Editing Tumbleweed Connection

{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = Tumbleweed Connection
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Elton John]]
| cover        = Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection.jpg
| alt          = 
| released     = 30 October 1970<br>January 1971 (US)
| recorded     = March 1970
| studio       = [[Trident Studios|Trident]], [[London]]
| genre        = * [[Roots rock]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_IccU2To8nAC&pg=PA124|access-date=3 October 2014|last=Zimmerman|first=Kent|page=124|publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation]]|year=2004|title=Sing My Way Home: Voices of the New American Roots Rock|isbn=1617747912}}</ref>
* [[blues rock]]<ref name = "Glickman 1998">{{cite book|first= Simon |last= Glickman |editor1-first= Gary |editor1-last= Graff |editor2-first= Daniel |editor2-last= Durchholz |year= 1998 |title= MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |chapter= Elton John|publisher= [[Visible Ink Press]] |location= Detroit |pages= 607–609}}</ref>
* [[pop rock]]<ref name = "Glickman 1998"/>
* [[Soul music|soul]]<ref name = "Glickman 1998"/>
* [[country rock]]<ref name="Fricke" />
* [[Americana (music)|Americana]]<ref name="Strong" />
| length       = 46:56
| label        = {{hlist|[[Uni Records|Uni]] (US)|[[DJM Records|DJM]] (UK)}}
| producer     = [[Gus Dudgeon]]
| prev_title   = [[Elton John (album)|Elton John]]
| prev_year    = 1970
| next_title   = [[Friends (film soundtrack)|Friends]]
| next_year    = 1971
| misc         = 
}}
'''''Tumbleweed Connection''''' is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter [[Elton John]]. It was recorded at [[Trident Studios]], [[London]], in March 1970, and released in October 1970 in the UK and January 1971 in the US. It is a [[concept album]] based on [[country and western]] and [[Americana (music)|Americana]] themes. All songs are written by John and [[Bernie Taupin]], with the exception of "Love Song" by [[Lesley Duncan]].

In 2012, ''Tumbleweed Connection'' was ranked number 458 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 greatest albums of all time]]. The album peaked at number two on the [[UK Albums Chart]] and number five on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart.<ref name="UKchart">{{cite web| url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/Elton%20John| title= Elton John > Artists > Official Charts| publisher=[[UK Albums Chart]]|access-date=1 May 2013}}</ref><ref name="EJ_Billboard200" /><ref name="uschart">{{cite web|title=Allmusic: ''Tumbleweed Connection'' : Charts & Awards : Billboard Albums|publisher=AllMusic|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r10454/charts-awards|pure_url=yes}}|access-date=1 May 2013}}</ref> In the US, it was certified gold in March 1971 and platinum in August 1998 by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]].

==Background==
Co-writer [[Bernie Taupin]] said of the album, "Everybody thinks that I was influenced by [[Americana (culture)|Americana]] and by seeing America first hand, but we wrote and recorded the album before we'd even been to the States. It was totally influenced by [[The Band]]'s album ''[[Music from Big Pink|Music From Big Pink]]'' and [[Robbie Robertson]]'s songs. I've always loved Americana, and I loved American Westerns. I've always said that '[[El Paso (song)|El Paso]]' was the song that made me want to write songs, it was the perfect meshing of melody and storyline, and I thought that here was something that married rhythms and the written word completely." John has remarked, "Lyrically and melodically, that's probably one of our most perfect albums. I don't think there's any song on there that doesn't melodically fit the lyric."<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=Tumbleweed Connection-Elton John |author=John Tobler |date=1995 |publisher=Rocket Records }}</ref>

Basic tracks for three of the album's titles, "[[Come Down in Time]]", "Country Comfort" and "Burn Down the Mission", were recorded at [[Trident Studios|Trident]] during the sessions for the previous LP, [[Elton John (album)|''Elton John'']], with overdubs completed for ''Tumbleweed Connection''. An early version of "Madman Across the Water", featuring [[Mick Ronson]] on electric guitar, was also recorded during the sessions for the album. It was released on several albums and reissues of ''Tumbleweed Connection'', though the track was ultimately re-recorded for the ''[[Madman Across the Water]]'' album.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mickronson.com/mrsessions.shtml |title=Mick Ronson sessions |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |access-date=19 January 2015 |website=mickronson.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119212528/http://www.mickronson.com/mrsessions.shtml |archive-date=19 January 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Dee Murray]] and [[Nigel Olsson]] appear for the first time together on this album as the rhythm section on "Amoreena". Olsson had played on one track on ''[[Empty Sky]]'' for John in 1969. It is Murray's first appearance on an Elton John album. In addition to several studio players who also performed on John's previous self-titled second album, several tracks feature backing musicians from the band [[Hookfoot]], who were also his [[DJM Records]] label mates. Hookfoot guitarist [[Caleb Quaye]] and drummer Roger Pope had also appeared on John's ''Empty Sky'' album.

