Elton John's fifth studio album, Honky Château, was released in 1972. It was produced by Gus Dudgeon and featured John's road band with Dee Murray on bass, Nigel Olsson on drums, and Davey Johnstone, a new member who played electric and acoustic guitars and other instruments. The album reached number one in the US, becoming the first of John's seven consecutive US number-one albums. It's titled after the Château d'Hérouville, a French country house located 18 miles north of Paris in the Val d'Oise département. Elton John was among the first artists to record his music there, followed by David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, and others. Composer Michel Magne bought the property in 1962, and seven years later, he converted it into a residential recording studio. In 2015, a group of audio engineers rebuilt the recording studios and after renovations were complete, it was reopened in September 2020.