Tour de force.
On November 4th, the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour was scheduled to stop at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. This has been cancelled because of the Astros‘ playoff run.
Tickets will be automatically refunded, says the team’s website, and ought to be processed by the 18th of November. Elton will be performing that evening, though. He will appear instead at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Tickets go on sale on the 24th of October.
Sheryl Crow recently took her sons to see one of Elton’s concerts and said on Twitter that it felt like one of the most important things she would ever do. She explained to Levi and Wyatt that Elton’s songs were what got her through practising piano.
Sheryl noticed that people ”from all walks of life” were singing loudly to Someone Saved My Life Tonight, and would like the world to always feel this way. She thanked Elton for inspiring so many others. This includes 15-year-old Wyatt, who wants to learn to play Elton’s music on the piano.
Yes, @eltonofficial, your music is still alive! ? pic.twitter.com/p2cAZw2x5J
— Sheryl Crow (@SherylCrow) October 16, 2022
In 2019, Crow’s album, Threads, was released. Guests included Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Sting, Willie Nelson, and Stevie Nicks. The former teacher would have loved if Elton could have joined her on a track, but he was busy with his farewell tour. She hopes in the future they can record something together.
• Two others have teamed up: American Idol and Cover Nation are sponsoring a cover contest. Those hoping to win a mentoring session with an American Idol producer and no-wait American Idol Priority Audition have a choice of five songs to choose from, including Elton and Dua Lipa’s Cold Heart (Pnau Remix). Interested parties have until the 28th of October to upload their performances to YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok.
• Some tribute acts are joining forces as well. On the 12th of November, ”Elton” (Russ Davis) and ”Elvis Presley” (Ralph Carey) will be at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey. They will each do their own material, but also perform together. Tickets are $22; $72 for the show and dinner.
And a couple of entertainers will be covering Elton and Whitney Houston‘s songs. They are to appear in Oak Lawn, Illinois. The Oak Lawn Community High School event, on the fourth of November, benefits the Spartan Education Foundation, which aids students and teachers. Tickets are $35 in advance; $5 more at the door.
Even Stephen will be doing Elton’s music. As for the real deal himself, he has broken a record. As of 9 October 2022, the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour had grossed $661.3 million after setting a total of four and a half million tickets.
That makes him the third musician to reach the $600 million mark. Only U2 and Ed Sheeran scored higher.
Remember when Elton used to wear a lot of different hats? He was even one of the inductees in the 2014 Headwear Hall of Fame. The awards haven’t been around that along, at least when compared with the Headwear Association itself, which is 114 years old!
Elton sometimes used to wear a top hat. Indeed there is a profile view of him wearing just that in a striking purple and green poster which Heritage Auctions is now selling. This promo was for a couple of 1971 appearances in Syracuse and Rochester, New York.
The last MT had an article about Propstore’s auction of entertainment memorabilia, running from the third of November through the sixth, and featuring a few items from the Rocketman movie. Also available is a Billboard magazine cover, signed by illustrator Paul Shipper, depicting Elton and several other stars whose stories have been adapted into films. This design is the front cover of Billboard‘s 25th May 2019 Blockbuster Bet issue, which looked at the rise of musical biopics in recent years.
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