No singles were released from the album in the US by either DJM or John's US distributor, [[Uni Records|Universal Records]], but "Country Comfort" ([[b/w]] "Love Song") was released as a single in Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.<ref name="single_discogs">{{citation|url= https://www.discogs.com/Elton-John-Country-Comfort/release/13011187 |title= "Country Comfort" single|publisher=[[Discogs]]|access-date=2020-10-12
}}</ref> It peaked at No. 15 in New Zealand,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=801#n_view_location |title=flavour of new zealand – search listener |website=Flavourofnz.co.nz |access-date=8 October 2016 |archive-date=19 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819143817/http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=801#n_view_location |url-status=dead }}</ref> and did not chart in the other two territories it was released in.

==Artwork==
The wraparound cover photo for the album was taken at [[Sheffield Park railway station]] in [[Sussex]], approximately {{convert|30|mi||round = 5}} south of London on the [[Bluebell Railway]]. Photographer Ian Digby Ovens<ref>[http://albumlinernotes.com/site/mobile?url=http%3A%2F%2Falbumlinernotes.com%2FTumbleweed_Connection.html#2928] {{Dead link|date=August 2023|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> captured John (seated to the right in the photo but appearing to the left on the front cover, shown above) and Taupin (standing to the left, on the back cover) in front of the late-nineteenth-century station, to represent the album's rural Americana concept despite the English location. Additional photos were taken from the interior of a train on the line for the album liner notes and libretto.

In August 2020, the Bluebell Railway announced that, to mark the 50th anniversary of the release of the album, it had restored the station to look as it did when the cover photo was taken, giving people an opportunity to re-create the scene in their own photos.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bluebell Railway Offers Elton John Fans Chance to Recreate Album Cover |url=https://www.bluebell-railway.com/news/bluebell-railway-offers-elton-john-fans-chance-to-recreate-album-cover/ |website=Bluebell Railway |date=19 August 2020 |access-date=2020-09-08}}</ref>

== Reception ==
{{Album ratings
|rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Erlewine">{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r10454/review|pure_url=yes}} |title=''Tumbleweed Connection'' |author=[[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=12 January 2012}}</ref>
|rev2 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
|rev2Score = B−<ref name="Christgau">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: J|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=J&bk=70|access-date=27 February 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>
|rev3 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
|rev3score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1231613/a/Tumbleweed+Connection.htm |title=Elton John – Tumbleweed Connection CD Album |publisher=Cduniverse.com |date=20 February 1996 |access-date=12 January 2012}}</ref>
|rev4 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
|rev4Score = (mixed)<ref name="Landau">{{cite magazine|last=Landau|first=Jon|author-link=Jon Landau|date=18 February 1971|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/tumbleweed-connection-19710218|title=Tumbleweed Connection|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|location=New York|access-date=12 April 2013}}</ref>
|rev5 = ''Rolling Stone'' <small>(deluxe edition)</small>
|rev5Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="Fricke">{{cite magazine|last=Fricke|first=David|author-link=David Fricke|date=4 September 2008|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/tumbleweed-connection-deluxe-edition-20080904|title=Tumbleweed Connection Deluxe Edition|magazine=Rolling Stone|location=New York|access-date=12 April 2013}}</ref>
|rev6 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
|rev6Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="RSguide">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/elton-john/albumguide|title=Elton John: Album Guide|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=12 April 2013|at=Portions of this album guide appeared in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (Fireside, 2004).}}</ref>
|rev7 = ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]''
|rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/elton_john/reviews/11798 |title=Music Reviews |publisher=Uncut.co.uk |access-date=12 January 2012 |archive-date=19 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519171658/http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/elton_john/reviews/11798 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|rev8 = ''[[The Village Voice]]''
|rev8Score = C+<ref name="Christgau2">{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1970|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-aow/cg16.php|title=Consumer Guide (16)|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|location=New York|access-date=5 April 2013}}</ref>
|rev9 = [[Yahoo! Music]] 
|rev9score = (favourable)<ref name="DiMartino">[http://ca.music.yahoo.com/read/review/12052968 ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718134207/http://ca.music.yahoo.com/read/review/12052968 |date=18 July 2011 }}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev10Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|edition=4th|isbn=978-0195313734|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref>

