Re-World Series

Sometimes I think we are in the same brain.

Last night was the end of baseball for sure. You were not in a house full of teenagers. I was and even as the game became historic and my kids and their friends said they preferred one team or the other none of them watched. And to my utter amazement, in a world where my sons will always look for an excuse to stay up late, they were both sound asleep in their beds when Muncy won the game.

I would not have gone to bed during that game ever in my life unless the bed contained someone even more alluring than live sports. My sons chose to put themselves to sleep alone and find out who won when they wake up. The new age us here and I agree we are never going back.

Keep up the great work.

Chris Moore

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What a crazy amazing game. I just happened to get home in time to watch it thinking it would be 9 innings! But boy was I wrong! But boy am I glad I got to watch such a historical game. Amazing on so many levels!
Now we got s series!
I was working but had to stop. I got fascinated by ever pitch and the strategy that the head coaches used with switching players to different positions and the pitching thing was WOW!
I can't wait to watch game 4! Lol

Kenny Aronoff

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My teenaged son and his friends like basketball, soccer and football. They get as much of their sports enjoyment playing video games (EA FIFA, NBA 2K, Madden) as watching actual sports.
They never talk about or watch baseball. Ever.

Alex Seldin

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Funny thing about the World Series is that it's not really a 'World' thing.
It's an American thing.
The title says more about about America's opinion of itself then the global reach of Baseball.

Alan Pell

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But nobody watches in real time at home. The same commercials over and over again would kill most sports that have a relatively small action to length ratio. Soccer got it right even tho scoring is low. I can watch an entire Red Sox game in about 40 minutes and at 1 x I can zero in on the dramatic highlights.

John Brodey

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I'm on the west coast and watched the game until the end. I imagine that no one (outside of Boston) on the east coast was watching. I almost stopped watching several times because of the commercials. In the words of Howard Stern's mother Ray "You're doing too much!" Stop punishing us with so many commercials.

As the game goes on and we spend 5,6,7 hours of our night there should be fewer commercials to keep us watching. Don't punish us with another car, beer, or cell phone ad for sticking with the game!

Best,

Ryan Swindall

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Wait until you try watching Test Cricket. It goes for five days (they go to a hotel to sleep each night, then continue play the next day) and most games end in a draw! It's amazing.

Anthony Gardiner

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I tried to read this whole article but I kept checking WhatsApp and losing the thread ;-)

But seriously - where is hockey in this??? It's the perfect sport for this age: fast, furious, about great teamwork based on individual brilliance - and you can't cut away for ads until there's a natural break in the action. And it features impolite Canadians. What more can you ask for?

Bob Ezrin

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Thank God for the Fox Sports app, I watched innings 8-18 on my phone in Houston, staying at a friend's place with no tv!

Marc Nathan

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That was depressing !! Looking forward to your "obit" for " Mom and Apple Pie " !!!

Joseph Carvello

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Pay attention. See what you never noticed went missing. Your platitudinous expression always reveals your raging superficiality.

https://nyti.ms/2JhahnR

Charles Williams

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If you don't like baseball, then don't watch. That's your choice. But don't attempt to tell me or others what I should or should not like just because you don't. Trump, the media and now you. Relax Francis. You're free to think whatever you prefer as long as you don't harm. So am I. Let's just take a breath.

Barry Katz

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Could have gone to ZHU at red rocks and gotten home in plenty of time to watch the ending ;)

Jonathan Fordin

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Maybe your best post, ever. I give zero shits about baseball, but I remember when I did. We can't care about everything, in this one life we're given. I'm glad you're riding shotgun.

Mojo Bone

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This summer I moved from Toronto to Montréal. One thing that struck me as I read your post was that I didn't even know the WS was happening. Last year in Toronto, even though the Jays were out, there was a TV in every bar where you could still track things baseball. Not here. We can speculate why but the fact is that baseball isn't even a thing here, let alone a "World Series"

Georg Nikodym

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Hey, Bob - everything's about money.

Bruce Gow

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Big Cubs fan here since the early 1960's. And I watched the World Series last night (well first 14 innings) the same way I watched about 90% of the Cubs games - via DVR replay. The Directv feature DoublePlay works perfect.

With the game recording, I watch more interesting programming while I follow the game action via my phone on one of the many gamecast/gametracker apps. When something EXCITING is happening I switch over via DoublePlay and watch it live. If I miss a home run or a great defensive play, I find it via rewind. Action over, switch back to the program I was watching and continue monitoring game action via my phone..

I, like most baseball fans, like action. Can't stomach all the swings and misses and resulting strikeouts.

Let this sink in: In 2018 - 41,207 strikeouts in the major leagues (up from 40,104 last year). And for the first time in baseball history - MORE STRIKEOUTS THAN HITS! 188 more to be exact!!

Is baseball savable? When a baseball fan of almost 60 years finds it too boring to watch in real time, how is the game going to attract the young fans?

Rob Evans
Francesville, IN

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Yes, Bob,
I grew up in NYC too...my dad filled me in on the baseball universe in the 50s and 60s. World series day games after school! Mays, McCovey, Mantle, Berra, Koufax, Drysdale, Gibson....legends and heroes.

2018? Ok, the Red Sox? That's fitting. But....Porcello to Eovaldi. Buehler and Wood? Faceless. Data analytics. WAR stats. Commercials up your ass. Maybe game 7 in Boston.... in November! 32 degrees? Any wonder?

Ownership does not lead. Money follows the people. When ownership kills the carcass, they'll just find something else to throw their money at. And maybe someone will remember? Sad but true.

Steve Chrismar

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Agree with almost all of this. I will saw however, Game 1 was awesome, hit after hit, run after run, it was all action.

Gary Johnson

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"The game remains the same but times have changed". - BINGO!
Thanks for this. Never have so many, especially so many in America, MISSED that point entirely.

Larry Brown

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All the pro sports seasons are too long but that's because it is all about the money. Basketball and hockey end in June besides baseball ending in late October. Football starts in August. Why $$$.

Go Red Sox!

