Philadelphia Freedom (song) Page, including flutes, horns, and strings. The song made its album debut on 1977's "Elton John's Greatest Hits Volume II". The unedited version (without an early fade out) appears on the box set "To Be Continued..." and the 40th anniversary edition of the "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" album. Recorded in the summer of 1974, during breaks between sessions for "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy", the song was at the time the only song Elton John and Bernie Taupin had ever consciously written as a single, as John told journalist Paul Gambaccini. John was looking to
Long John Baldry from "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" was about the experience. Baldry had a brief relationship with lead-guitarist of The Kinks, Dave Davies. In 1978 his then-upcoming album "Baldry's Out" announced his formal coming out, and he addressed sexuality problems with a cover of Canadian songwriter Bill Amesbury's "A Thrill's a Thrill". Baldry died 21 July 2005, in Vancouver General Hospital, of a severe chest infection. He was survived by his partner, Felix "Oz" Rexach, a brother, Roger, and a sister, Margaret. Appearances On Other Albums TV Specials Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941