}}

[[File:Elton John & Bernie Taupin - Tumbleweed Connection; Original Framed Platinum 33 1-3 Record. .jpg|thumb|left|''Tumbleweed Connection'' Platinum Record]]

The album peaked at number two on the [[UK Albums Chart]] and number five on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart.<ref name="UKchart"/><ref name="EJ_Billboard200">{{citation|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/elton-john/chart-history/tlp/|title=Elton John Billboard 200 chart history|website=[[Billboard charts|Billboard]]|access-date=12 October 2020
}}</ref> In the US, it was certified gold in March 1971 and platinum in August 1998 by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]]. The album sold very quickly in the US, debuting at number 28 on ''Billboard's'' [[Billboard 200|Top LPs]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ggEAAAAMBAJ&q=elton|title=Billboard|date=23 January 1971|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|access-date=30 October 2024|via=Google Books}}</ref> an unusually high debut for a new artist at the time, and reached its peak position in just four weeks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ggEAAAAMBAJ&q=tumbleweed|title=Billboard|date=13 February 1971|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|access-date=30 October 2024|via=Google Books}}</ref>

In 2012, ''Tumbleweed Connection'' was ranked number 458 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 greatest albums of all time]].

=== Critical reception ===
Reviewing later for [[AllMusic]], [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] wrote: 
"Half of the songs don't follow conventional [[Pop music|pop]] song structures; instead, they flow between verses and vague choruses. These experiments are remarkably successful, primarily because Taupin's lyrics are evocative and John's melodic sense is at its best."<ref name="Erlewine" />

[[Robert Christgau]] wrote in his 1981 ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Record Guide]]'': "good melodies and bad Westerns on it. Why do people believe that these latter qualify as songpoems?"<ref name="Christgau" /> (Note: There's an earlier Christgau review of the album, written in 1970 for ''[[The Village Voice]]''). Reviewing for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', [[David Fricke]] wrote: "1971’s ''Tumbleweed Connection'' needs no improvement; it is one of the best [[country-rock]] albums ever written by London cowboys."<ref name="Fricke" />

[[Robert Hilburn|Robert Hillburn]] wrote for ''[[The Los Angeles Times]]'': "''Tumbleweed Connection'' is that near-perfect album that artists often spend a whole career trying to produce."<ref>{{Cite web|date=30 June 2017|title='Tumbleweed Connection' – An Early Favourite Reissued on Vinyl|url=https://www.eltonjohn.com/stories/tumbleweed-connection-an-early-favourite-reissued-on-vinyl|access-date=13 October 2020|website=eltonjohn.com}}</ref> Dave DiMartino wrote for ''[[Yahoo! Music]]'': "A step up from the slightly more overtly commercial ''Elton John''... ''Tumbleweed'' is beautifully recorded and filled with very fine songs... Bordering on classic status."<ref name="DiMartino" /> In ''[[Rough Guides|The Rough Guide to Rock]]'' (1999), Neil Patrick wrote that the album highlighted John and Taupin's "shared obsession with [[Wild West]] mythology", and deemed it the best of the three albums John released in 1970.<ref name="Patrick">{{cite book |last1=Patrick |first1=Neil |editor1-last=Buckley |editor1-first=Jonathan |editor2-last=Duane |editor2-first=Orla |editor3-last=Ellingham |editor3-first=Mark |editor4-last=Spicer |editor4-first=Al |title=The Rough Guide to Rock |date=1999 |publisher=Rough Guides |edition=2nd |location=London |isbn=1-85828-457-0 |pages=519–521 |chapter=Elton John}}</ref> [[Martin C. Strong]], writing in ''The Great Rock Discography'' (2006), considers the album a "relatively successful attempt at retro [[Americana (music)|Americana]]".<ref name="Strong">{{cite book |last1=Strong |first1=Martin C. |title=The Great Rock Discography |date=2006 |publisher=Canongate Books |location=Edinburgh |isbn=1-84195-827-1 |chapter=Elton John |page=544}}</ref>

