LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� Elton John鈥檚 audacious 1970 U.S. debut at a local nightclub moved a critic to declare that the slight young Englishman would become one of rock's most important stars. It didn't take long.
Within five years, his reputation cemented by a string of hits including 鈥淩ocket Man鈥� and 鈥淒aniel,鈥� fans packed L.A.'s Dodger Stadium for two rousing, sequin-bedecked concerts. This weekend, John will close out the North American leg of his last tour at the ballpark.
He calls it the right choice.
鈥淚 started off in Los Angeles at the Troubadour (club), and I want it to end here because it鈥檚 been a magical place for me,鈥� John said in an Associated Press interview. The three-night stand is Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 17, 19 and 20.
The final L.A. concert will be starting at 11 p.m. EST Sunday. The three-hour event will open with 鈥淐ountdown to Elton Live," which includes an interview with John and celebrity shout-outs.
John promised more bell and whistles than at the tour's other concerts 鈥� but hopefully without 鈥渁ny elephants or giraffes coming on stage,鈥� he said, a wry reference to 鈥淭he Lion King.鈥� The Tony-winning hit musical with songs by John and Tim Rice marks this month.
The stadium stage is "enormous and fantastic. The videos are wonderful. I like to be surprised, so I will be surprised,鈥� John said.
His influence 鈥渟pans generations, making this last North American stop on his farewell tour one for the record books,鈥� said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television.
The rock 鈥榥鈥� roll giant's enduring body of work includes 鈥淵our Song," 鈥淭iny Dancer鈥� and 鈥淕oodbye Yellow Brick Road.鈥� He's earned six Grammy Awards, including a Legend Award, and is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame. His record sales worldwide have surpassed 300 million.
John is reaching new audiences through hit-making collaborations with younger artists, including Britney Spears ( an update of 鈥淭iny Dancer鈥�) and Dua Lipa .
Lipa, Kiki Dee and Brandi Carlile will join him on stage Sunday, and it's no coincidence that all are women. He's had rewarding creative relationships with female artists, he said, and the three are 鈥渧ery important singers in my life.鈥�
He and Dee had a 1976 hit with the bouncy and she was with him at his first L.A. stadium show. John is close to Carlile, who joined him for on his 2021 鈥淭he Lockdown Sessions鈥� album, and their families vacation together. It's a big week for Carlile, who Tuesday.
As for Lipa, 鈥淚 love her dearly,鈥� John said. He credits their 鈥淐old Heart鈥� single with giving his career a boost and 鈥渓aunching me into a different stratosphere as far as streaming goes and connecting with young people.鈥�
鈥淚 feel modern. I feel elated with working. When you work with a different artist, you always learn something from them, and that鈥檚 the whole point,鈥� he said. His collaboration with Spears, which was suggested by his husband, David Furnish, yielded that and something more.
鈥淚t was a brilliant idea because having watched the documentaries and all the news footage about her horrible time with her family and conservatorship, I wanted her to feel appreciated by music fans again," John said. 鈥淭o see that (single) become a success makes me feel so happy, that she鈥檚 hopefully feeling the love from those people.鈥�
The tour began in September 2018 in Pennsylvania with the first of the 300-plus dates scheduled worldwide. It was suspended in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic and resumed in 2021 in New Orleans.
In January, John heads to Australia and New Zealand, then moves on to Britain and Europe. The tour is set to conclude in Sweden next July.
The schedule would be demanding for any artist, but a genial, healthy-looking Elton showed no sign of strain in an interview last week, a few hours before a San Diego concert. Reviews have noted his vitality: 鈥淗is unmistakable baritone sounds as mighty and resonant as ever, and his energy at the ivories remains positively infectious,鈥� said of his New Jersey stadium show last July.
鈥淚'm not tired," John told AP. 鈥淭he audiences are absolutely amazing. They dress up, it鈥檚 like a big party. And so rather than seeing it as a chore ... I鈥檓 going on stage every night thinking, 鈥榃hat are they going to be wearing tonight? What鈥檚 going to be the reaction tonight?鈥� At the stage of my career, it鈥檚 just an astonishingly rewarding thing to happen.鈥�
He was a tender 23 when Robert Hilburn, the then-Los Angeles Times music critic, after the Troubadour appearance in West Hollywood. Hilburn said John's performance that August night 鈥渨as, in almost every way, magnificent鈥� and called his songs (written with lyricist Bernie Taupin) 鈥渟taggeringly original.鈥�
Success followed success. While John describes the 1975 stadium concerts as the pinnacle of his career at that time, he wasn鈥檛 in the 鈥渉appiest place.鈥� He recalled a dark period of instability (dramatized in the that included a pill overdose three days ahead of the shows.
Such turmoil is far removed from his life now, which includes his two sons with Furnish.
鈥淚鈥檓 happy, I鈥檓 contented,鈥� said John, who鈥檚 in his third decade of sobriety. 鈥淚 have a wonderful husband, a great family, I have great friends, a wonderful career. I鈥檝e everything that any person could ever want in their life. I鈥檝e never been as happy personally than I am now, at 75 years of age.鈥�
鈥淚f I hadn鈥檛 got sober, I wouldn鈥檛 be here and I wouldn鈥檛 have had the wonderful things that have happened to me since,鈥� he said.
A prominent activist, he's shared his name and good fortune. He created the which reports raising more than $500 million. In 2019, President Emmanuel Macron gave France鈥檚 highest award to John for his contributions to the arts and efforts to fight HIV/AIDS around the world.
Is the Yellow Brick Road tour really goodbye? 鈥淚t is definitely the farewell tour,鈥� he said, although a short-term residency, such as Kate Bush's three weeks at London's Hammersmith Apollo in 2014, has its appeal.
鈥淏ut to be honest with you, when I come off stage in Stockholm next July 8, I鈥檒l be looking forward to having a holiday, I'll be looking forward to taking a breather,鈥� he said. Then it's back to work on projects already in progress, including 鈥淭he Devil Wears Prada: The Musical.鈥�
That's for starters.
鈥淚'll be recording with other people, and I鈥檒l be hopefully writing an album for myself. So it鈥檚 not as if I鈥檓 stopping doing anything,鈥� John said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 not traveling. Traveling takes me away from my family.鈥�
Lynn Elber, The Associated Press
