Fourteen years ago, Elton and Bernie Taupin’s musical opened at the Palace Theater in New York.
To promote Lestat, the Warner Bros. Center had an exhibit called Elton John–Elements of an Icon, which showcased costumes from the original San Francisco performance; one of the star’s pianos; and some of his stage costumes. A bit of Bernie’s art was also displayed.
While many critics panned Lestat, Elton enjoyed writing the music. The musician was working so quickly, he quipped, he felt he’s been bitten by a vampire.
At any rate, there wasn’t any bad blood when Eltonjohnworld.com interviewed Neil Sedaka the following year. He told the Chief Editor that the title of his famous 1975 duet with Elton came from Phil Cody, who also penned the lyrics. However, both were created only after Sedaka composed the music for Bad Blood.
The former Juilliard pupil decided to ask the Rocket Man to join him on the project because he was ”so instrumental in my comeback in the 70s by signing me to his record company.”
He also appreciated that the Englishman let him have creative control when it cdame to production and writing
Neil, who began composing when he was 13, said that his grandfather was in vaudeville, calling himself ”Farmer Miller.” What really inspired him to become a performer, though, was The Make Believe Ballroom. This was a radio programme where a DJ played records, although Neil thought they were people singing live with a band in a studio.