In an overview of John's career, Andy Gill of ''[[The Word (UK magazine)|The Word]]'' deemed the album "a full-bore paean to a forgotten America" clearly inspired by the Band's first two albums, but added that "credit should be given for the way that the [[swamp rock|swamp-rock]] sound of 'Ballad Of A Well Known Gun' and 'Son Of Your Father', with its braiding of disparate guitar and piano lines in rhythmic symbiosis, paralleled the contemporary work of real Americans like [[Ry Cooder]] and [[Little Feat]]."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gill |first1=Andy |title=Elton John: Panning for Gold |journal=The Word |date=August 2012 }}</ref> ''[[New Musical Express]]'' contributor [[Charles Shaar Murray]] opined that the record "mined some new ore, and explored a few new things", with Taupin's love of the Band reflected in the lyrics' preoccupation with "the Old West, full of images of guns, fathers, stagecoaches, plantations and the like"; he added: "Buckmaster's orchestrations were played down, and the band worked overtime and really got funky. Apart from Lesley Duncan's 'Love Song', it was virtually raunch all the way, with some really sweet touches carefully placed en route."<ref name="Shaar Murray">{{cite journal |last1=Shaar Murray |first1=Charles |title=Elton John: They Laughed When He Played the Piano |journal=New Musical Express |date=3 February 1973 |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/elton-john-they-laughed-when-he-played-the-piano |access-date=12 March 2025}}</ref>

== "Burn Down the Mission" ==
"'''Burn Down the Mission'''", the tenth and final track on ''Tumbleweed Connection'', is the most enduring and frequently played song from the album, the only one played by John on his [[Farewell Yellow Brick Road]] Tour in 2022–23.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/elton-john/2023/tele2-arena-stockholm-sweden-13a7c57d.html|title=Elton John Setlist at Tele2 Arena, Stockholm|website=Setlist.fm|access-date=30 October 2024}}</ref> It was one of the very few non-singles on the Farewell Tour setlist, being played every night.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.setlist.fm/search?page=1&query=elton+john+farewell+tour|title=Search for setlists: elton john farewell tour|website=Setlist.fm|access-date=30 October 2024}}</ref> 

===Song information===
"Burn Down the Mission" is musically driven by the story told by Bernie Taupin's lyrics, as is common in John/Taupin collaborations.

The lyrics themselves, while telling a simple story, are vague enough to be open to interpretation. Ostensibly the story is that of a poor community oppressed by a rich and powerful force, and the narrator, driven by some sort of revelation, has decided to take direct action to remedy the situation. However, his attempt fails and he is "taken away", presumably to meet his fate, and justifies his actions as an attempt to defend his family.

The music reflects this narrative structure by starting with a slow piano introduction and the telling of the hero's situation and his progress towards direct action; the middle section, which is faster, [[Jazz|jazzier]] and brings in full instrumentation, can be read as an interpretation of the actual struggle in which the hero engages. Finally, the struggle has ended and the music returns to its initial understated form, reflecting the eventual defeat of the hero. The song ends with a restatement of the middle section while it fades out.

In the premiere episode of [[Elvis Costello|Elvis Costello's]] show ''[[Spectacle: Elvis Costello with...|Spectacle]]'', John cited [[Laura Nyro]] as an influence on, among other things, the unusual structure and rhythm changes of this song in particular.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sundancechannel.com/spectacle/episodes |title=Elvis Costello with Elton John, episode 1 |access-date=2010-12-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615164437/http://www.sundancechannel.com/spectacle/episodes/ |archive-date=2011-06-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

This is one of the most musically complicated works of John's career. The key changes four times before returning to the original opening chord sequence at the half-way mark. It has always been quite a fan favorite, and John has frequently performed it live over the last 40 years: <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/burn-down-the-mission-mt0014802656|title=Burn Down the Mission - Elton John |website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=30 October 2024}}</ref>

* John's first live album, the [[WPLJ|WABC]] radio broadcast ''[[11-17-70]]'', concludes with a version (running 18:10), interpolating [[Elvis Presley]]'s "[[My Baby Left Me]]" and [[The Beatles]]' "[[Get Back]]" 
* The song was a regular feature of the 1974 US and UK tours, with a version from the ''[[Royal Variety Performance]]'' in [[London]], included in the album [[Here and There (Elton John album)|''Here and There'']]
* Elton's longest and most complex standalone jam of "Burn Down the Mission" (lasting 10:17) was in the Christmas Eve 1974 performance broadcast live on the [[BBC]] from [[Hammersmith Odeon]] in London, much bootlegged as ''Ol' Pink Eyes Is Back'' and ''Just Like Strange Rain'' (listen [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zM_bkLB_d0 here] at timecode 9:43).
* A more conventional rendition was recorded in December 1986 and released on ''[[Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra]]''.

