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Like a Mom--Posted by editor_usa
Joel Reveals His Thoughts About Elton in a New Interview
Friday 24 May 2013 @ 18:00 - GMT

Billy Joel has granted the New York Times Magazine an interview, and addressed tabloid talk about his drinking and finances. He says there was ''no booze involved'' in two car accidents which took place, in 2002 and 2003. He also says he never filed for bankruptcy.  Below is a portion of the interview in which Joel discussed hip troubles and his relationship with Sir Elton.

 

NYT: You had a double-hip replacement two years ago. I was watching old clips of you doing these jetés across the stage in the ’80s. Do you think your hip problems were from years of stage work?

B.J.: I was probably born with dysplasia. In the old days, when they took a baby out, sometimes they used forceps. I was a breech baby, so the theory was that they displaced my hips. Over the years, jumping off the piano, landing on a hard stage certainly didn’t help. Way back in the early ’70s, I used to do somersaults, flips off the piano. I would climb up the cables and hang upside down, anything to get attention. When you’re an opening act, you gotta do whatever you can. But over the years it got excruciating. I couldn’t walk at one point; I had one of those little scooter chairs, banging into furniture. By the time I finished the tour with Elton in March 2010, I was in a lot of pain, and over that year it got worse and worse and worse. I’m glad I did the surgery, because my life changed. I’m able to be ambulatory again.

NYT.: Did you have any ambivalence about touring with Elton? You were kind of pigeonholed as a pop star who plays piano the same way that he was.

B.J.: No. That was when I first started out. Elton was already established, and I came a few years after him, so there were inevitable comparisons. There weren’t that many piano players around — Leon Russell, me, Lee Michaels, one or two other guys. I met Elton in the ’70s in Amsterdam, and it was a mutual-admiration society: he liked me, I liked him and said some day we should tour together. It was left on the back burner for a good 20 years, and then one day I just said: “Why don’t we do this thing with Elton? It should be fun.” And it was, and we did it for 16 years. There’s going to be comparisons — “Oh, who’s better, Elton or Billy?” Who cares?

NYT: Are you cool with Elton now? Basically he said that you’re not writing new songs out of fear or laziness.

B.J.: That’s his opinion. I don’t do it because I don’t wanna. He tends to shoot off his mouth — he shoots from the hip. I think his heart is in the right place. Maybe he’s trying to motivate me, to get me mad or something. He’s kind of like a mom.

 

NYT.: He actually kind of looks like a mom.

B.J.: Yeah, he’s got mom hair.

NYT: Was he angry? He seemed to suggest you dropped out of shows that you had committed to doing with him.

B.J.: There was a misunderstanding — this is my theory, and I haven’t spoken to him directly about it yet. I think his booking agent told Elton that I was going to continue touring with him, and they were already counting the money to do the stadiums. But I never agreed to do it. I finished every date that I had agreed to do. When Elton heard that I wasn’t going to play, he got very bugged, very disappointed and very angry maybe.

NYT: He also said that you hadn’t really been serious about rehab, because you went to a place where they allowed you to watch television, while he went to a place that made him scrub floors.

B.J.: He doesn’t know anything about my private life. I stayed at his house once in France. He’s a very friendly, charming man, a nice fun guy, but we really never spent much time personally together. He doesn’t really know that much about me, so I let a lot of that slide. I’d work with him again, sure.

NYT: He’s right that you’ve written almost no pop songs since your last album, 1993’s “River of Dreams.” Why did you stop?

B.J.: I never stopped writing music. I’m still writing music — piano pieces, orchestral music, dramatic pieces — but they could become songs. Some of them are like hymns that I just don’t have words for, but I might.

Elton's Recent Appearance in Atlanta--Posted by editor_usa

Friday 24 May 2013 @ 17:42 - GMT

Courtesy of Sara Hanna  

From left, Umi owners Charlie Hendon and Farshid Ashid, Sir Elton, and chefs Lisa and Fuyuhiko Ito.

 

A famous part-time Atlanta resident is sometimes seen here in his adopted hometown.

The Buzz reveals that earlier this month, Elton and some pals attended a private preview dinner at Umi Sushi and enjoyed Chef Fuyuhiko Ito’s Kobe beef steak flown in from Japan along with shrimp tempura and sushi rolls, followed by  pastry chef Lisa Ito's green tea soufflé.

Elton is friends with one of the owners, Farshid Ashid.

