An audience Elton John had with Elvis Presley set the Rocket Man’s trajectory.
June 27, 1976, Elton John is face-toface with his idol. Backstage with mum Sheila at an arena outside Washington DC, he shakes hands with the King and makes a fan request for Heartbreak Hotel.
It’s a poignant moment for the Rocket Man, who was on a run of seven straight US No 1 albums and whose Louder Than Concorde But Not Quite As Pretty tour would crescendo eight weeks later with seven sold-out nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Poignant because, as the young Reg Dwight from the sleepy north-west London suburb of Pinner, it was that song – an impulse buy on 78 by his mum – that opened his ears and eyes to the glories of rock’n’roll.
Trouble was, by 1976, the King’s crown was crooked.
This story is from the March 2 - 8 2019 edition of New Zealand Listener.
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This story is from the March 2 - 8 2019 edition of New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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