===Cover versions===
* In 1991, the song was covered by [[Phil Collins]] for the [[tribute album]] ''[[Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin]]''.
* In 2002, the song was recorded by [[Toto (band)|Toto]] for their album ''[[Through the Looking Glass (Toto album)|Through the Looking Glass]]''.

==Track listing==
{{tracklist
| all_writing = [[Elton John]] and [[Bernie Taupin]], except where noted
| headline = Side one
| title1 = Ballad of a Well-Known Gun
| length1 = 4:59
| title2 = [[Come Down in Time]]
| length2 = 3:25
| title3 = Country Comfort
| length3 = 5:06
| title4 = Son of Your Father
| length4 = 3:48
| title5 = My Father's Gun
| length5 = 6:20
}} 
{{tracklist
| headline = Side two
| title6 = Where to Now St. Peter?
| length6 = 4:11
| title7 = Love Song
| note7 = [[Lesley Duncan]]
| length7 = 3:41
| title8 = Amoreena
| length8 = 5:00
| title9 = Talking Old Soldiers
| length9 = 4:06
| title10 = Burn Down the Mission
| length10 = 6:21
| total_length = 46:56
}}

{{tracklist 
| headline = Bonus tracks (1995 Mercury and 2001 Rocket reissue)
| title11 = Into the Old Man's Shoes
| length11 = 4:02
| title12 = Madman Across the Water 
| note12 = Original version, featuring [[Mick Ronson]]
| length12 = 8:50
| total_length = 59:48
}}

{{Track listing
| headline      = 2008 deluxe edition bonus disc
| title1        = There's Goes a Well Known Gun
| note1         = Previously unreleased band demo
| length1       = 3:27
| title2        = Come Down in Time
| note2         = Piano demo
| length2       = 3:39
| title3        = Country Comfort
| note3         = Piano demo
| length3       = 4:12
| title4        = Son of Your Father
| note4         = Previously unreleased piano demo
| length4       = 4:12
| title5        = Talking Old Soldiers
| note5         = Piano demo
| length5       = 4:13
| title6        = Into the Old Man's Shoes
| note6         = Piano demo
| length6       = 3:40
| title7        = Sister of the Cross
| note7         = Piano demo
| length7       = 4:38
| title8        = Madman Across the Water
| note8         = Original version, featuring [[Mick Ronson]]
| length8       = 8:50
| title9        = Into the Old Man's Shoes
| length9       = 4:02
| title10       = My Father's Gun
| note10        = [[BBC]] session
| length10      = 3:43
| title11       = Ballad of a Well-Known Gun
| note11        = BBC session
| length11      = 4:36
| title12       = Burn Down the Mission
| note12        = BBC session
| length12      = 6:52
| title13       = Amoreena
| note13        = BBC session
| length13      = 5:12
| total_length  = 59:16
}}

== Personnel ==
Track numbers refer to CD and digital releases of the album.

=== Musicians ===
* Elton John – lead vocals, acoustic piano (1, 3–6, 8–10), [[Hammond organ]] (8), backing vocals (10)
* [[Brian Dee]] – Hammond organ (10, 13)
* [[Caleb Quaye]] – lead guitar (1, 4, 6, 8), acoustic guitar (1, 3, 5, 6), electric guitar (5)
* Les Thatcher – acoustic guitar (2, 10), 12-string acoustic guitar (3)
* [[Gordon Huntley]] – [[steel guitar]] (3)
* [[Lesley Duncan]] – backing vocals (1, 4, 5, 7), acoustic guitar (7)
* Mike Egan – acoustic guitar (10)
* Dave Glover – bass guitar (1, 4–6)
* [[Herbie Flowers]] – bass guitar (2, 3, 10)
* [[Chris Laurence]] – acoustic bass (2, 10)
* [[Dee Murray]] – backing vocals (3, 6), bass guitar (8)
* Roger Pope – drums (1, 4–6), percussion (1)
* [[Barry Morgan (musician)|Barry Morgan]] – drums (2, 3, 10)
* [[Nigel Olsson]] – backing vocals (3, 6), drums (8)
* Robin Jones – [[conga]]s (10), tambourine (10)
* [[Karl Jenkins]] – [[oboe]] (2)
* [[Skaila Kanga]] – [[harp]] (2)
* Ian Duck – [[harmonica]] (3, 4)
* Johnny Van Derek – violin (3)
* [[Paul Buckmaster]] – orchestral arrangements and conductor
* [[Madeline Bell]] – backing vocals (1, 4, 5)
* [[Tony Burrows]] – backing vocals (1, 5)
* Kay Garner – backing vocals (1, 4, 5)
* Tony Hazzard – backing vocals (1, 5)
* [[Dusty Springfield]] – backing vocals (1, 5)
* Tammi Hunt – backing vocals (4)
* Heather Wheatman – backing vocals (4)
* Yvonne Wheatman – backing vocals (4)

