After over forty years of astonishing, peerless success, it might seem odd to be discussing what Elton John has not accomplished, but as a passionate fan I feel compelled to devote this edition of the…
Tag: Elton John
Blog posts
Dionne, Whitney, Luther & Stevie Performing “That’s What Friends Are For” (1987)
In the 1980s it seemed like everything was big: big shoulder pads, big hair, and big music sales. But even by that decade’s exaggerated proportions, composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Carole Bayer Sager’s “That’s…
Stargayzing Songwriter’s Forum: 20 Questions With…Peter Zizzo
Peter Zizzo is an Emmy winning producer/songwriter whose songs have been recorded over the years by artists like Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Howie Day, Donna Summer and many others. One of his more recent productions…
20 Essential Aretha Franklin Cover Songs
Soul music is about feeling, not perfection. Though I do listen to younger R&B singers, they generally don’t excite me like Aretha Franklin has during her long, lauded career. Though I love Mary J. Blige,…
Stargayzing Songwriter’s Forum: 20 Questions With…Imani Coppola
As New Yorkers, who among us hasn’t experienced the discordance of entering a filthy corner market with the word “gourmet” boldly emblazoned on its signage? In the hyperbolic, marketing-driven universe we live in, where…
The Night Elton John Told Elaine Stritch, “This is ‘Your Song'”— and She Kept It
As Adam Feldman pointed out in his wonderful Time Out New York piece on Elaine Stritch, “Everyone who ever met Elaine Stritch—hell, anyone who ever saw her perform—has a Stritch story.” I would like…
Leon Russell’s A Song For You: When a “Song” Becomes a “Copyright”:
There is a great chance that regardless of your demographic profile you are familiar with Leon Russell’s A Song For You, one of the really towering copyrights of the last 40 years. Aside from…
Painful Corners: The Time I Was a Cabaret Singer For One Night
“We all have skeletons in our closet, but mine is belting Stephen Schwartz’ ‘West End Avenue’ in a cellar club on Bleecker Street.” I suppose desire for fame and fortune, to “make it big,” is…
Songs That Should Have Been Top-Ten Hits, Vol. 1: or, Has the Beat Killed Melody on American Radio?
Pop music has become as disposable as an mp3 file. There are many terrific things about the Internet, but one of the negative consequences of so much information is that our connection to even…
The Beat Goes On: The Story of a Boy and His Cher, Part One
“After a nuclear holocaust, all that will be left are cockroaches and Cher.” Unattributed quote, late 1990s What is so fucking hard about writing a few paragraphs about Cher? I am embarrassed to…
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