If anyone has got the music in her, it certainly comes as no surprise that it would be none other than Kiki Dee. March 6th marks a special day of celebration as Kiki celebrates her birthday today. To celebrate, I decided to compile a list of some of my personal favorite songs throughout Kiki’s career, including hits as well as album tracks.
Starting off in 1973 with Kiki’s album, Loving and Free, is a bonus track entitled “The Last Good Man in My Life.” This track was written by Elton and Bernie and almost feels like a song that I could even imagine Elton covering himself. From the piano riffs in the opening to the guitar work throughout, all combined with Kiki’s strong vocals, makes for a fantastic track, and possibly one of my top songs of Kiki’s. Other favorites off of Loving and Free include “Lonnie and Josie” and the title track.
Arguably one of Kiki’s most well-known songs is, “I’ve Got the Music in Me” which comes off of the 1974 album of the same name. My experience listening to this particular track has actually been similar to some of my experiences listening to Elton’s music, in that I listened to the song, realized that I recognized it, but never knew who sang it. This is an incredible track to start off the record, I’ve Got the Music in Me. One of the highlights of this track that I love, are portions when the music appears to slow down before speeding back up again, possibly telling the listener that Kiki and the band are not finished, and still have the music in them. Other personal track highlights from this album include “Step by Step” and “Heart and Soul.”
Coming off of Kiki’s self-titled 1977 album, is a track called “Standing Room Only.” The track comes as an upbeat number which I find has a bit of a funk aspect to it in a way and arrives as the fourth track. Something I love about this track is the upbeat melody and how it transitions from the previous track, “Into Eternity,” which showcases a bit of a smoother tempo, along with acoustics and strings to emphasize this. The transition between these two tracks appears almost seamless and makes it a fantastic way to showcase Kiki’s range in performing a wide range of songs and styles.
A recent endeavor of Kiki’s is the 2022 album, The Long Ride Home. “Eyes of Understanding” is one of my personal favorites off this record. One way that I like to describe this track is if a song could be both upbeat and calming at once, despite the words having two different meanings. With Kiki’s vocals, along with the intro and the outro of the song providing the calm aspect, while the melody and acoustics provide the more upbeat sense, it makes for an interesting way to envision the song. Other personal favorites off of this album include, “The Long Ride Home” and “Can’t Fix The Maybe.”
To close out the list, of course, I can’t leave out the song that first introduced me to Kiki, as an artist, which is none other than “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” Kiki duets with Elton on this song, and it remains what is arguably one of her most known and beloved songs. The two have performed the song a number of times in concert together, throughout the years, with the most recent of these being at Dodger Stadium in 2022. A highlight of this song to me actually comes from the music video. Many fans know how close Kiki and Elton are in their friendship and by watching the video, and how the two interact with each other, you can see this clear closeness between them that has lasted throughout so many years, which makes their partnership even more endearing. This certainly wasn’t the only time that the two worked with each other. They can also be found dueting on songs such as “Loving You is Sweeter Than Ever” and “True Love.” Going even further than just duetting together, you can also find Elton playing piano on some of Kiki’s songs and Kiki singing backup vocals on Elton’s songs throughout the years.
As a message to Kiki herself on this special day, wishing happiness, plenty of great music, and an orchid.
