Yes...there was a movie. And I remember it well. All my friends (Mike, Patty, and Ann K., Carmella C., Danny D., Brian and Kim R., Mike S., Linda and Lori P.), and myself walked with folding lawn chairs next door to the Sunset Drive-In Theatre in Woodbridge, Virginia (you can Google that up), and set up camp in front of the screen. It played there for at least a two week run in the summer of '75. Did we need a car speaker?...hell no, you could hear the film for several blocks! Here's how I saw it: this film soundtrack was a boon for Polydor, and for good reason; Elton was fast approaching critical mass, and every teenager alive in the United States knew it. When the song Pinball Wizard took off, it was played to death as if it were a hit single. I suppose Polydor was under immense pressure to market it as such too, but didn't - and I know why; it would have killed the sales of their double album overnight. They were savvy and calculated, as Elton had hit singles literally falling out of the sky that year. If you wanted Pinball Wizard on vinyl, then pony-up the cash and buy the soundtrack. Great tactical move on Polydor's part, and too bad for us kids stuck with an overpriced LP for want of one song.
I thought it was a cool movie though.
The variant I have is the Columbia Pitman {Images #1311442, 1311443, 1311446 & 1311447}. As to the others:
- {Images #665713, 665714, 665715 & 665716} - PRC, Richmond, IN
- {Images #1088980, 1088981, 1088982 & 1088983} - Monarch (delta numbers, s'il vous plait?)
- {Images #1088986, 1088987, 1088988 & 1088989} - prob. Goldisc Record Mfg. (ex Sonic Recording Products)
Conspicuously missing at this point is the All Disc label variant (with '6' on the label).