The 12 months was 1975. Elton John, backed by a barrage of No. 1 albums and hit singles, hit Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for back-to-back sold-out reveals.
The live shows turned legendary in pre-viral occasions, because of an electrical set from John, then 28, who tickled the ivories and roared into the microphone whereas wearing a shimmering Bob Mackie-designed Dodgers uniform, blue sequined baseball cap and outsized white glasses. John was the primary act to carry out on the stadium for the reason that Beatles in 1966, and a celebrity was born. “In October, 1975, no one was bigger than Elton John. He was like Elvis at the height of his career,” as soon as defined Terry O’Neill, the photographer chargeable for the long-lasting photos of the Dodger Stadium reveals. “Elton still is one of the most talented people I’ve ever met and he gave his all at those concerts.”
John, now 75, gave Los Angeles his all one final time by closing out a three-show run Sunday night time again inside Dodger Stadium, taking a ultimate bow as a part of his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.” The live performance marked the legendary entertainer’s ultimate North American tour cease — upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, Farewell Yellow Brick Road kicked off in 2018 and can wrap subsequent July in Sweden — as he appears towards retirement from the street.
In a extremely embellished profession that spans 50-plus years and each award from Oscars to Grammys, John has been a close to fixed at stadiums throughout the globe and he’s stated that the farewell will permit him to spend extra time with longtime accomplice David Furnish and their two sons. They made an look throughout the present’s encore after fireworks had blasted the sky and friends Dua Lipa, Brandi Carlile and Kiki Dee had joined John for particular duets.
Sunday night time’s present — carried out for a capability crowd of greater than 50,000 friends — would possibly’ve been the final for John but it surely was a primary for Disney+. The streamer mounted its first-ever international stay stream by presenting Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium, produced by Fulwell 73 and Rocket Entertainment for Disney Branded Television. The three-hour occasion featured the present in its entirety together with a preshow bundle that featured a few of John’s well-known associates.
There had been lots within the crowd, as effectively. The one which caught essentially the most eyeballs and fielded the selfie requests among the many flooring seats was Jojo Siwa, decked out in a flame-embroidered yellow-orange Lycra jumpsuit topped by a rhinestone cap with horns, practically an identical to the one Taron Egerton wore when he performed John within the biopic Rocketman.
“It’s Elton John’s big night,” Siwa informed The Hollywood Reporter earlier than the present, including that her favourite tune of his is “The Bitch Is Back.” “I’m so excited for tonight. I don’t think anybody knows how iconic this performance is actually going to be. This performance is going down in history. It’s going to be unreal.”
Also in attendance had been Egerton, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Donatella Versace, H.E.R., Jude Law, Billie Jean King, Joni Mitchell, Kirsten Dunst, John Stamos, Sara Gilbert, Eric McCormack, Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka, Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance, Bradley Whitford, Connie Britton, Dita Von Teese, Heidi Klum, Jenna Dewan, Lucy Hale, Miles Teller, Sophia Bush, Xochitl Gomez and extra. While Siwa was appropriately dressed for the event, so had been hordes of John devotees, lots of whom got here wearing sequins and feather boas, outsized glasses and loads of sparkle.
The festivities started at 8:15 p.m. as John took to the stage to open with “Bennie and the Jets” carrying a black tuxedo with tails that was emblazoned with crimson, blue and silver flames on the lapel and crimson diamond-encrusted glasses and large diamond studs in every ear.
“Tonight is a very special night, we are creating history tonight,” John stated, in his first remarks at the beginning of the present in between “Philadelphia Freedom” and “I Guess That’s Why they Call It the Blues.” “And I’m so glad to see you at Dodger Stadium.”
Judging by the applause and the truth that practically each seat contained in the 56,000-capacity stadium was crammed, everybody was glad to see him, too. “This is a very special, very emotional night for me. It’s been a long journey,” John continued, nodding to an earlier L.A. efficiency that predated his Dodger Stadium debut. “I first came here to America in 1970 to the City of Angels and played the Troubadour, which thankfully is still there.”
He credited Los Angeles Times reviewer Robert Hilburn for his rave evaluate that “accelerated my career.” John then launched into “Border Song,” however not earlier than detailing how Aretha Franklin lined the tune in a manner that floored him and co-writer Bernie Taupin. “It was probably the most exciting thing that happened,” he stated, including how, years later, they had been in a position to carry out it collectively earlier than her loss of life on the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City in 2017.
He devoted the night time’s efficiency to “the lasting genius” of Franklin. It was among the many many highlights in his set record that additionally included “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man,” “Levon,” “Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” “I’m Still Standing,” “Candle in the Wind,” “Sad Songs (Say So Much),” “Crocodile Rock,” “Have Mercy on the Criminal” and “Burn Down the Mission.”
Carlile was the primary particular visitor to take to the stage and she or he did so wearing a grey go well with with crimson and blue accents with a No. 1 printed on the again. She joined for a duet on “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” after John had shouted out all of his bandmembers and devoted the tune to those that had died.
Dee, whom John famous was current for his first Dodger Stadium present in 1975, then got here out to relive their hit “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” The grand finale — marked by yellow streamers shot into the sky amid a fireworks show — got here with a rocking “Saturday Night’s Alright.”
John then disappeared for a couple of minutes solely to reappear throughout an encore carrying a customized gown with Dodgers printed on the again and shimmering from each sew. Dua Lipa joined him for a efficiency of their hit dance monitor “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix).”
As the night time inched nearer to the ultimate curtain name, John took a second to revel within the accomplishment and pay tribute to the followers who helped maintain his 5 decades-long profession whereas additionally displaying off the complete life that awaits him on the opposite facet.
“It’s been 50 years of touring the United States, across all 50 states. This is my seventh concert here at Dodger Stadium. Tonight is the 271st show of the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour and my 103rd show in the Los Angeles area,” he detailed earlier than bringing out his ultimate VIPs.
“I would also like to introduce somebody, if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. Come on out, Mr. Bernie Taupin,” he stated as his longtime collaborator stepped out on the stage, greeted by a heat embrace and a kiss on the cheek. “We’ve been writing together since 1967. We still love each other more than we’ve ever done before. Amazing guy, I love you. Thank you for all the gifts.”
Speaking of items, John then defined why he was ready to bid adieu to the street by bringing out these causes, particularly his husband and their two younger sons, Zachary and Elijah, all decked out in Elton John-emblazoned letter jackets. After waving to the group, the trio exited the stage as John took one final seat on the piano.
“I became successful first in America and you bought the singles and the albums, the 8-tracks, the cassettes and the CDs. More important, you bought the tickets to the shows, which I love more than anything, to play live. I want to thank you for that because you made me, without America I wouldn’t be here. Thank you for all the years of love and generosity and loyalty.”
He continued: “I wish you health, love, prosperity. Be kind to each other, OK? And farewell.”
But he wasn’t executed. John tickled the ivories one final time, stood up, walked away from the piano and eliminated his gown to disclose a tracksuit together with his identify printed on the again. He then stepped on a riser that lifted him towards a video display screen that includes a cinematic backdrop with a yellow brick street. With that, he walked off into the space because the display screen light to black.
