Elton John Tribute Airs On CBS

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Rick Watts

The CBS special “Elton John: I’m Still Standing” aired last night with several of today’s hottest stars coming out to celebrate the rock and roll legend. The special was shot back in February in New York following the GRAMMY Awards.

Among the performances: Miley Cyrus tackled Elton’s classic “The Bitch is Back,” Ed Sheeran performed “Candle in the Wind,” Alessia Cara sang “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues,” Lady Gagaperformed “Your Song,” Little Big Town performed “Rocket Man,” Sam Smith tackled “Daniel,” Kesha did “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” Chris Martin did “We All Fall in Love Sometimes,” Shawn Mendes and SZAcollaborated on “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” Maren Morris did “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” and more.

Elton also performed himself, treating the crowd to “Bennie and the Jets,” “Philadelphia Freedom,” and “I’m Still Standing.”

Source: Dr. Dave’s Ultimate Prep

Chris Stapletons’s Cover of Elton John’s ‘I Want Love’ Is Amazing

Posted on March 19, 2018 by Rick Watts

Details of the Elton John tribute albums, “Revamp and Restoration,” have been revealed. The Revamp disc will include a Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart duet from Q Tip and Demi Lovato. On Restoration, Chris Stapleton delivers a powerful rendition of I Want Love.

“At any stage of life you can pick out a moment…and there’s an Elton John song playing somewhere in the background,” says Chris. “His music reaches that far.”

The two-disc “Restoration” LP, due April 6, coincide with John’s retirement from performing. He heads out for an extensive final tour of North America in September.

Check out Stapleton’s version of “I Want Love” on the right.

Source: Rolling Stone

Elton John Announces Final Tour

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Rick Watts

Elton John will mount a three-year farewell tour, then leave the road forever.

“My priorities have changed in life,” John told host Anderson Cooper during a New York news conference today announcing the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, “but we had children and that changed our lives. … My priorities now are my family and my husband. I thought the time is right to say thank you to all of my fans and then to say goodbye. That doesn’t mean I won’t be creative, but I’m not gonna travel anymore.”

The news was shared during a much-hyped “special announcement” event today that was live streamed via YouTube in VR 180. Click here to see the video. John performed “Tiny Dancer” and “I’m Still Standing” as part of the news conference, wearing a bejeweled jacket and eyeglasses.

Rumors that John might retire from touring, bringing to a close nearly 50 years out on the road, began to circulate earlier in the day. The Daily Mirror said it had an official confirmation that John would quit hours before this news conference was held.

The original video promotional announcement shared on social-media platforms certainly hinted at a big career development, noting that John was “embarking on the next phase of his creative journey.” His official website also included a countdown clock accompanied by a quote from the title track from 1973’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: “I’ve finally decided my future lies … .”

The rumor mill was goosed along by John’s terrifying struggles with a rare bacterial infection last year, contracted while on tour in South America. But he stressed on Wednesday that he is healthy again, and constantly reiterated that the decision was based solely on a desire to be home with husband/manager David Furnish and their two sons. “I don’t want to miss them,” John told Cooper, “and I don’t want them to miss me. But I have had a pretty good run.”
John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour starts in the U.S. on Sept. 8, and continues into Europe in April 2019, Asia in November 2019, Australasia in December 2019 and into 2020. John will then tour South America in March 2020, before returning to Europe and the U.K. in late 2020 and finishing in North America in 2021. Tickets go on sale for the general public in North America beginning Feb. 2. More information will be announced in the coming months.

“I don’t want to go out with a whimper; I want to go out with a big bang,” John added, noting that the first show will be in Allentown, Penn.

Media types were greeted with a glass of champagne upon arriving for the joint news conference, held in New York and London. At Gotham Hall, the menu included aged stripped steak, shrimp, noodles, mini-chicken sandwiches – and an open bar. John songs played overhead while everyone milled about beforehand. Next, organizers handed out virtual reality headsets, then showed a five-minute video summary of John’s career.

Elton John Hits #1 with Beatles Cover

Posted on December 29, 2017 by Rick Watts

On Dec. 29, 1974, Elton John’s cover of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” hits number one on the charts. The John Lennon-Paul McCartney song first appeared on the Beatles album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in 1967.

Here’s a clip of Elton’s performance of the song from the BBC series “Top Of The Pops”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTAUHKkDXyE

Elton John Mourns Loss of Mother

Posted on December 4, 2017 by Rick Watts

Elton John is mourning the loss of his mother, Sheila Farebrother, who died today at 92.