Larry Green

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Gary Vee talks about this, I highly recommend!

https://youtu.be/v2ooD0NmGRY

Daniel

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Brilliant post. But PLEASE stop beginning sentences with "Hell, ...." There were more instances than I care to count. It's extremely overused in writing online, and nobody would say it in real life. Thank you! Jake, in Brooklyn

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We knew it would end. They all do. I too couldn't help but hang in. Along with my phone, I added my transistor radio game call for some old school multimedia. Could have burned through a pouch of chewing tobacco assuming they still make the stuff. Dodgers in seven.

All the best,

Paul Irvine

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I moved to Japan about 5 1/2 years ago and watched the game from 9:10 a.m to 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon it was broadcast on NHK WOW-WOW (there PBS) right off the satellite in 4k definition ~ It was so clear I could make out faces in the nose bleed seats and if that wasn't enough they allowed a second audio program feed to be passed through in English ~

Sadly they reran the lowlights of the past innings instead of the usual commercials ~ I decided to take a nap at about the 12th inning my thinking was that it would be over in an hour when I woke up and I'd see the highlights that evening on the news ~ I was really surprised to see it was still on when I woke up ~ It was Saturday over here (your tomorrows are my yesterdays) so it was my choice to sit around and take care of some stuff I had to do on my laptop and watch the game at the same time ~

Having worked for FOX Sports West I can only imagine what it was like on the broadcast trucks in the parking lot ~ The air gets a little stuffy in there ~ I'm sure much of the crew were a little unhappy but that will all change when they see their overtime on their pay stubs ~

After it was all over NHK did an interview with Dodger Kenta Maeda in Japanese and with none of the other American players ~ Boring ~

Regards

Rock Singer

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Bob how many people in Southie last night were in bars with the doors locked and the lights low shitting a brick at 3am.........

Matthew O'Hagan

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Baseball was meant for radio. Living in Barcelona temporarily I find myself waking up early and listening to the game on an app. Dan Shulman of ESPN painted the picture of Dodger Stadium and the excitement of an 18 inning game. I felt I was there. It was magic like when I was a kid with my transistor radio hiding under the covers listening to my
Phillies play.

Times have changed, yes, but baseball on the radio still does it for me.

Glad you hung in there for a great game. You got 2 games in one. Game on.

T. J. Lambert, Barcelona, Spain.

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The game tonight had tension from beginning to end. If you couldn't feel it, you weren't really watching it. Of course, in some ways, baseball is like a chess match. Some of the tension comes from strategy. It's internal. It requires paying close attention and focus.
Also - I believe that the players of today are every bit as solid with the fundamentals of the game as the players from earlier eras were. Maybe even more so. But, like all of us, players are human. To quote a cliche, "We all make mistakes", evan the best of us.

Jim Kweskin

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There's no crying in baseball. Please be more positive and hopeful

John Shaheen

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Ha! I have to tape the games and fast forward to every pitch or else I get way too bored. I used to have zero problems watching a game years ago. A lot what you're saying here is so true. Everything's moving so fast In the world except for these pitchers! Lol thanks for the fun read..

keith

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Epl not perfect but reason why biggest sports league in world
And reason why us sports have not taken over the world
Its basically non stop action for 45 mins each half
No ads until half time
3 pm kick offs not allowed on tv
Stadiums full
Lots of away fans
Unlike rest of europe there are six teams with chance of winning
And teams get relegated
So that makes bottom of league interesting
Its followed all round the world
Go to india china etc noone can name a us sports team
And they aren't real teams just franchises
My team bristol rovers doing really badly in third division
But that doesn't mean want stop supporting them
Yours
martin elbourne

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Bob,
Cody's a winner!
A major leaguer...
He gambled.
He lost this time.
He didn't mope or quit.
Next time he made a highlight throw.
Dodgers won!
You're a great read.
You're an All Star in your craft.
Waiting for Lefsetz.
It's coming soon.
You don't quit.
THX!
DandyDon

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Totally disagree, although I thought a Sox-Dodgers series would be more interesting. Remember the Sox-Cincinnati series in 1975? That was an inflection point in baseball history. Johnny Bench, Fred Lynn. Great series. Got me interested in baseball again. Don't worry. It will come back stronger than ever.

David Murphy

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Its whats wrong with Baseball, too slow and too long.
Baseball should adapt the same rules as Football, after 9 innings, play one inning and if its a tie, its a tie.
Who in their right mind wants to sit for 7 1/2 hours listening to this dribble from sportscasters ?
There is only one Vin Scully, the rest, especially on ESPN cannot shut up, then they put 3 sportscasters in a booth, gag.
And going to a Baseball game isn't much better because fans have no manners, they'll stand in front of you the whole game.
The only good seat at a baseball stadium is in the front row.
I use to enjoy going to Wrigley field years ago when it was half empty, now its just a bunch of annoying drunks.

Thanks for the column
LaBeets (Robert Pisaneschi)

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Interesting perspective Bob. When I was a kid, I remember when it was a huge BIG deal (historic moment) when the Cubs finally drew a million fans for the entire season... do the math...that was only an average of about 12,000 fans per game. And tickets were affordable for anyone...50 cents for bleachers, $1.25 for grandstands, every friday was ladies' day (free admission for women), which my Mom loved. Players stayed on the same teams for years, so you definitely knew your team. Pitchers started every fourth game, and pitched way deeper into their starts. Now, with tickets having become unaffordable for many, the stadiums are packed (maybe not in Oakland), the Cubs have drawn over 3mm fans annually for years, many totally average players are making crazy amounts of money (which HAS to be paid by the fans in one form or another), and you say baseball is dying? Are you serious? I do agree the season is too long with the current playoff structure. But I watched that game last night. No matter who you were pulling for, the game was amazing. And you know it! And I'm betting you aren't done watching baseball this year!

Byron Udell

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I love the idea/thought that we are "curating a world for yourself." I'm stealing that one. With so many work related interruptions and demands during the week, I immediately related. I curate my alone time on the weekends when I can shut the world off. And it struck me that I did just that with this game last night. I got home thinking I'd watch an inning. But I got drawn in by the tie. Next thing I know, I've turned off the lights (and the world), lit a couple candles and watched the game in solitude, literally wringing my hands like the fans in the stands. I had curated my Friday night for myself using this amazing game as a personal journey. I barely picked up my phone which is a remarkable feat in 2018.

