Great one MK. I'm busy researching one of his later albums. (If I say end of the seventies you'll probably know which 😁). I'm an absolute fan of EJ. Saw him live a few times but he's quite a fascinating Artis but also a complicated character. The relationship with his homosexuality drives a big part of his work.
I never got to see him live (never could afford the tickets) so I'm quite envious of you. In researching this piece, I ended up staying up all night reading Tom Dolye's Captain Fantastic: Elton John's Stellar Trip Through the 70s, which you might find helpful for your piece.
I did manage to see Alberta Ballet's piece Loves Lies Bleeding, in which his wrestling with his sexuality takes center stage, as Elton John wanted homosexual dignity to be a core part of the piece alongside addiction. So he's definitely aware of how it informs his work..
The ticket prices for the latest tours were ridiculously high, I agree. Our concert in Antwerp from his farewell tour was postponed for two years due to COVID and his health issues. When it finally happened, the sound was awful. Thankfully, I saw him in the ’90s—one of the best concerts ever, and ticket prices were still reasonable back then. He’s such an incredible live performer. Thanks for the recommendation—I’ll definitely check it out!
Yeah, I had no discretionary income in the 80s and 90s so I missed out on so much. I did purchase the live at MSG DVd, which is from 2000 and has him bringing on special guests but I've only gotten halfway through so far. Closest I'll get, sadly. I had hoped to see that final tour here in Toronto but the prices were insane. It also had gotten postponed.
No problem. I'm still digging deeper myself. The Rolling Stone piece I quoted from has him talking about his favourite track from a lot of his albums, so I went back and listened to those. It's a start.
Cool behind-the-scenes of Elton and Bernie I'd not heard before, MK! I thought you and your readers might be interested in the post-Elton careers of Dee and Nigel, immediately following the recording of "Capt. Fantastic":
A 25-year-old David Foster (eventual 16-Grammy winner) was hired by a 21-year-old Stephen Michael Schwartz to be the Music Director (and keyboardist) for Stephen's RCA album #2 in '75. This meant David would hire the session players, as SMS had no idea how and from where! Stephen's job was, likely, the first post-Elton gig Dee and Nigel had!
I didn't know about this part. I did discover that what comes next is how James Newton Howard connected with Elton. I also discovered that Kenny Passerelli and Caleb Quayle come on board before they play with Daryl Hall and John Oates on the Livetime album!
The travels of our faves’ backing band members (studio and touring) is an infinitely fascinating trivia sideline! I join you in your fandom!
Later in ‘75 (in an amazing “coincidence” I wish I’d asked Stephen about), Olsson released his self-titled debut solo album (for Rocket), recording Ned Doheny’s “Get It Up For Love,” which Stephen had recorded (for the song’s very first time ever) just the year before.
Did Stephen ever talk with Nigel about the song/his album? Did Nigel have Stephen’s album, heard his “Get It Up For Love,” and decide to record it?
In talking with Stephen, I discovered a couple things: How does a recording artist find a song no one’s ever recorded before? And, when you find it, what happens next, and how?
Stephen answered those questions (and we corrected the Internet, in the process…not that anyone’s made the changes!!)—A couple sources have David Cassidy recording Ned’s song first. Nope. ‘Twas Stephen, Johnny Rivers, and THEN David….and, I brought the receipts!
In other words, once Stephen heard Ned’s acetate, it was Stephen’s version which HAD to have been heard by Rivers and Cassidy, in order for them to have learned it, themselves! Anyway, pardon my bloviating! Here’s what we came up with:
Great one MK. I'm busy researching one of his later albums. (If I say end of the seventies you'll probably know which 😁). I'm an absolute fan of EJ. Saw him live a few times but he's quite a fascinating Artis but also a complicated character. The relationship with his homosexuality drives a big part of his work.
I never got to see him live (never could afford the tickets) so I'm quite envious of you. In researching this piece, I ended up staying up all night reading Tom Dolye's Captain Fantastic: Elton John's Stellar Trip Through the 70s, which you might find helpful for your piece.
I did manage to see Alberta Ballet's piece Loves Lies Bleeding, in which his wrestling with his sexuality takes center stage, as Elton John wanted homosexual dignity to be a core part of the piece alongside addiction. So he's definitely aware of how it informs his work..
The ticket prices for the latest tours were ridiculously high, I agree. Our concert in Antwerp from his farewell tour was postponed for two years due to COVID and his health issues. When it finally happened, the sound was awful. Thankfully, I saw him in the ’90s—one of the best concerts ever, and ticket prices were still reasonable back then. He’s such an incredible live performer. Thanks for the recommendation—I’ll definitely check it out!
Yeah, I had no discretionary income in the 80s and 90s so I missed out on so much. I did purchase the live at MSG DVd, which is from 2000 and has him bringing on special guests but I've only gotten halfway through so far. Closest I'll get, sadly. I had hoped to see that final tour here in Toronto but the prices were insane. It also had gotten postponed.
I keep meaning to dig in to his discography but haven't yet. Thanks for the reminder to get to it, MK.
No problem. I'm still digging deeper myself. The Rolling Stone piece I quoted from has him talking about his favourite track from a lot of his albums, so I went back and listened to those. It's a start.
Cool behind-the-scenes of Elton and Bernie I'd not heard before, MK! I thought you and your readers might be interested in the post-Elton careers of Dee and Nigel, immediately following the recording of "Capt. Fantastic":
A 25-year-old David Foster (eventual 16-Grammy winner) was hired by a 21-year-old Stephen Michael Schwartz to be the Music Director (and keyboardist) for Stephen's RCA album #2 in '75. This meant David would hire the session players, as SMS had no idea how and from where! Stephen's job was, likely, the first post-Elton gig Dee and Nigel had!
Stephen took some astounding (and exclusive) personal photos of the sessions, which he included in this article (one of 20) he wrote exclusively for FR&B, I'm proud to say! https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/musical-storm-the-stephen-michael
I didn't know about this part. I did discover that what comes next is how James Newton Howard connected with Elton. I also discovered that Kenny Passerelli and Caleb Quayle come on board before they play with Daryl Hall and John Oates on the Livetime album!
The travels of our faves’ backing band members (studio and touring) is an infinitely fascinating trivia sideline! I join you in your fandom!
Later in ‘75 (in an amazing “coincidence” I wish I’d asked Stephen about), Olsson released his self-titled debut solo album (for Rocket), recording Ned Doheny’s “Get It Up For Love,” which Stephen had recorded (for the song’s very first time ever) just the year before.
Did Stephen ever talk with Nigel about the song/his album? Did Nigel have Stephen’s album, heard his “Get It Up For Love,” and decide to record it?
In talking with Stephen, I discovered a couple things: How does a recording artist find a song no one’s ever recorded before? And, when you find it, what happens next, and how?
Stephen answered those questions (and we corrected the Internet, in the process…not that anyone’s made the changes!!)—A couple sources have David Cassidy recording Ned’s song first. Nope. ‘Twas Stephen, Johnny Rivers, and THEN David….and, I brought the receipts!
In other words, once Stephen heard Ned’s acetate, it was Stephen’s version which HAD to have been heard by Rivers and Cassidy, in order for them to have learned it, themselves! Anyway, pardon my bloviating! Here’s what we came up with:
https://bradkyle.substack.com/p/inside-tracks-3-ned-doheny-get-it?utm_source=publication-search
Hope you and your readers enjoy!