The Big Pictures
On 3 November, Elton will induct Bernie Taupin into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He is also among the evening’s performers.
The event can be seen live on Disney+, while Apple Music will livestream audio from the ceremony on Apple Music 1. In addition, starting today and running through Thursday, a four-part audio series, Class of ’23: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, is available on Apple Music and Apple Podcasts. Press notes describe the episodes as providing ”an exclusive look behind the scenes into the inductees’ legacies.”
Bernie, who is being inducted for Musical Excellence (as are Chaka Khan and Al Kooper), recently spoke with John-Wilson on This Cultural Life. After all these years, Bernie told the BBC Radio 4 host, his favourite movie remains Sam Peckinpah‘s The Wild Bunch. He found the characters to be authentic, and revealed that the film was an inspiration while working on Tumbleweed Connection (which was released on this date in 1970 in the UK, but not until January 1971 in the States).
Voir cette publication sur Instagram
Bernie said that many Candle in the Wind listeners got it wrong: He wasn’t thinking about Marilyn Monroe while penning the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road number. Nor is he a huge fan. Yet Bernie wound up receiving all sorts of related memorabilia . . . so much that his house resembled ”Joe DiMaggio‘s basement.”
Bernie thinks he’s a bit like Linus from the Charlie Brown comics. He writes with his 30-year-old guitar, which is his ”security blanket.” However, he doesn’t really consider himself a songwriter or lyricist. A storyteller is more like it, similar to ”a cinematographer who comes up with images.”
In an earlier interview with Vulture, Bernie mentioned lyrics which didn’t make sense to him, one being Billy Joel‘s ”tonic and gin” reference in Piano Man, rather than what he’s always heard, ”gin and tonic.”
An exhibit about Elton’s Face-to-Face touring partner kicks off on 24 November at the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook, New York. Barry Fisch, the venue’s director, told the Elton Blog that the piano Billy used for the last Face to Face concert will be included in Billy Joel–My Life, A Piano Man’s Journey. In fact, the set list is still taped to the piano.
Next year, the V&A-Museum in London, England, will display hundreds of photos from the collection of Elton and David Furnish. Fragile Beauty, with subjects ranging from fashion to activism, opens on the 18th of May and goes through 5 January 2025. Elton and David said in a statement: ”Since we first loaned a selection of Horst photographs to the V&A in 2014, our relationship with the museum has grown significantly.”
View this post on Instagram
In 2019, the V&A renamed one of their galleries for the high-profile-couple after they pledged funds to the museum’s new photography centre.
According to The Independent, Elton ”swapped cocaine for the flash bulb.” Of course he didn’t take photos, but became an avid photo collector after leaving rehab.
On 25 October, David turned 61. We hope he had a great time with friends and family.
Elton is cheering Madonna after she paid tribute in concert to Freddie Mercury, Herb Ritts, and others lost to AIDS. He believes she is helping to ”raise awareness of the ongoing mission to end AIDS.” In 2006, Madonna also used Live to Tell to call attention to AIDS victims in Africa.
View this post on Instagram
In a video released last week, Elton had a very different sort of message to share. He said that fans can now use AR (Augmented Reality) filters to replicate some of his iconic looks over the years. You are welcome to contact-us about your favourites.
Also at ej.w, Radio-Elton‘s latest guest is Ian Beck, who designed a long-time fan favourite, the cover for Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. We had a chat with the-artist four years ago, when his original working drawing for GBYBR was auctioned off.
