when Motown was almost exclusively the territory of African American artists, a white singer from England came in through that door, because she had a real soul voice, with soul in it. Before the duet with Elton she had already had a hit of her own with "I've Got the Music in Me", a track full of energy that is still hers.

Which means that when she got together with Elton John, she was not an unknown he rescued: she was an artist with a craft and a history. The friendship between them was one of equals, not of star and apprentice.

What Elton gave her, and what she gave him

Elton John signed her to his own label, Rocket Records, and pushed her forward. That was his gift: a platform, the faith of a superstar in her talent. But the gift in return was enormous, and almost nobody measures it properly.

"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" —which Elton wrote with Bernie Taupin under pseudonyms, as a playful tribute to the Motown duets— was Elton John's first number one on the United Kingdom charts. Read that again: Elton John, one of the biggest stars in history, had years of giant hits behind him and still had never had a number one in his own country. What gave him one was this duet, with Kiki Dee. She was there, with her voice, at the exact moment when Elton finally reached the top at home. It was number one in the United States too.

That is the beauty of it. It was not Elton doing Kiki a favor. It was two friends who needed each other: he gave her a label and a stage, she gave him one of the best-loved songs of his career and his first British number one. The best duets sound like friendship because that is what they are, and this one truly was: they went on singing together and being friends for decades.

What to remember

Kiki Dee was the first British woman signed by Motown, with an authentic soul voice and a hit of her own in "I've Got the Music in Me". Her duet with Elton John, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", gave him his first number one in the United Kingdom and was number one in the United States as well. She was not a bit player in Elton's story: she was the friend who was there at one of his most important moments, and who did her part in making it happen.

Remember her like this: in the great duets, both voices matter. Kiki Dee was not "the one who sang with Elton". She was a pioneer in her own right and the friend who handed a legend his first number one at home. Behind every great shared song there are two people, and both of them count.

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Sources

Kiki Dee, stage name of Pauline Matthews, British singer born on 6 March 1947 in Bradford, England; she is still alive. She was the first female singer from the United Kingdom —and the first white British artist— to be signed by Motown (the Tamla label). Her solo hit "I've Got the Music in Me" (1974) reached the British charts. Signed by Rocket Records, Elton John's label, she recorded the duet "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (1976) with him, written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin under pseudonyms as a tribute to the Motown duets; the song reached number one in the United Kingdom (six weeks) —Elton John's first number one on the British charts— and also number one in the United States. Kiki Dee and Elton John kept up a long collaboration and friendship; she remained active, with the album "Long Ride Home" (2022) and a performance alongside Elton John that same year. Elton John has his own profile in this series. Profile compiled for Rebobinados with fact-checking; interpretations of the meaning of the work are offered as the author's reading. No song lyrics are reproduced, for copyright reasons. Information drawn from Wikipedia, Ultimate Classic Rock, Stereogum, American Songwriter, Smooth Radio and other coverage.