We’re coming up on a couple of anniversaries! It was on 5 May 1974 that Elton performed The Bitch is Back onstage for the first time. This was at a benefit for Watford FC, a month before the release of the Caribou album, which included The Bitch is Back.
A new radio mix–plus the original version–was released on Saturday, part of Record Store Day‘s 50th anniversary edition of the Caribou LP. If you didn’t get to pick up the special Elton John release, check with local stores since some copies could still be available.
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Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me was another Caribou track. It rose to #2, but as uDiscover Music pointed out, only reached #1 when Elton teamed up with George Michael for a remake seventeen years later. Bernie Taupin has said that they wanted to write something big in ”that Spectory style, but not pompous.” He was referring to the Righteous Brothers‘ You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’, and thinks his lyrics have ”a Brill Building flair to them.”
Writers associated with that New York City institution include Spector, Neil Sedaka, Neil Diamond, and Carole King. So perhaps he has a point. At any rate, we liked some of the lines Bernie came up with, such as having all his pictures ”fade to black and white,” being unable to find ”the right romantic line,” and ”seeing someone else” when he searches himself.
As for that other anniversary? It was on 30 April 1976 that Here And There first hit record stores. ‘Here’ refers to a concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London, England, while ‘there’ consists of songs recorded at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The latter is particularly significant because it’s from 28 November 1974, when John Lennon made his final concert appearance.
On the cover of the album, Elton poses on top of a Steinway piano. This instrument was bought for $915,000 in 2021 by Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts. Prior to the Heritage auction, it was owned by music engineer Curtis Schwartz. He purchased the piano at Bonhams in 2008. Curtis told the Elton Blog he used it for sessions with the band Yes, as well as piano players like John Taylor and Gwilym Simcock. He said, ”I loved having it and using it,” but needed money for his divorce settlement.
Incidentally, Bonhams sold more than one Elton John piano at that 2008 auction. This had a burr maple wood finish, and was used for singalongs at Elton’s home with Kiki Dee, Take That, and Paula Yates, amongst other stars.
While we’re on the subject of keyboards, who can forget The Million Dollar Piano? Actually, there were two of them (one being an ”understudy,” according to a Yamaha press release). The piano made its cinematic debut in 2014, by the way. Elton John: The Million Dollar Piano, filmed at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, was shown at 1,200 movie theatres in 40 countries before being released on home media.
The Million Dollar Piano, which ran from 2011 through 2018, was Elton’s second Las Vegas residency. It was preceded by The Red Piano (2004-2009). Originally, 75 performances were planned, but Elton wound up doing 247 shows instead.
Photographer David LaChapelle was The Red Piano‘s art director, although some of the background films were put together by the Kate Dawson Studio. Kate got the call after producers saw her video for Elton’s Are You Ready For Love remix in 2003, It was first recorded in the seventies as part of the Thom Bell Sessions.
Can You Feel the Love Tonight and other Elton/Tim Rice songs from Disney’s The Lion King will be performed next month at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. It’s a celebration of the film’s 30th anniversary and will take place on the 24th and 25th of May. Nathan Lane, Jennifer Hudson and Jeremy Irons are among those making appearances. More will be announced–perhaps Elton as well?
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