"Simple Life" is a song written by Elton John

Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

 and Bernie Taupin

Bernie Taupin

Bernard John "Bernie" Taupin is an English lyricist, poet, and singer, best known for his long-term collaboration with Elton John, writing the lyrics for the majority of the star's songs, making his lyrics some of the best known in pop-rock's history.In 1967, Taupin answered an advertisement in...

 and was the fourth single release from John's 1992 CD, The One. "Simple Life" was John's thirteenth number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. The single spent three weeks at the number one spot and reached number thirty on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

.

Differences between the album version and single version

The single remix of "Simple Life" is radically different from its album counterpart. The single version has a faster tempo, a more defined drumbeat, more harmonica

Harmonica

The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...

, less synthesized bass

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

, and is over ninety seconds shorter than the version found on The One; whilst the album version is 6:25 minutes in length, the single version is 4:54 minutes in length.

Formats, pressings, and availability

The single remix of "Simple Life" can be found on CD single pressings and a rare radio-only promo compilation released in 1992. The radio-only promo disc containing the single remix was released prior to the "Simple Life" CD single and was out-of-print before it was released to the market. The radio-only promo was, as implied through its name, released only to radio stations. Moreover, the radio-only promo was only released in major U.S. cities and not Britain, making the radio-only promo disc pressing extremely rare.