Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy appear on later albums as guest musicians, this was the last album with the original lineup of the Elton John Band (guitarist Davey Johnstone, bassist Dee Murray, and drummer Nigel Olsson). Murray and Olsson, who had formed John's rhythm section since 1970, were sacked prior to the recording of the follow-up album "Rock of the Westies", while Johnstone would leave in 1978. It was certified gold in May 1975, two weeks before it was even released, and was certified platinum and 3x platinum in March 1993 by the RIAA. In Canada, it also debuted at number 1 on the "RPM"
Blue Moves during them, probably because the song's acoustic, delicate sound did not fit with the more rock 'n' roll approach of the rest of the songs that made the "Westies" final track list.) The Beach Boys turned down "Chameleon" (which was written two years prior to the album's release), but Bruce Johnston, a former Beach Boy, performed backing vocals on John's version along with Toni Tennille. John also performed the song at Wembley Stadium in 1975, where he also performed the "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" album in its entirety. An excerpt from "Out of the Blue" was used