I doubt I could do this with a football game where there is so much hype and marketing and what with the alien looking uniform colors that speak to everything but the game. I can no longer relate.

Usually I put on a Netflix series or a recommended film. But I inevitably hit pause to look at my phone. How is it that with all the between inning ad breaks I barely touched the thing last night? I guess the journey of the game was relatable to my curated personal time.

Regards,
Paul Nordlund

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Well you are right once more. Change comes, and it comes whether we like it or not. The point is whether any of us is even trying to influence what the changes are. Like you, I was bred a Yankee fan. I have a team signed ball somewhere.
Baseball is not alone in struggling for an audience as the sheer amount of content in the current tsunami of creation means we can all be distracted into our own little universe. Meanwhile I was nearly hallucinating by the end of this game. Note that I did stay up to watch it in the East.
The focus on ourselves is not in isolation from the deluge of content. We are both self involved and at the same time bewildered and distracted, and to a great extent this looks like a house of cards as with too much to look at or listen someone is not going to make it.
Your blog however, remains on my reading list.

thanks, Robert Heiblim

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Baseball is a game that requires paying attention. By the players and by the fan. You aren't paying attention.

If you were, you might be observing that the way it is broadcast has fundamentally changed, and not for the good.

As broadcast these days, watching each at bat is a painful series of Hitchcock-like closeup facial quick cuts...pitcher's face, batter, manager, other manager, catcher's crotch, perhaps a base runner.

In today's game, crazy new defensive shifts have taken over and third basemen are playing SS and required to make plays and coverages they never had to learn growing up. Same for SS and 2B.

Do the networks ever show the viewer the defensive alignment anymore? The view the catcher sees, and most fans in the stadium see every pitch?
NO!

Has Bob Lefsetz noticed this? NO.

Fact is, its MLB's product, and they don't care to manage the way it is presented. If i can't see how the defense is aligned, I'm not really seeing baseball. It's just an annoying series of face shots and it's boring and meaningless as hell.

You're the problem Bob. You say you're a fan or you were. You don't know how to pay attention and watch a game, and you totally missed what has gone awry.

If you were paying attention, then you would have noticed that a camera view of the defense from behind the plate or from dugout-side angles have all but disappeared from the endless boring array of quick-cut facial closeups. A viewer is lucky to see that view more than twice an inning, and many at bats or entire innings we are shown nothing at all.

The game is not being played in those faces. Defensive strategies are seldom shown. Vin retired, and the art of describing the action has died.

Why is it the same old people like you ranting over and over again without paying full attention to focusing on the fundamentals of paying attention?

You're out of it with or without a phone in your hand. MLB stole the game from you, and you never paid enough attention to know better.

Charles Williams

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I just turned 61 and the problem with that is the "good old days" syndrome. Baseball tops the list.
Went to my 1st Dodger game in 1965 to see my hero Koufax pitch (I later met him thru a family friend).
2 posters above my bed back then, McCartney & Koufax (still my heroes and toss in Vin Scully, my mom would put a transistor radio in my crib
when I was a baby to help me sleep) I have been to that stadium over 500 times easily (including concerts and Olympics)
My current gripes:
1) In all sports I hate "on further review". They try to speed up all the pro sports but all momentum is lost during these breaks. I would give em one minute
and if they can't overturn the call then let it be.
2) Did you hear baseball formed a committee of analytics experts to study how baseball is being ruined by analytics? Did analytics tell Lasorda to use the crippled Kirk Gibson to pinch hit in the 1988 World Series?
3) Just going to any event is a hassle, body searches, body scans, and ridiculous prices (you can buy a 12 pack of Budweiser for the price of one beer, or 40 hot dogs for the price of one) Dodger Stadium is like communist Russia. Once you make it thru horrible traffic there is no tailgating and hell you can't even drink a bottle of water in the parking lot without being hassled. Plus many fans are restricted to their own level unlike most parks that let them roam freely.
4) Finally the damn Dodgers TV deal. I get the channel but my 3 sisters do not (and so many other fans from Santa Barbara to San Clemente). The Dodgers will not win a title as long as it exists.

After all that I am at home watching The World Series. Key words: "at home" (with Notre Dame on my other TV)
Joe Mock in PDR

P.S. One more word on the sports subject:

SOCCER

A friend turned me on to the Premier League & Champions League 15 years ago. Like a good Beatles fan I picked
Liverpool to follow. The fans sing "You'll Never Walk Alone" what's not to like?

Its a beautiful game because:

1) a match takes 2 hours to play
2) no time outs or commercials except halftime
3) its international and watching Messi (Argentina) & Renaldo (Portugal) play is breathtaking (I made sure to see David Beckham when he was with The Galaxy)
4) even if its a low scoring match, the skills are always there, the bending kicks that arch around defenders, the amazing goalie stops.

This is the game of the future for the USA. It is the game for the rest of the world NOW1

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I dunno. I love the game. The Yankees first and foremost, but I will go to any pro game in any town if I have the chance, major league or minor league. As for TV, I watch nearly every Yankee game if I can. And the playoffs. And the World Series, no matter who's playing. This match-up of two teams I've historically never liked (Yankee DNA) is still a great match-up. And last night's game, when the outcome hinged on EVERY pitch, that was exciting for me. Every pitch, literally. As the Red Sox exhausted their pitching staff, and then both teams exhausted their benches, it got more interesting, become an endurance test, much like the 162 game regular season but with much higher stakes. The Sox had a catcher playing first base for his first time, a third baseman who kept getting knocked down, testing previously damaged joints or ligaments or bones, time after time, and getting back up again. And a pitcher who was supposed to start today coming in for a relief appearance that lasted nearly 100 pitches - the equivalent of a regular start. They only had one pitcher left, and, in the end, they didn't bring him in soon enough. Or maybe Cora lacked confidence in him, thinking he might be more likely to give up the winning run than Eovaldi, heroically mowing down Dodger after Dodger beyond anyone's expectations.

I love the game. Fielders adjust their position with every pitch, as the count on the batter changes, and the strategy and the pitch selection changes. It's the details, taught in so many cases (including mine) by parent to child (usually, but not always anymore, father to son).

