Elton John continues, into his 60’s, to perform world-wide. His studio performances sell his records; the nuanced effect he effortlessly inflects into his live music is what sells Elton John, the artist. If you’ve never seen Elton John perform live in concert, you must buy tickets. If he has already played in your town, schedule a vacation to Paris, Turkey, Norway, Wrigley Field in Chicago, Verona, Italy, Dublin or anywhere in the UK to see him perform. Even if you’ve seen him perform live on other occasions, you must see him perform in concert again because his sets change, his music selection changes and his voice intones differently as he advances in age.
Elton John Concerts and Live Performances
Elton John’s soulful and melodic concert adaptations of his studio produced songs are perfectly mixed producing art that appeals to the masses – thus, his moniker as a “pop” music superstar. When the live in concert performances of Rocket Man, Sad Songs (Say So Much), and I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues, for instance, are compared to his studio versions, one senses that the studio versions were produced to sell records to a pop music base while his concert versions and long spirited piano riffs were crafted to appeal to Elton John fans, lovers of music’s roots: jazz, country, blues and the piano. Listen to one of the most prolific and underappreciated pianists in our generation, Leon Russell, and you’ll understand.
Through live performances, it seems that Elton gets to break free of boxed studio renditions by communicating the soul (intended meaning) of his songs to his audience.
Elton John was Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight
Elton John was born Reginald (Kenneth) Dwight on March 25, 1947, in Pinner, England, about a 12 mile jaunt northwest from London. Owing to the opinion that the name Reginald Dwight was not a sexy stage name, he borrowed the names of his Bluesology saxophone player Elton Dean and Long John Baldry, an English blues singer, to form the new name of Elton John.
Elton’s entry into a success music career that has now spanned 40 years first occurred in Los Angeles at the Troubador night club in West Hollywood, California. On August 25, 1970, on stage at the Troubador, Neil Diamond introduced Elton John to the world and our musical consciousness has never been the same. The Troubador was also instrumental in launching the careers of The Eagles, The Byrds (Roger McGuinn, David Crosby of CSNY fame, Gram Parsons), Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King, Linda Ronstadt and Randy Newman, among others.