EXCLUSIVE: A Guitar Virtuoso's Recollections Include Playing With Boz And Elton--Posted by editor_usa

Friday 24 May 2013 @ 15:14 - GMT

Les Dudek formed his first ensemble when he was about 14, starting on guitar with another ax player named Butch Buchanan. But since his friend actually was also a butcher, he sometimes showed up at rehearsal with his fingers too cut up to play.

 

Les went on to far more successful ventures, going on to catch Cher's eye and to perform alongside Elton. He spoke with EJW about all this, and more.

 

EJW:  Your mother was a Radio City Music Hall Rockette: Did you ever see her live, and do you think this impacted your decision to become an entertainer?

 

LD: The way it was explained to me, my mother was a fill in for the Rockettes; when a full member was sick, or wasn't able to dance, my mom would dance in her place. From what I was able to find out about it, her mother was very envious, to the point that she destroyed all the pictures my mom had of herself dancing with them. Apparently my grandmother was a bitter woman. Unfortunately, I never saw my mother dance, or even pictures of her dancing with the Rockettes; she did all that before I was born. As for my mother's father, I never knew him, but my mom told me he played guitar. So when the guitar caught my ear at a very young age, Mom was always supportive. 

My uncle, or my mother's brother, was also in show business. He changed his name to Joe Peterson and was a co-partner with Breck Wall with a comedy revue called Bottom's Up. The show was on Ed Sullivan and was a long-running comedy show in Las Vegas.

My sister, Sandy Dudek, was a theatrical agent in Hollywood, California, for many years as well. So I guess you could say show business was in the blood of my family, at least from my mother's side.

 

EJW: You have gone on to collaborate with some major artists, even jamming one time with Elton. How and when did this come about, and were you in concert at the time?

 

LD: I was playing guitar for Boz Scaggs. We were playing a big outdoor show near Phoenix, Arizona, with the Steve Miller Band, and a few other big names. This was 1974 right after Miller came out with the Joker album. Boz's band was billed as special guest on most of that Joker Tour. I had already played our show with Boz, and was visiting Steve in his dressing room prior to his show coming up next. Steve would bring Boz and myself up, to sit in on his encore at the end of his concert. So Miller and I were having a conversation when we heard a knock on the dressing room door. He said, "Les will you get that." So when I opened the door, who was standing there but Elton John, wearing a very loud lime green matching suit. He looked like he was ready to play a show. I'll never forget the bracelet he was wearing, it was a dice bracket in lime green and white to match his suit. Elton wasn't on the show bill; rather he said he was there on a tennis vacation, and thought he would stop by to say hello. The three of us shared some small talk and then Miller asked Elton if he would like to sit in with us at the end of his show. At first Elton said, oh no, I wouldn't feel right barging in on  your show. Miller reassured him it really is OK and would be fun. Elton said no I better not, then said his good-byes and left the dressing room. It all seemed so surreal that Miller and I looked at each other and said, did that really happen, was that really Elton? Did Elton John just visit us for real??? A little time had passed when another knock came at the door. I opened it again, it was Elton, this time he had his chick singers with him. Elton said something like, I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if I turned down such a gracious offer to sit in on your encore. So Miller said, alright then what do you want to play that we can all play together? We all decided to play Little Richard's Lucille. And that's the way it went down, with Elton, his lime green suit, chick singers, and all. We had a blast, and the audience went wild. So as it turns out, it really was Elton.

 

EJW: Prior to that, you played with the Allman Brothers. Gregg presented you with a gift his late brother, Duane, had owned. What was the item, and how significant was it to you?

 

LD: Well that's a touchy story for me. This is when I was living in Macon, GA, Gregg was doing his first solo album Laid Back. He asked me if I would play dobro on Will The Circle Be Unbroken. I said yes, I would love to, he then gave me Duane's National Dobro, and asked me to go home and work on the tune and come up with a part for it.

Now for me, this was a great honour to be asked to play dobro on his record all by itself, but when he gave me Duane's dobro, I just don't have any words to describe how humbled I felt. So I took it home and worked on a part for the tune. I worked hard on it, so what I played would be worthy of being on Gregg's record. When it came time for me to play on the track, Johnny Sandlin (the producer) already had it in his mind that he didn't want me to play dobro on it. Sandlin was so not into it and intimidating, that he didn't even let me record a single note on it. Well I was so disgusted and frustrated by his attitude, I gave Duane's dobro back to Gregg and that was that. Sometimes I think damn, wish I'd kept Duane's dobro, but, I didn't earn it, so I'm glad I gave it back to Gregg.