The Red Sox went all in. They don't have many fresh pitchers left for tonight's game, so that will add to the drama for tonight, if the game is close in the late innings.

And, in the end, it was Max Muncy, unheralded back from literally nowhere (released by Oakland in 2017, signed to a minor league deal, starting 2018 the minors but getting sent up and hitting 35 unexpected homers in the regular season, hitting the game winner. Not one of the multi-year multi-million dollar superstars. Max Muncy.

That's why I love the game.

Toby Mamis

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I love ya Bob, but baseball is not dying. Know how I know? Every Sunday my 8 year old is playing at a packed youth baseball park.

Sports have become even more valuable and prominent while we experience this culture shift, and I love it.

I left the music business and now coach high school basketball. I believe more each year in the importance of sports. It is one area left in our society that is a true meritocracy. Where the harder working, better prepared team wins.

This generation wants to argue everything, and rightfully so. They've been shown a world of hypocrisy.

You know what you cant argue? The scoreboard.

That lesson for them is invaluable. Blame the refs? Sure. The coach? Ya sure him too. You still lost. Period. Now you have to pull yourself and get better. Or fade into mediocrity. Your choice.

As to viewing sports - its one area left in life where we don't know whats gonna happen. How many people predicted an 18 inning game? No one. Anywhere.

Thats why we will still watch. I agree the viewing experience may substantially change. But not the viewing itself.

Whether you are playing or watching, no one knows what's going to happen. We may see something we've never seen before like last night. People will still crave that tension, that hope, no matter how many screens are involved.

18 innings. Unbelievable.

Nick Lawson

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I thought this was about the "World Series." Hell, I even remember the days before color. What a line.
He needed to criticize a whole lot of things and a 7 hour baseball game gave him an excuse. I miss my father a lot, but that's exactly what he used to do. Look for a reason to rant and rave. Look Bob, you don't need to be part of the digital/technological world much if you don't want to. I finally got my second TV. First time. I now have two 32" screens. I have Sirius/XM in my car. In my home, I play the turntable only. I've got a computer. And I have a cell phone which I almost never use. I don't text and I've never downloaded an app. I've never burned a CD. I know nothing about Spotify or Pandora. I'm not on facebook or twitter. And few people have a hard time getting in touch with me. Is my behavior normal? No. But here's the thing. If I want to write a letter about the World Series, you'd read it and shake your head that a guy (right around your age) could know so much. And tell such amazing stories about the games and the players. About the World Series!!
I don't doubt you grew up loving baseball. Its a shame you don't anymore. Feel free to get in touch anytime you're writing about MLB or the NBA or seeing Bob Dylan at Forest Hills in 1965 or going to the Apollo on a Saturday night in 1970 to see James Brown or interviewing Jerry Garcia for Jazz and Pop at a Holiday Inn in New Jersey in 1970 or meeting the other David Bromberg for the first time in 1968. I'd be glad to tell you what it felt like to be there. By the way, I never look anything up before I write it. If I saw it and loved it, I know it. Forever.
Sorry if I tooted my own horn, but only you could bring me down after spending all night watching a glorious/tediously boring game. Its the WORLD SERIES, for God's sake. A baseball fan knows that.
David Bromberg

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I too watched the game and wow was it terrible. And I was in NY so I braved through until 3:30 am. Let's not forget the incredible game from last year's Series that was one of the greatest games of all time. I am a Yankee fan and this Series is my worst nightmare but last night set the sport back 100 years. As I was driving home from the bar in Manhattan where I watched the bulk of the game, I even listened to the radio broadcast and the announcers were mocking the game in real time. It was an awful performance and the Dodgers are a mediocre team at best so none of the games will be like last year when they were on a roll and guys were hitting.

As far as the sport itself, attendance is huge around the country and the team's are making more money than ever. However, it is a regional sport so the nation doesn't always care about it if their team isn't playing. The NBA is less popular now than 20 and 30 years ago because the players are far inferior, except for only a small handful of greats like Lebron. But where the NBA succeeded was in expanding it's reach globally and with the new technology, the NBA is able to get millions of fans watching all over the world and doesn't rely on the U.S. market. Baseball and Football have not been able to do this and may never be able to. I worked for the NBA until 1994 and grew up as a Knicks fan (don't laugh) but I watch very little basketball now because the game has deteriorated so dramatically. I have not watched any college basketball for 5 years now. The players with their need to make money as soon as possible have undermined their own game by not taking the time necessary to develop their skills.

Baseball is uniquely American and although it progresses at the speed of a glacier it is doing fine.

Keep up the great work!
Jon Hait

Producer--In This Corner TV
Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame Senior Board Member

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That was the greatest game I've ever seen. It was worth every inning. It was perfect. Of course there were a couple errors. You try playing 18 intense innings in front of rabid fans with all the marbles on the table.

I played a show last night in 3 Oaks Michigan. I was surreptitiously checking the score in between songs and banter. I even confessed to the audience that that's what I was doing. They totally appreciated my honesty and started shouting out updates to me.

By the time my gig ended, it was the 8th inning. I signed Cds and T-shirts and vinyl and hats. I had the game blaring on my iPhone and everyone was crowded around me watching. (I tho knit actually helped merch sales!) Then I packed up my stuff and went across the street with the promoter and his wife to the sports bar. I was on east coast time and the bar finally shut down so I drove to my hotel with the game blasting on the radio. I was all alone and tension was thick. Texts were coming in from friends.

I got to The Hampton Inn and couldn't get out of my car in the parking lot because I was glued to the radio. Finally I got to the front desk in between innings and had the game on my iPhone and was watching the 17th inning while the front desk dude checked me in. They had Ben and Jerry's ice cream so I bought some Cherry Garcia and I ran to the elevator and lost signal as I went up to the third floor. I was groaning out loud!

I got to room 312 and ran inside and turned on the tv and there was no channel guide and 400 channels! My iPhone started working again after stalling from the elevator. So I was watching the game on my phone while searching the tv in a panic.

I finally found the game on the tv and they were ahead of my feed so I was watching the past and the future game at the same time. Finally the 18th inning started and both teams looked exhausted. It was a grueling prizefight. When Max Muncy launched that home run I was screaming so loud that the people in the room next door started banging on the wall for me to shut the hell up. I was on east coast Michigan time. It was 3:30 in the morning!

