You’ll recall that next month, an Elton John performance was expected at the DreamForce tech conference. Now it has been announced that due to ”unforeseen circumstances,” he has had to pull out of the event in San Francisco, California. Pink and Imagine Dragons will be the headliners instead, but we are concerned.
We hope Elton is feeling well. It is also strange that for many summers now, he’s been photographed on or near his yacht. But not this year.
On a happier note, did you get to purchase one of the Marmite jars which raised funds for the Elton John AIDS Foundation? The first was Rocketman, followed by a far more limited edition, which was in honour of Elton‘s Glastonbury concert.
On the fourth of September, a third jar Marmite jar to benefit the EJAF will be available for £3 at Sainsbury’s, Morrison, and Tesco in the UK. It pays homage to Elton’s Dodger Stadium shows in October 1975. And it’s a salute to Bob Mackie, who designed the one-of-a-kind baseball outfit for the engagement in Los Angeles, Calfornia, as well as the photographer Terry O’Neill.
The ball got rolling with Marmite when several of their jars in one of Elton’s Instagram posts was spotted. Elton wasn’t kidding when he remarked, ”What can I say? I like collecting things.”
That certainly applies to books. As with his album collection, Elton’s had a tendency to buy a few copies–one for each home. When he left his place in Atlanta, Georgia, Elton decided to make some donations: Emory University recently received 2,000 of his publications.
Report: Elton John Donates Approximately 2,000 #Books to Emory University #Libraries https://t.co/yOC6Nlvcuc… #musicians #artists@EmoryLibraries pic.twitter.com/lXY1WlDBYU
— LJ’s infoDOCKET (@infodocket) August 17, 2024
Many are limited editions, and staffers are in the process of going through them. It’s a challenge, what with sticky notes and signatures from authors and photographers to Elton. Some are delicate, requiring special cases and other forms of protection.
A book from a former Melody Maker journalist will be available next month. It’s by Chris Charlesworth and is called Just Backdated – Melody Maker: Seven Years in The Seventies. One recollection is about seeing Elton at the Yorkshire Folk, Blues And Jazz festival in Krumlin, England. The event, which was held in August 1970, was plagued by problems like bad weather, gatecrashers, and forged tickets. But Chris, who later rode on the musician’s private plane, the Starship, could tell that Elton was headed for stardom.
It was on 25 August 1970 that more folks recogised Elton’s talent. This was when he played the U.S. for the first time. Among those in attendance at the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles, California, was Micky Dolenz. He told Cave Dreams that he ran into Elton at the after party and they both had on the same tee shirt–a Marilyn Monroe design by Andy Warhol!
In April, Micky returned to the Troubadour to do a benefit for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. His set list included Your Song, a regular part of his Songs and Stories tour.
In 2004, Micky was in Elton and Tim Rice‘s Aida. The former member of the Monkees admitted to the Huffington Post that Aida marked the first time in his life he began to train, warm up, and sing properly.
Like Micky, producer Stuart Epps has known Elton a long time. They met in 1967 when Stuart became Dick James Music‘s office boy. On 30 August, he has a show in London, England, at the Upstairs at the Gatehouse. He will share stories about Elton, which he has also discussed with ej.w. As a matter of fact, he often starts off with the introduction to his Radio Elton John episode. There are a few tickets left for the event.
We’ll sign off with news about a couple of other producers, T-Bone Burnett and Patrick Leonard.
Burnett got Elton interested in recording again. The singer revealed to the Hollywood Reporter that they got on ”like a house on fire” when they joined Leon Russell for The Union in 2010. Going back to recording on analog and meeting a new group of musicians was what Elton needed at the time.
Burnett has released his first solo album in nearly two decades, The Other Side, which he calls ”country blues.” Meanwhile, Leonard recently came out with It All Comes Down to Mood, which Elton considers ”a complete triumph.” The producer, whose projects have included Songs From The West Coast, also is working on a Leon Russell tribute. There’s no release date yet, but according to Metropolitan Digital, The Leon Project includes A Song For You, which is covered by Elton.