 

EJW:  You also ended up working with Gregg's ex-wife, Cher. Could you talk about your band, Black Rose, and what it was like appearing in the movie, Mask? Are you interested in appearing in more films, or in writing for them?

 

LD: Black Rose was a rock band idea that Cher came up with while doing her big production Las Vegas shows, with drummer Gary Ferguson and guitarist Ron Ritchotte. I came into the picture shortly after when they decided to hold auditions in LA to finish out the line up for the band.

When I became involved with Black Rose, things were a mess. Cher had four or five producers and it really wasn't very well organised. One thing lead to another, Cher came by my house one night and asked me if I would help her pull this band together. I told her I would help, but I felt some things needed to be done to get it on the right track. The first thing was to choose one producer: I suggested James Newton Howard, who I just worked with on our Dudek, Finnigan & Krueger album (with guitarist/vocalist Jim Krueger and keyboardist/singer Mike Finnigan). We got James {also known for touring with Elton during the late 1970s and part of the 1980s} and after that, Cher made me band leader. We did the album for Casablanca Records and her only ally record company president, Neal Bogart. Cher didn't want to use her name, only the group's name Black Rose, which I thought was a mistake. All the while her managers were fighting her about this new rock band she wanted to do, so she had no support from them. The band was actually quite good with great players and good tunes. We hosted the Midnight Special TV show and appeared on the Tom Snyder and Merv Griffin shows. We were just starting to get things rolling when Bogart suddenly died. He was Black Rose's only line of support. When Neal died, so did Black Rose, in fact, it was swept under the rug and covered up like it never happened. So the rose wilted. And her managers became happy again. After that, Cher was brainstorming what her new direction should be. I suggested that she try movies, just seemed like what she should be doing to me. I recall, we both flew to New York, where we met up with director Robert Altman. That's when she and Robert hooked up with the Broadway play Come Back To The Five & Dime Jimmy Dean. After that, Cher went into movies, and I went back to music. A few years later I got a call from her. She told me she was doing this film, and they need a biker, long hair, guitar playing guy. Dah!!! I'd like to think it was her way of thanking me for pointing her towards movies, by throwing a part in one of her pictures my way. So Cher, in case I didn't tell you, thanks for telling me about the part. Feel free to call me for the next one.

As for Mask, I never aspired to be an actor, so being asked to play a part in a major motion picture was a new experience for me. Only regret I have about Mask was, I originally wrote the theme song for the movie, but it wasn't used. Bogdanovich (the director) wanted to use this, and also Bruce Springsteen songs throughout the movie, but Universal Pictures had other ideas about the music, and about editing. Bogdanovich did manage to use a few other songs I wrote for his movie, though. Thanks Peter. All in all, I had a great time, and learned a lot about making movies. I did go on to play another small part in a Universal  TV movie of the week titled Streets Of Justice. Haven't done any films since, but I do have my SAG card and would love to be asked to do more acting. As a songwriter,  I feel I already have some great tunes that would work well in movies.    

 

EJW: A number of your compositions have been covered by other artists: Which ones stand out for you?

 

LD: The first that comes to mind is one song I co-wrote with Dickey Betts called Jessica. I came up with the bridge section to that tune, and was never credited as a co-writer, and never paid any royalties for it, so you can imagine how I feel about that subject.
I wrote a song for Dave Mason titled Get It Right, which appears on his Old Wave On A New Crest album.
I co-wrote several with Stevie Nicks, including Sister Honey, which appears on her Rock A Little album, and Freestyle, which is the title track to one of my records.
Steve Miller Band has covered two; one I co-wrote with James Cooke titled Sacrifice on the Book Of Dreams album, which is also on my CBS debut album as What A Sacrifice. And the second, a song I co-wrote with Ron Ritchotte titled Blue Eyes (on Miller's Wide River disc).
Then there's the song I wrote for Cher's Black Rose titled You Know It. And, a song Cher and I wrote together titled Don't Trust That Woman, which appears on my CBS Records release, Gypsy Ride {and has also been covered by Elton}. 

 

EJW: Tell us about your latest projects, like the Delta Breeze CD.

 

LD: Since I left Columbia Records, I formed my own production company called Eflat Productions, Inc. I have released three titles since, Deeper Shades Of Blues, Freestyle, and now my latest release, Delta Breeze.