Bob, I had goosebumps. I live for this game. For a small moment in time I was transported to baseball land where everything stands still and the future is unwritten and I'm not thinking about pipe bombs and politics and vitriol. I'm thinking about the joy and beauty of the greatest game. I was a kid again. Baseball! ¡Beisbol! Oh heck yes. I love this game.

God bless you Bob Lefsetz!
Yer pal,
Steve Poltz
https://linktr.ee/stevepoltz

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Bob, today's column was wise. i started following you in 2002, and have seen you grow from a partisan in the digital music battles to a man who writes with rare honesty and courage, Man, i am so glad i ran into your work.
tommy tompkins
LA

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The World Series

Do sports die?

I just spent seven and a half hours watching game three of the World Series. It ended after three a.m. on the east coast, it took eighteen innings, and all through it I had to fight looking at my phone.

Forget the backlash, we live in a distraction economy, and it's never going to change. We've empowered people, the individual is finally a star, and they like it.

It never used to be this way. Used to be there was a clear demarcation between those known and unknown. Now, most of the known, are not that well-known. Or if they are known, their fame derives from exploits far from their wheelhouse, like Kanye West, who's a musician, but is known by most for his political antics. The only person everyone seems to know is Donald Trump, after that...

So I grew up loving baseball. Went to Yankee Stadium, watched the pre-season games on TV, but...

The game remains the same but times have changed.

And it's not only baseball, it's football too. Everything from the last century that has not modernized for the new era is fading. Football is a game of coaches, and a relatively faceless team, in an era where the individual is king. As for basketball, the reason the NBA is so big is because its management allowed the players to extend themselves, have an identity, speak up. The NBA runs on Twitter. The old people who watch baseball are flummoxed by the social media service.

Now baseball is better at the stadium. But even there, it's hard not to get distracted by your phone and your eating. But at home? When time is passing and nothing is happening? That's a condition we no longer have in our society, boredom. Hell, I remember the days before clickers, i.e. remote controls, hell, I remember the days before color! But now we've got pristine hi-def and it all looks good but your phone has an even sharper screen, and it's tailored just for you.

This is what the media has wrong. This is what the boomers have wrong. We are never going back, only forward. These people blamed Apple and Android for ruining society. They even got them to include software that theoretically discourages use, but it doesn't, read the reviews. Wait a second, I should shut off my phone so I should read your physical newspaper and watch your TV program and talk to people? I hate to break it to you, but they do call it SOCIAL media. I'm in touch with more people than I've ever been in my life, and they're all looking for ME! And it's not only me, it's EVERYBODY! And this has numerous consequences, one being that it's hard to penetrate everybody's feed. The second is that old paradigms, like baseball, don't mesh with the new world.

First and foremost, baseball is now about money. Hell, they now have ads DURING the game, between pitches. Maybe they can fix it so it's all ads occasionally broken up by the game. And one reason the games are so long is because the commercial breaks are so long. But money comes first. Only it doesn't.

If you want people to believe, which is the bedrock of any enterprise, you've got to make it about the core, not the penumbra. The game, not the ads. The music, not the sponsorship. People want to believe. When you're whoring yourself out, they can't. But the ten percenters keep telling us it does not matter, when the truth is they just want to get paid. Any wanker who admires you because of your wealth is not a true fan. They've got to admire you for your identity, your talent, your skill, and that's got nothing to do with money. Furthermore, these same people will support you when the sponsors are long gone.

We live in a Me Decade. Tom Wolfe's was different, the seventies were about personal development. Today it's about curating the world for yourself. Hell, everybody's got a different wallpaper on their screen. Everybody's got different settings.

And this is even evident at shows. People are on their phones because the experience is about them. They want to share it, with those there and at home. And if you bore the audience, they'll start surfing their handsets for information. I know, I was recently at a gig and when the act played an unknown song, the guy next to me started reading the "Wall Street Journal" on his phone.

So you want to create something so great, that it trumps the phone. And that's hard to do, but not impossible, but that's your challenge.

Kinda like today's game. What makes baseball work is the tension. And it didn't emerge until about the thirteenth inning, when the Red Sox had run out of players and everybody was tired and anybody who got on base could change the game. And when the Red Sox scored and the Dodgers did too, in the bottom of the inning, to keep the game going.

Then again, experienced viewers winced many times. Because of the lack of fundamentals! Cody Bellinger running before the pitcher's delivery? God, they teach you not to do that back in Little League. And the missed throws. Used to be these errors were the anomaly, now they're there all the time, because the players are millennials, and the ethos is it's all about ME! I don't want to move the players around the bases, I want to hit a home run and be a hero! Unless it's Instagram-worthy, it's not worth doing!

So I don't know if I'm gonna watch tomorrow, at least it's now a series, two to one instead of three to zip. But I do have a life, and I had to blow off stuff I wanted to do this evening. Do I want to do that in the future?

Used to the World Series had gravitas. Back before the endless playoffs, when the games took place in early October during Indian Summer. Baseball was not made to be played at forty two degrees, hell, it impacts the playing of the game. And it was not made to be played long after midnight either. But over the decades the game has been changed in service of the almighty dollar, to the point where most of the public has no idea who the great players even are.

But I'm not sure baseball is savable.

People like action. Something so intense they don't want to be distracted. Something that they feel involved in. Which is why eSports and Fantasy games are so big.

But the owners of this nation, the ones who believe they are in control, feel that nothing must change and they must continue to win. So they miss change completely until it smacks them in the face. Like Trump. Turns out globalization hurt a lot of people, even though it was the right path to take, but these people felt ignored, they should have been helped, but if one team is winning they don't care about another until...

It all crashes.

What we've learned in the twenty first century is edifices crash overnight. Kinda like that old Hemingway quote. The change comes very slowly, then all at once. Kinda like digital cameras. Kinda like the adoption of smartphones. Kinda like the death of baseball.


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Zhu

Geiger just called me from the airport, he said he was going to see Zhu at Red Rocks, it was sold out, did I know Zhu?

NO!

