Philadelphia Freedom (song) honour Billie Jean King, and so asked Taupin to write a song called "Philadelphia Freedom" as a homage to her tennis team, the Philadelphia Freedoms. In "His Song: The Musical History of Elton John", Elizabeth Rosenthal recounts that Taupin said, "I can't write a song about tennis," and did not. Taupin maintains that the lyrics bear no relation to tennis, Philly Soul, or even flag-waving patriotism. Nonetheless, the lyrics have been interpreted as patriotic and uplifting, and even though it was released in 1975, the song's sentiment, intentionally or not, meshed perfectly with an American music audience gearing up for
Billie Jean now be known as a mashup of "Billie Jean" and the 1972 Steely Dan song "Do It Again", titled "Do It Again Medley with Billie Jean". The song was a top ten hit in Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands. American band Slingshot recorded a note-for-note remake of the song later that same year; this version hit number one on the Billboard Dance/Disco charts. A DJ named Linx created a mashup of "Billie Jean" and the 1987 Eric B. & Rakim song "I Know You Got Soul" from the original recordings, releasing it in 1997 as "Billie Jean (Got Soul)". This