Thursday, December 14, 2006

"Tinderbox" next US Single?

At MLB.com there is a "Exclusive World Premiere Video" for Elton's "Tinderbox" which may indicate it will be released as the 2nd single off of "The Captain & The Kid". Here is a screen capture of the page. You may have to hit refresh a few times if it doesn't show up upon initially visiting the site.

Monday, December 11, 2006

MSG show in March confirmed?

According to this NY Post article it is...

ELTON'S BET GOT LENNON THROUGH THE NIGHT

By DAN AQUILANTE
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December 11, 2006 -- ONE of Madison Square Garden's most famous gigs started as a simple bet.

In early 1974, John Lennon agreed to sit in on guitar for his pal Elton John's covers of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and Lennon's solo song "One Day at a Time."

In return, Elton John and his band were featured on Lennon's "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," a song in which Lennon had little confidence. In the biography "Lennon," he is quoted as saying, "It would be nice, but it's not a No. 1."

Elton knew better and bet Lennon that if his song made it to the No. 1 Billboard slot, Lennon would have to end his seclusion and join him onstage at his Thanksgiving gig at the Garden.

Lennon lost the bet but won anyway - scoring his first solo No. 1 song since The Beatles' breakup. And then he made good on the wager.

He sat in with Elton and his band for a three-song set on Nov. 28, 1974 - a concert that, tragically, turned out to be Lennon's final public performance before his death six years later at the hands of a deranged assassin.

The concert is honored as one of Madison Square Garden's 50 Greatest Moments on the MSG Network tomorrow night at 9.

At that special Garden party, Lennon was an emotional wreck: harassed by the Nixon administration that wanted to deport him for a past drug charge, estranged from Yoko Ono and waffling as a solo artist.

Elton wanted him to perform "Imagine," but Lennon turned him down, saying, "I don't want to come on like Dean Martin, doing my classic hits."

Instead, Lennon said, "I wanted to have some fun and play some rock 'n' roll." He and Elton settled on "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "Whatever Gets You Through the Night" and The Beatles classic "I Saw Her Standing There."

In fact, Lennon did see her standing there. Yoko Ono was in the 11th row watching. Hearing those songs and seeing Lennon in his glory again helped rekindle their relationship.

While Lennon wouldn't return to the Garden, Elton did - many, many times. He holds the record for having played the most sold-out concerts by an individual artist: 59.

And come this March, when he turns 60, Elton is scheduled to celebrate his 60th gig in rock's cathedral.