You hate to admit this. Even in this overpopulated world where no one really knows what's going on.

So after I got off the call I pulled up the most streamed track on Spotify, "Working For It," and I got it INSTANTLY!

Hmm... This is not supposed to happen.

I checked the Google News, I found no mainstream articles, nothing in the NYT or WSJ or WaPo. But they're writing about hip-hop all the time and "Working For It" has 150 million streams and "Faded" has just as many and "My Life" from the new album "Ringo's Desert," released on September 7th, already has in excess of 16 million.

So Zhu definitely has an audience, both listening and going, even though he does not have a profile. You know, scorched earth publicity with antics profiled on TMZ. Maybe you don't have to light yourself on fire to make it. Then again, making it is different from it used to be, and the emphasis is on the road, that's where careers are cemented, how many tickets can you sell? How many people will want to see Cardi B next year?

https://spoti.fi/2AtMf6h

P.S. Zhu put out an EP, which is really as long as an album in the pre-CD years, back in April. He understands that it's a steady stream of product that keeps the hard core satisfied, and the hard core keeps you alive. Which is one of the reasons rock has been left in the dust. Keep the customer satisfied!


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Elton Responds

Dear Bob,look what you've done!
I adore Brandi and we have become friends.Her album is my favourite this year.
I thought what you wrote was truly wonderful.I am not good with compliments but I feel this is a fine way to say farewell to the road.
I will continue to write and record and sell next to nothing,but I feel I have other things I want to try.As you know,I am well aware of the business now.I am so thankful that my fans didn't have to listen to my early albums on a fucking phone.I grew famous with real talent and if you scan the Billboard top 100 now,you will find it hard to find much to float your boat!!
Anyway,I digress.Thank you for coming to MSG,AND,for all the amazing kind words.
Coming from someone who tells it like it is it meant a hell of a lot.
Stay well AND feisty.
Love Elton.

Sent from my iPad

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E-Mail Of The Day

From: Brandi Carlile
Subject: Elton and you.

Dear Bob

I hope you don't mind me crossing this barrier and reaching out! I just had to because the piece you wrote recently about your experience and nostalgia at the Elton show really moved me.

Please excuse the way I write - it's diabolical and I didn't even come close to finishing school.

I've been obsessed with Elton John since I was 11 years old...I'm only 37 so that was the Made In England era - "Believe" was the best string arrangement on that album. I've written him countless long winded fan letters and if you look closely I've thanked and dedicated every one of my albums to him.

To say he influenced me and guided me through my delicate gay teenaged years in a small town is an understatement. Through him I found Freddie,George,Bowie and The Beatles. He was the fabulousness that I needed to see beyond my situation at the time - and that gave me my art.

When I read this:

"I was bewildered. Flummoxed. What do you say when your hero treats you like a friend?"

YOU DISCUSS RECORDS, THE BUSINESS!

Elton LOVES Brandi Carlile."

...I DIED of excitement. Not just that Elton loves me but that it came up in conversation between the two of you!! I am SO flattered.

Your gorgeous blog about that evening and show inspired me to maybe do an Elton album concert. Maybe Tumbleweed, Madman or Captain Fantastic at Town Hall or something ... Either way I'd HAVE to have an orchestra because Elton and Bernie without the late great Paul Buckmaster in that era is unthinkable. (Paul did "Believe" too).


Our resounding mutual feeling about Elton could easily hang it's hat on showmanship and musicality.... but it's his graciousness and gratefulness that keep me a proud disciple.

My favorite part about what you wrote was this:

"My life's pretty much been written in stone. I can't change the past, and there's only a little time to steer in the future. But looking back tonight, I feel that I have not wasted my life. And believe me, I wonder. I have no kids. My wife left me. I had horrific surgeries. I don't own a home, but if Elton John knows who I am, what else can I ask for?

NOTHING!"

Who says that? What a vulnerable and relatable sentiment. You know what matters about being alive.

I think you are the Elton John of what you do.

With appreciation and respect.

Brandi C.


Sent from my iPhone

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My Night With Dwight

It didn't end until 12:30 AM, when they threw us out of the SiriusXM studio.

I was disappointed Yoakam arrived late, but as soon as he got there he sat down in a chair and started riffing and I was stunned... THIS GUY IS SMART!

In a dumb business, where oftentimes the musicians are stoners who can barely get it out.

He started philosophizing about the history of California country/rock, told me Chris Hillman was pissed that they called it that, with the Burrito Brothers they were just pursuing COUNTRY! Dwight is threading the needle from the sixties to the seventies and then drops that he initially lived in Long Beach and I always thought he was from Bakersfield and that's when I got his story, he was from Ohio via Kentucky and he came out with his buddy to make it but his buddy turned around after three months and Dwight was stuck but he never went back, he realized he was in California to stay.

Ever meet your doppelganger? Someone who sees the world just like you?

Dwight asked me when I arrived in L.A. Then he started waxing rhapsodic about the Basin, how he loved it, and we reminisced about landmarks and escapades and the whole evening turned into something I had not anticipated, a trip down the rabbit hole with someone who's still excited about music, who still thinks the past counts, but is fully aware of the present, putting out only a double-sided single as his latest release.

I'd only met Dwight once before, in the bowels of Staples Center, after he opened for Eric Church. He knew who I was, he made reference to something I wrote, he was forthcoming as opposed to laid back, it made an impression upon me, to the point when his management team asked if I would appear on his Sirius XM show "Greater Bakersfield" I said yes.

Dwight could record it in his office, but then it doesn't feel like radio to him. So he goes down to the studio and...

We are not recording, we are just talking, he's giving me the lay of the land, we're catching up, and then he says he's gonna play records and we're gonna talk over them and it sounds like the old Art Fein cable show and the country tracks he's mentioning...many of them I do not know. Then again, I catch all the references, I know the producers, I know the players, this is my history, stuff only a subset of people know, it felt great to be connected, but I was fearful when the show began I'd have nothing to say.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Dwight started with Buffalo Springfield and then went on to Poco and we got hung up there, as we sidetracked to Roger Miller and Buck Owens and it was like the whole hip-hop generation did not exist. It got me to wondering, is hip-hop as dominant as they say it is? After all, this is the same press that missed Trump. And it also made me believe the past was dead. I gave up writing about old records, maybe I should still do that, maybe those roots are valuable, maybe it's not pure nostalgia. I mean Dwight was not talking like those tracks were deep history, but positively alive. He played this cut by Gene Clark from the Byrds LP "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and he looked into the distance and ruminated over the lyrics and it was hard not to believe songwriting craft had taken a left turn and we needed to get back to the garden.

