"Rock of the Westies" is the tenth studio album by English musician Elton John, released on 24 October 1975. The title plays on the phrase "West of the Rockies," as the album was recorded at Caribou Ranch in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
Released less than five months after his previous album, "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy," "Rock of the Westies" entered the US Billboard 200 chart at number one, repeating the success of its predecessor. It was John's final chart-topping studio album in the US and reached number 5 on the UK Albums Chart. Robert Christgau ranked it as the seventh best album of 1975.
The album features the US No. 1 single "Island Girl," which was released prior to the album. John originally wanted "Dan Dare (Pilot of the Future)" to be the lead single but was overruled. The band lineup for this album was different; John replaced his long-time drummer Nigel Olsson and bassist Dee Murray with Roger Pope and Kenny Passarelli. James Newton Howard, who was relatively unknown at the time, joined as keyboardist, marking his first major exposure. Guitarist Caleb Quaye and retained members Davey Johnstone and Ray Cooper also contributed to the album.
A slower version of "Hard Luck Story," originally written for Kiki Dee, had been released a year earlier. Some tracks are credited to the pseudonym Ann Orson/Carte Blanche, a playful name John used for songs he wrote alone. Labelle provided backing vocals on the opening track, "Medley: Yell Help/Wednesday Night/Ugly."
In the US, "Rock of the Westies" was certified gold in October 1975 and platinum in March 1993. This album marked John's last original studio release on DJM Records before establishing his own label, The Rocket Record Company. The song "Street Kids" later featured in the 2008 video game "Grand Theft Auto IV."