“So sad to say that my mother passed away this morning. I only saw her last Monday and I am in shock,” he wrote in an Instagram post with a photograph of smiling mother and son. “Travel safe, Mum. Thank you for everything. I will miss you so much. Love, Elton.”

Farebrother, who encouraged her son to play piano beginning at age 3, was known to be very supportive of his career. Though his father was a trumpeter, the two had a poor relationship, and it was his mom who introduced him to the music that would change his life, according to the BBC. Farebrother was a record collector, bringing home albums by artists like Elvis Presley and Bill Haley.

The two had a falling out in 2008, however, when Farebrother refused to cut ties with two of John’s oldest friends — his driver, as well as his manager and former boyfriend — after he ended his own relationship with them. But earlier this year, the two mended their relationship when a bacterial infection put John in the hospital.

Elton John’s current tour continues after a show last night in Barcelona. He currently has 12 upcoming performances planned, including one in Hamburg tomorrow.

June 7th: On This Day

Posted on June 7, 2017 by dev@anthro.is

On this day in 1975, Elton John’s ninth studio album Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboys went to No.1 on the US Billboard 200 album chart. It was the first album ever to enter the US chart at No.1. (where it stayed for seven weeks).

Captain Fantastic’ is a concept album about Captain Fantastic (Elton John) and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (Bernie Taupin)struggles during their early years of their musical careers in London.

Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboys was Certified Gold in 1975 and would go on to be 3x Certified Platinum.

Elton John Slams The MTV Generation

Posted on May 24, 2017 by dev@anthro.is

Elton John appeared at the Cannes Film Festival in France this week, making his first public appearance since falling ill during his tour of South America.

John was at the festival to reveal the winners of a YouTube fan video competition. After telling the audience he was “feeling very well”, John went to the press conference with his longtime co-writer Bernie Taupin.

During the interview, John called out the MTV Generation, “We were before the MTV generation, and I’m glad we were, because we were real artists. The MTV generation brought along a lot of people who just made videos. A lot of the artistry went out of the music.”

While he had no kind words for the musicians, he had positive notes on the art of music videos, noting that “visuals, whether it is a painting, a drawing, a piece of film, a video, enhance music. You get to use your imagination – you get into it. The future of creativity is clearly collaborative, fusing art and technology, and it’s been fantastic to open up our work to the next generation of creative talent and to share that process with the world on YouTube.”

May 17th: On This Day

Posted on May 17, 2017 by dev@anthro.is

On this day in 1975, Elton John’s Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy was released. The album was the first album ever to be Certified Platinum the same day of its release, after selling a million copies.

The record was the ninth formal studio album release by John and is an autobiographical account of the early musical careers of Bernie Taupin (the Brown Dirt Cowboy) and himself (Captain Fantastic).

Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy also debuted at #1 on the US Billboard 200, the first album to do so, and stayed there for seven weeks.

Elton John Hospitalized Due To Harmful Infection

Posted on April 25, 2017 by dev@anthro.is

After spending two nights in intensive care, Elton John is recovering at home.

John spent those days in the London hospital after contracting a “harmful and unusual bacterial infection” during a recent tour of South America.

As reported by Uproxx, John’s team released an official statement explaining the situation. “During his return flight home from Santiago, Chile, [John] became violently ill. Upon returning to the U.K., Elton’s doctors admitted him to hospital, where he underwent immediate treatment to remove the infection. After spending two nights in intensive care followed by an extended stay in hospital, Elton was released from hospital on Saturday, April 22, and is now comfortably resting at home per doctor’s advice.”

Due to the illness, John has canceled all of his scheduled shows for April and May, which consisted of his new Las Vegas residency. The singer is expected to be recovered in time for his tour.

“I am so fortunate to have the most incredible and loyal fans and apologize for disappointing them,” John said in a statement. “I am extremely grateful to the medical team for their excellence in looking after me so well.”

Ray Davies of The Kinks Has Been Knighted

Posted on March 16, 2017 by dev@anthro.is

Kinks frontman Ray Davies has joined the likes of Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, & Elton John with the prestigious honor of being Knighted. He was recognized for his services to the arts today (3/16/17) by the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace.

“It lasted three minutes and it went very well,” Davies told the Daily Mail. “And I said goodbye and went home.”

Before being Knighted, Davies was named Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by the Queen back in 2004.

Davies had already announced plans for a long-awaited Kinks reunion, another book and a musical before officially becoming Sir Ray. “Initially I felt a mixture of surprise, humility, joy and a bit embarrassed,” he said of the honor. “But after thinking about it, I accept this for my family and fans – as well as everyone who has inspired me to write.”

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