And Dwight's stopping the track and replaying it and ultimately focuses on the following lyrics from Clark's "Set You Free This Time":

"I have never been so far out in front
That I could ever ask for what I want
And have it any time"

And my mind is set adrift, thinking... How some people are born with it others achieve it and the rest of us are always fighting for it.

And then Dwight starts telling Byrds tales, about a fistfight on a video shoot, and it becomes clear that he's read every rock bio extant, he's a student of the game.

And the show's only an hour but we talk for two and then...

While we were still sitting in the lounge, before the show began, Dwight asked me...

DO YOU PLAY?

Now he couldn't really mean that, I didn't even bother with a response. But Dwight waited and I told him I had a guitar, a Gibson SJ, but my mother had left it in the crawl space and the top had gotten moldy and Gibson told me they would repair it but those people don't work there anymore and I really haven't plucked any strings since the seventies, the EARLY seventies.

And Dwight told me I was gonna play TONIGHT!

No, no, no. I protested that I was never any good, I couldn't remember all the chords and...

Then we walked into the studio.

But when the show was over, Dwight asked me which axe I wanted, his signature model Martin or the more beat-up one and...

I was afraid to touch his D-28, it had nary a scratch.

And then like in a movie the rest of his band entered the room and we set about recording.

THIS IS IT, THIS IS THE ESSENCE!

I got a bit of history from the players while Dwight got his guitar tuned and then...

We started playing Warren Zevon's "Carmelita," Dwight had spoken of Linda Ronstadt's cover during the show.

And the train has left the station and I'm on board and contemplating jumping but they won't let me! I ask about the chord changes and then we were OFF!

Whew!

I was used to lighter gauge strings. I picked up the chords, if not the flourishes, and then I realized...

Dwight was producing the track, he was looking if not for perfection, something very close.

And after "Carmelita" he said we had to do another. A few songs were pondered, and then we started in on "I've Just Seen A Face," the classic from "Rubber Soul."

He had the lyrics printed. But this one I knew by heart.

He couldn't get the third verse right, so I sang it to him.

And then...

We must have done nearly ten takes. It had to be right.

And the musicians are uttering terms I'm unaware of, a secret language, this was not a hobby but a PROFESSION! They'd studied, paid their dues and...

The other thing is I'm inches from Dwight and when he starts to sing...

WHEW! This guy really can!

I mean you're talking to him and then he opens up his pipes and you're in an intimate show with someone who's sold millions of records and...

He keeps doing the intro over and over again, telling his Facebook audience that I'm there and I'm gonna sing and play and I'm getting more uptight and the more we rehearse, the greater my parts, until I'm gonna sing all three verses and I realize I don't have enough breath and my fingertips are hurting and I'm not following all the chords but Dwight is so supportive, laughing, giving me compliments I don't deserve and ultimately we get it, even though I believe I've flubbed one line, we're through.

And I'm relieved, but also sad, this evening is gonna end, and I'm right here in the belly of the beast.

This is the way it used to be, when we all picked up guitars after the Beatles, when you went to people's houses and sang songs. It's a long tradition I thought had died. But in this Sirius XM studio it was totally alive. Which made me realize this was not the only place.

And you move to L.A. to get closer, but you never get that close. Most musicians don't make it, most people who want to be in the business give up or get squeezed out.

And then time passes and you're living on fumes, not even sure the dream you once had still exists.

And then you're hanging with musicians and playing and you're tingling, you just can't believe it, this is where it's at, and you're at the center of it!

It wasn't about business, even though Dwight Yoakam has had tons of success.

It was like the labels and the charts and the penumbra were irrelevant, it was all about the music.

And I don't care if you believe in hip-hop, EDM or hate Dwight. If you'd been there last night your eyes would have been bugging out, you'd have had a smile on your face, this is the closest I've ever gotten to the real thing. And I've seen household name bands in rehearsal, I've hung with rock stars, but it's really about the music.

And today's hit acts are about anything but. They're about the cash, the sponsorship, the fame, whereas those used to be external benefits, far from the core. You'd taken a left turn, you knew who you wanted to be. Dwight wrote his first song at eight. His band played in between songs at the movie theatre. He moved to L.A. and schlepped boxes for Airborne and other companies. He drove to the deep Valley to perform three off-nights a week. He met people, worked the angles, and finally connected. When he did his first label showcase at the Roxy Lenny Waronker told him he knew what he was doing, not to change a thing, not to let anybody at the label make him do anything he didn't want to do.

And Dwight ended up here. With a musical career. And an acting one too, after all he was in theatre back in school.

And he took the alternative route and made it! Against the long odds, because he believed in himself.

And he knows the money is now on the road, he knows it's hard to get your new stuff listened to, but he doesn't care, because he loves the music.

So do I.


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Re-Elton John

I'm so glad you made it.

Btw, you saw a really great show. It's odd how we all give it 100% every night, and every Elton show is a great show (because he is such a monster talent), but some shows end up transcending. We talk about it all the time....how it's something you can't plan. It just happens now and then. It comes together in a way that bigger than everyone. Thats the power of music. Yeah...it was a lot of fun tonight.

Kim Bullard

_______________________________________

Hello Bob,

I was going to end this letter telling you we're not pissed off but I think starting out is better so your reading is relaxed!

This is John Mahon - the "other drummer" in Elton's band. To be precise I am the Percussionist, Backing Vocalist, and refer to myself more as E-drummer in the band because I play everything from Timps to sound FX to some double drums on my hybrid setup.

I joined Elton in early 1997 and been with him this entire time for the last 21 years on tour and in studio. Ray Cooper was doing some other projects when I was asked to join the band after meeting Davey. Nigel was not in the band then either - it was British drummer Charlie Morgan.

