Elton John’s Philadelphia anthem soared to No. 1 on this week in Philly history

Upon this colonial-brick foundation and amid our solemn shrines to American exceptionalism, an Englishman with an attitude conjured up a rocking Philly anthem.

He even called it “Philadelphia Freedom,” but he wasn’t being cheeky.

It was a gift for a tennis player.

But not just any player.

Over 20 years, Billie Jean King collected more Grand Slam titles than there are teams in Major League Baseball. She captured a record 20 Wimbledon championships. For five years, she was ranked No. 1 in the world.

And her rise culminated with a cultural battle. In 1973, tens of millions of fans watched her beat the pants off 55-year-old Bobby Riggs. His public comments leading up to the match, claiming women had inferior athletic prowess, turned up the heat on the so-called Battle of the Sexes.

King dominated, whacking away balls, barriers, and beliefs with each swing of her racket.

Her success and talent gave her a platform, and she used her authoritative voice to advocate for gender equality, fair wages, and, later, gay rights.

Across the pond, she gained an admirer.

In hindsight, Sir Elton John fit in: He’d dress like a Mummer, and he got rowdy at the Spectrum.

The arena played an integral role in the inaugural season of the World TeamTennis league, a pioneering mixed-gender alliance that launched in 1974.

King was the centerpiece of the new Philly squad, serving as player-coach, one of the first female coaches to lead professional male athletes. She also gets credit for the name: Philadelphia Freedoms.

John was a fixture at the games, sitting on the bench, dressed in a team uniform.

“He’d be sitting on the bench screaming, ‘Come on!’ ” King told The Inquirer in 2012.

John decided to write a song for King and name it after the team. He and longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin set it to a melody infused with soulful notes of Philly sound.

“There are not many sports teams that have a song written for them,” King said in 2020. “Especially someone like Elton’s stature.”

The song was released in February 1975, and the Freedoms moved to Boston in March.

The team might have been a miss, but the song was a hit. On April 12, 1975, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed in the top spot for two weeks, and lingered on the chart for five months.

The league folded by the end of the 1970s, though it would have various resurrections in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2001, the Freedoms returned to the city, but the league hasn’t regrouped since the pandemic.

“I think the signature song,” King said in 2002, “kept the Freedoms alive in the minds of the people.”