I put a lot of though into my Delta Breeze. I wanted to go back to my roots, and do a record with no fancy polished formulated over produced production. I wanted to do an album that sounds like a band playing right in front of you. I wanted to get that sound and feel that I personally loved from those early Hendrix, Cream, and Led Zeppelin albums. Just good solid tunes, great vocals, and musicianship. I purposely kept it simple, and in your face. So if you're looking for the latest new electronic gimmicks, you won't find it on Delta Breeze. What you will find is great tunes, great vocals, and great honest playing from the heart from drummer Gary Ferguson, bassist Dan Walters and myself on guitar and vocals.

 

Dudek's Delta Breeze is available at: www.cdbaby.com/cd/lesdudek.

 

A photo of the performer appears below, and there are many more, including shots of Les with Eddie Money, Muhammed Ali and a couple of the Rolling Stones, at

 

www.lesdudek.com.

A Few Days Left to Bid on Celebrity Gnomes--Posted by editor_usa

Thursday 23 May 2013 @ 16:47 - GMT

 As mentioned recently, Elton has partnered with London's most prestigious flower show to raise money for charity.

Along with other British notables like John Hurt, Lily Allen and Jamie Oliver, the Rocket Man has decorated and autographed a garden gnome that has been on display at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show.

The gnomes are now being auctioned on eBay to raise money for a charity that hopes to encourage young people's interest in gardening.

The gnome that Elton donated was inspired by "Paris," a Gnomeo & Juliet character. This figure wears big, oversized glasses like Elton sometimes does, and is covered with sequins. 

The musician also has autographed an additional set of Gnomeo & Juliet characters for the auction (The photo appears above this article).

Pop Show to Salute Elton and Help a Good Cause--Posted by editor_usa

Thursday 23 May 2013 @ 16:20 - GMT

The Pop Show, a new concert series celebrating the nexus of Broadway and pop culture, will kick off on Monday, May 27, with a 7 p.m. presentation of selections from Elton's songbook. A new concert with a different musical theme will take place each month at New York City's Birdland Jazz Club, the home of The Pop Show.

Under the music direction of Brandon Sturiale, performers from the worlds of pop culture and Broadway collide with the pulsating Pop Show Band and Singers to present an array of artists and genres. Surprise celebrity guests and audience giveaways are planned.

Proceeds from the EJ edition benefit the Trevor Project, an organisation focused on suicide prevention in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning communities.
Scheduled entertainers include Jarrod Spector from Jersey Boys and Les Miserables, Kyle Dean Massey (seen in Wicked) as well as Tony Award winners Tonya Pinkins and Len Cariou. The Pop Show is part of the Broadway at Birdland series presented by Jim Caruso.

The price for Monday's concert is $25-$35, with a $10 food/beverage minimum.

The venue is located at 315 W. 44th Street.

Taupin's Special Day--Posted by editor_usa

Wednesday 22 May 2013 @ 16:33 - GMT

On this date in 1950, Bernie Taupin was born.

Although he has collaborated with various artists, he is best known for his longtime partnership with Elton.

The two met in the late '60s, brought together by an advert in the New Musical Express seeking new songwriters.

We wish Bernie a very birthday, and look forward to next month, when he and Elton receive the Johnny Mercer Award at the 2013 Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony.

 

Also in June, Bernie's art pieces are headed for Toronto's Liss Gallery - the weekend of the 15th and 16th.

Three Songwriting Legends to Appear on One Stage This Summer in England--Posted by editor_usa

Tuesday 21 May 2013 @ 17:36 - GMT

Sir Elton has joined the line-up for Barclaycard's British Summer Time Hyde Park Festival.

The singer will join a stellar line-up of artists including  the Rolling Stones and Bon Jovi in headlining the two-week music and arts extravaganza in London.

Elton is to appear on July 12, and will be supported by Ray Davies and Elvis Costello.

Concert organiser AEG's president of international live touring, Rob Hallett, said: ''Hyde Park on Friday, the 12th of July, will witness a fantastic celebration of great British and American songwriters. Imagine how many hits you are going to hear between Elton, Ray and Elvis. This one's a real treat.''

Tickets to see Elton, Ray and Elvis go on sale this Thursday, May 23.

Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time Hyde Park runs from July 5 to 14.

Famous Santa Ynez Valley Resident is Suspected of DUI--Posted by editor_usa

Monday 20 May 2013 @ 15:51 - GMT

Santa Ynez Valley resident Bernie Taupin — the lyricist behind nearly all of Elton's most celebrated compositions— was arrested May 5 on suspicion of DUI.

According to California Highway Patrol spokesperson John Ortega, the 62-year-old was driving his 2010 Ford pickup truck eastbound on Roblar Avenue when he tried to turn into a private driveway. He failed to navigate the turn and backed up, but wound up colliding with a wooden fence. No one was hurt in the accident.

