Elton John

Elton John was my first musical idol. Needless to say I have always loved his recorded music, but I also love him as a live performer and furthermore, I think he is an admirable public figure.

Musically, Elton is a versatile composer. He writes excellent ballads, pop songs, instrumentals and rock songs—not all recording artists demonstrate such virtuosity.

As a live performer, Elton has always been unique. He’s a fine piano player(he can even play with his hands behind his back) and a good  singer too. And he is also a great showman. In his younger days, during performances,   he would do handstands on the piano. He also loves to smile and make silly faces at the audience and engage in humorous antics(one time, for a Central Park concert, he wore a Donald Duck suit). Although he has written and performed some beautiful serious songs, he likes to keep the concerts happy and light hearted and he refuses to take himself too seriously.

Elton gets a good reaction from his audiences—people dance and sing, laugh and cry and he almost always gets encore calls and flowers at the end of his shows.

As a public figure,  Elton is a trendsetter. He wears fashionable clothing, which is usually tasteful, although is often over the top, and of course, those who grew up in the seventies remember his outrageous trademark collection of sunglasses.

On a deeper level, as a public figure,  Elton has also become a great philanthropist and an activist. He has done a tremendous amount of work on behalf of the AIDS cause.

Though the public image of Elton John is that of a wealthy, successful, open and flamboyant figure, he came from a very modest, strict and traditional background.

As the autobiographical lyrics of the song “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy indicate:

Captain Fantastic

Raised and regimented

Hardly a hero

Just someone his mother might know

Very clearly a case for

Corn flakes and classics

Two teas both with sugar please

In the back of an alley…”

Being from such a “regimented” background, it must have been rough for him to come to terms with his gayness, never mind go public with it.

It must have also made more difficult his already arduous struggle to become a commercially  successful artist:

As is said in the same song, “Captain Fantastic..”, he and his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin went through some tough times on their way to the top:

“And all this talk of  Jesus

coming back to see us

couldn’t fool us

for we were spinning out our lines

walking on the wire.

Hand in hand in music and the rhyme

The Captain and the Kid

Stepping in the ring

 From here on sonny

It’s a long and lonely climb.

For cheap easy meals

Hardly a home on the range

Too hot for the band

With desperate desire for change

We’ve thrown in the towel too manyy times

Out for the count

And when we’re down

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy

From the end of the world  to your town.”

I conclude my piece with an Eltonian sentiment expressed in one of my favorite Elton John songs, “Philadelphia Freedom,”  in which Elton sings about  what its like to be free  to live a you choose:

“If you choose to you can live your life alone

Some people choose the city

Some choose the good old family home

I like living easy without family ties

‘Til the whippoorwill of freedom  zapped me

Right between the eyes.

Cause I live and breath this Philadelphia freedom

From the day that I was born I waved the flag

Philadelphia freedom took me knee high to a man

Gave me peace of mind my daddy never had…”