Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is the ninth studio album by British musician Elton John, released on 23 May 1975 by DJM Records in the UK and MCA Records in the US. The album is an autobiographical account of the early musical careers of Elton John (Captain Fantastic) and his long-term lyricist Bernie Taupin (the Brown Dirt Cowboy). An instant commercial success, the album was certified gold before its release, and reached No. 1 in its first week of release on the US Billboard 200, the first album to achieve both honours. It sold 1.4 million copies within four days of release, and stayed in the top position in the chart for seven weeks.

Though they would all appear on later albums, this was the last album of the 1970s with the original lineup of the Elton John Band (guitarist Davey Johnstone, bassist Dee Murray, and drummer Nigel Olsson). Until 1983's Too Low for Zero, this was the last album on which Elton John and his classic band played together.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 158 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list.