I'm just starting to read a book called 'Me' the life story of Reginold Dewight….aka.. Elton John. So far I find it very well written, just as if he is telling you his life story while sitting across the kitchen table from you.
One surprise I found happened on page 29 when Elton mentions how his early singing career was influenced by Jim Reeves who he had a great deal of respect for. Along with other country artists of the day, he seemed to center on Jim and his music. On page 44, Elton states that in 1962, at the age of 15, all his pub appearances included "He'll Have To Go' as his opening act.
This is a part of Elton John's musical life I knew very little about, but I must say nice to see. This love of country music is very interesting given the genre of music he is so famous for.
Just wondering if anyone else was aware of this bit of trivia. You can go to 'you tube' and watch a 1988 video of Elton playing "Hell Have To Go", really quite well done (piano work is incredible) with Elton's style of 'southern' interpretation....
Re: An interesting book
Posted by Larry Jordan on December 14, 2019, 11:34 pm, in reply to "An interesting book"
Elton John has made no secret of the fact that he admired Jim Reeves. In fact, I once saw an interview with him on TV (possibly done by David Frost) in which he recounted how he was getting nowhere as a lounge singer until one night someone asked him to sing "He'll Have To Go." The pub erupted with such enthusiasm that he began incorporating Jim's material into his act and he credited this with helping him get his start.
I just read that Elton discovered and appreciated the piano stylings of Floyd Cramer. From listening to Floyd's work, Elton realized, in his early career, there was a distinctive 'style' that was recognized in all his work. Realizing this, Elton developed his own and was always appreciative of Floyd Cramer's 'life lesson'.
Elton's first demo that he distributed to promotors and radio stations was "He'll Have To Go". Success from this, and the confidence he gained was all he needed to have a long and successful career. All from the humble beginning of a great Jim Reeves song......