When CHP officers arrived on the scene they arrested and booked Bernie on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Ortega declined to give Taupin's blood-alcohol level at the time of the incident, and no court date on the charge has been set.

Taupin moved to Santa Ynez Valley in the 1980s. He owns the Roundup Valley Ranch below Figueroa Mountain where he raises and trains cutting horses  for rodeo events.

New Data Analysis Places Justin Ahead of Elton--Posted by editor_usa

Monday 20 May 2013 @ 15:39 - GMT

Justin Bieber's 2010 song, Baby, has topped Elton's 1997 double A-side Candle in the Wind/Something About the Way You Look Tonight, which previously held the record after having been certified 11-times platinum. Baby is now 12-times platinum, largely as a result of the Billboard singles chart now factoring in YouTube hits when it calculates songs' rankings. The first entry that felt the effects of this change was the once-ubiquitous Harlem Shake, which rose to No. 1 on the Hot 100 list after Billboard began counting YouTube streams. (Billboard considers 100 streams to be the equivalent of one download.)

Baby, featuring Ludacris, has sold more than 3.9 million copies in America and has been viewed nearly 859 million times on YouTube. Elton's Candle in the Wind/Something About the Way You Look Tonight has sold more than 33 million copies. Since streaming data for "Candle" isn't taken into account, it falls behind Bieber's numbers.

Lady Gaga's Bad Romance and Eminem's Love the Way You Lie have also seen their platinum certifications rise thanks to Billboard's new data analysis.

Ice on Fire--Posted by editor_usa
Elton Asks Emergency Workers for a Favour
Monday 20 May 2013 @ 15:28 - GMT

The National Enquirer reports that Elton asked firemen if his son could go in their truck after the tot went wild when he saw them.

The singer and his partner are parents to Zachary, two, and four-month-old Elijah. Zachary is obsessed with firefighters and couldn't contain himself when he saw two men in the uniform while out shopping with Elton. He began yanking on his father's arm and pointing at the gents, much to the musician's amusement.

"Elton approached the guys, introduced himself, told them Zac's a huge fan of firefighters and would just love to ride on a real fire truck," a source laughed.

The emergency services personnel were only too happy to help out. They told Elton to follow them back to the fire station, where they let the toddler roam around the truck as much as he wanted.

Big Fish in a Small Pond--Posted by editor_usa
WealthInsight Study Finds Top Earners Don't Always Live in Urban Centres
Friday 17 May 2013 @ 17:06 - GMT

Seven out of ten of the small towns with the most millionaires are located in the Thames Valley.

Windsor, with fewer than 30,000 people, tops the list, thanks to local residents like the Queen and Sir Elton.

The Berkshire town is closely followed by Weybridge and Sevenoaks, according to analysis by consultancy WealthInsight.

Eight out of ten of the small towns in Britain with the most millionaires are located in the South East. And seven of these are located in a pocket of wealth across the Thames Valley.

Alderley Edge and Hake are the only two places in the top ten that don’t count London as their nearest major city. 

“It is interesting to see that a couple small towns around Manchester also make the list. This reflects the affluent nature of the Cheshire area,” said WealthInsight analyst Andrew Amoils. 

But it's Henley that has the fastest growing wealth, as the number of millionaires living there increased by 25% between 2007 and 2012. The number of millionaires in the UK declined overall by 9% during this period.

Narrowly missing a place in the list were the Cotswold towns Burford and Chipping Campden, as well as northern towns Ponteland and Windemere.

An Update on Elton's RHS Contribution--Posted by editor_usa

Tuesday 14 May 2013 @ 17:17 - GMT

As mentioned recently, Elton has partnered with London's most prestigious flower show to raise money for charity.

Along with other top British notables like Helen Mirren, the Rocket Man has decorated and autographed a garden gnome that will be put on display later this month at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show.

After the show is over, the gnomes will be auctioned on eBay to raise money for a charity that hopes to encourage young people's interest in gardening.

According to the True Oldies Web site, the gnome that Elton donated was inspired by "Paris," the rock star gnome one of Gnomeo & Juliet's characters. As most fans are aware, ''Gnomeo'' is the animated film produced by the songster's movie company, Rocket Pictures. This figure wears big, oversized glasses like Elton sometimes does, and is covered with sequins. 

 The musician also has autographed an additional set of Gnomeo & Juliet characters for the auction.

Elton Helps Raise Millions to Fight Poverty--Posted by editor_usa

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