=== Production ===
* Gus Dudgeon – producer
* Robin Geoffrey Cable – engineer
* Gus Skinas – editing SACD release
* Ricky Graham – digital transfers
* [[Greg Penny]] – [[Surround sound|surround mix]] 5.1 & Dolby Atmos Mix
* [[Bernie Taupin]] – lyricist
* David Larkham – art direction, design, cover design, cover artwork, photography
* Barry Wentzell – photography
* Ian Digby-Ovens – photography
* [[John Tobler]] – liner notes

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1971)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>
| align="center"| 4
|-
{{Album chart|Canada|4|chartid=5212|artist=Elton John|album=Tumbleweed Connection|rowheader=true|access-date=12 January 2024}}
|-
{{Album chart|Netherlands|4|artist=Elton John|album=Tumbleweed Connection|rowheader=true|access-date=12 January 2024}}
|-
! scope="row"| Finnish Albums ([[The Official Finnish Charts]])<ref name=FINI>{{cite book|last=Pennanen|first=Timo|title=Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972|edition=1st|publisher=Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava|location=Helsinki|year=2006|isbn=978-951-1-21053-5| language= fi}}</ref>
| align="center"| 14
|-
!scope="row"|Japanese Albums ([[Oricon]])<ref name="JPN">{{cite book|title=Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005|publisher=[[Oricon|Oricon Entertainment]]|location=Roppongi, Tokyo|year=2006|isbn=4-87131-077-9|language=ja}}</ref>
| align="center"| 30
|-
!scope="row"|Spanish Albums ([[Spanish Albums Chart]])<ref>{{cite book |last=Salaverri|first=Fernando|title=Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002|edition=1st |date=September 2005|publisher=Fundación Autor-SGAE|location=Spain|isbn=84-8048-639-2}}</ref> 
| align="center"| 7
|-
{{Album chart|UK2|2|date=19710221|rowheader=true|access-date=12 January 2024}}
|-
{{Album chart|Billboard200|5|artist=Elton Johnrefname=Billboard 200|rowheader=true|access-date=12 January 2024}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col"| Chart (1971)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name="auchart">{{Cite book|title=[[Kent Music Report|Australian Chart Book 1970–1992]]|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, NSW|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>
|25
|-
!scope="row"|Dutch Albums ([[Album Top 100]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1971&cat=a |title=Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1971|format=ASP|language=nl|access-date=January 12, 2024}}</ref>
|32
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]
|24
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|relyear=1971|region=Australia|artist=Elton John|title=Tumbleweed Connection|certyear=1980|award=Gold|certref=<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bid.omegaauctions.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-373---elton-john---australian-award/?lot=30938|date=20 February 2023|title=Elton John Australian Award}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|award=Gold|certref=<ref name=CB>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/70s/1974/CB-1974-07-06-II-OCR-Page-0178.pdf#search=%22tales%20of%20topographic%20gold%20award%22|access-date=20 December 2020|title=great britain's million sellers, 1973-74|magazine=[[Cash Box]]|date=July 6, 1974|page=8, Part II}}</ref>|relyear=1971|note=original release}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|artist=Elton John|title=Tumbleweed Connection|award=Silver|id=17361-733-2|relyear=1993|certyear=2021|access-date=July 19, 2021|note= release of 1993}}
{{Certification Table Entry|title=Tumbleweed Connection|artist=Elton John|type=album|relyear=1971|certyear=1998|region=United States|award=Platinum}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Discogs master|type=album|84216|name=Tumbleweed Connection}}

{{Elton John}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Elton John albums]]
[[Category:1970 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Gus Dudgeon]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Trident Studios]]
[[Category:Albums conducted by Paul Buckmaster]]
[[Category:Albums arranged by Paul Buckmaster]]
[[Category:1970s concept albums]]
[[Category:DJM Records albums]]
[[Category:Uni Records albums]]
[[Category:Roots rock albums]]
[[Category:Blues rock albums by English artists]]
[[Category:Pop rock albums by English artists]]
[[Category:Soul albums by English artists]]
[[Category:Country rock albums by English artists]]
[[Category:Americana albums]]