Elton wanted to bring Ray back into the fold about 5 years ago to just do the Million Dollar Piano shows in Las Vegas, and then recently of course add him back for the Farewell Tour. Elton came to say he was thinking about getting Ray back in the band. At first I thought he was letting me go, then I realized he was being a true gentleman. Most of the percussion I play with Elton is because of Ray, and when he inquired about getting in each other's way musically I just said "do your thing man and I will get out of your way!" He is all that - inspiring to say the least. So now I focus on the BG's and other percussion parts - the non flamboyant! - and it seems to work well.

Our bass player vocalist is Matt Bissonette. He's been around the scene for a long time working with everyone from Maynard Ferguson to David Lee Roth. He's an amazing player and singer too. You may know his brother Gregg who is Ringo's drummer. Matt joined the band about 5 years ago after the death of Bob Birch.

All that said, I've been a reader of your blog for years and I really enjoy it. I love that you have the balls to tell it like it is and see talent where talent is due. Your review of our show was spot on, from Elton's bad ass voice to his aging knees.

I'm quite sure you know already, we do not play to any click or have offstage musicians or a DAW running tracks. On a few songs we double the vocal sound to fatten it up. But we are PLAYING - and it feels good even when we fuck up! It's sad to see amazing musicians playing along to a track on a stage because the artist wants the exact record sound…. Then just go listen to the record (-:

So no, not pissed - but wanted to introduce myself and tell you I'm a fan. I think you had your hands full writing about one of the last icons in music history, which I'm quite fortunate to be part of.
Wish I would have known you were there to meet. Someday.

All the best,
JM

_______________________________________

Not just any bassist that you didn't mention, Matt Bissonnette in context is in his own way part of the history.

As you know, original bassist Dee Murray passed away long ago. Bob Birch replaced him, and after Bob committed suicide a few years ago, Matt Bissonnette (brother of Gregg Bissonnette, by the way) replaced him. Bob was Matt's high school teacher and used to sneak him into clubs in Detroit for gigs.

Greg Debonne

_______________________________________

You might already know this from reading the album credits - I sang background vocals on EJ's Caribou album's "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" along with Carl Wilson, Bruce Johnston and Toni Tennille.

Recorded at The Beach Boys' Brother Studios in Santa Monica with only EJ's Producer Gus Dudgeon present, we sang to the basic track (drums, bass, guitar, piano, tambourine) with Elton's vocal as our guide. Carl made up the soaring background vocal part at the end of each Chorus that was mimicked throughout the song when it was "sweetened" later with orchestration.

And can you believe, all these years later since around 2000, I still get a healthy check from a SAG/AFTRA fund set up for "non-featured performers" !

I hope to see his final show somewhere along the way.

Best,

Billy Hinsche

_______________________________________

The only Elton track I worked on! ("Philadelphia Freedom")

Val Garay

_______________________________________

I was General Manager of Elton John's and Bernie Taupin's Big Pig Music in the 70's - it was during the period of Philadelphia Freedom, Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy, Don't Go Breaking My Heart, and Rocket Man.
I had great fun.

Regards,
Ann P Munday

_______________________________________

I was at MSG last night for Elton too. It was my first time seeing him live. Amazing. Rocket Man was my favorite song of the night, but the whole show was stellar. Were you seated down front on the floor section?

Russ Turk

_______________________________________

Amazing post. And I have so many thoughts and feelings and memories evoked by this piece that I don't know where to begin. I will respond intelligibly tomorrow, but thanks for this and I'm so glad you put all of your thoughts down.

Danny Cooper
VP Promotion
RCA Records

_______________________________________

My family and i love Elton and really
enjoyed the show. Elton has been important to me since High School and that is not lost on my family who have all seen him multiple times...even Story my eleven year old.

Marty Diamond

_______________________________________

In the early 80's, at the most fallow and lowest period of his career, Elton did a solo tour in theaters with just Ray Copper backing him up.
I was working for MCA at the time and took journalists and radio guys to consecutive shows in Ann Arbor and Toronto.
Two of the most amazing shows of my life.
At the meet-n-greet after the Toronto show I mentioned to Elton that I had been in Ann Arbor the night before.
He literally grabbed me by the shirt and started pumping me with questions about the differences in US and Canadian audiences,
talking enthusiastically for almost 10 minutes about fans and audiences the world over.
(It was actually embarrassing as there was a long line of people to meet him and I felt like I was monopolizing his time.)
His keen interest in and love for fans was so evident even at a time when many had abandoned him.
I'm sure it's the same today.

Stephen Knill

_______________________________________

I was a HUGE EJ fan in my youth. He was my first real concert I ever went to in the 70s (if you don't count the BeeGees on the steel pier in Atlantic City). I was just a kid and my big sister took me cause she knew how much I loved him! I still own every one of those albums. Indian Sunset has always been my very favorite song. It still makes me cry today. Whenever I see environmental destruction, which is often, I belt out words from that song! Just incredible lyrics by Bernie Taupin. Glad you love him and apparently he loves you too. Elton gave me so much happiness when I was a kid discovering music. Thanks for the memory.

Terri Haram

_______________________________________

The tour is coming to Oakland in January and we will be there. Still remember when they used to open Tower Records in the off hours so Elton could fill a trunk full of records...he was indeed a real fan and would buy two copies of everything.

James McElwee

_______________________________________

Was a great show. Same set in TO. Only thing I missed was Madman Across the Water and Mona Lisas and Madhatters. How'd the Brooklyn/NYC shows go?

Jake Gold

_______________________________________

One of the highlights of my musical life was seeing Elton at the Berkeley Rep. he played alone for the first half of the show and brought Ray Cooper for the second half. No band.
In the center of the stage was the biggest gong I ever saw and they never touched it till the third encore. As the song progressed, Ray picked up a mallet about six feet long and when he hit that thing, the entire audience rose to their feet and cheered and some cried.
I have seen him with his band twice more and I love Elton John.
He inspired me deeply. I still play his songs. I have all of them. He made my life better.

Andre Pessis

_______________________________________

The first time I saw Elton John was spring 1971 in Honolulu. It was an iconic show; John on piano, Nigel Olsson on drums and Dee Murray on bass. I couldn't believe what a huge sound came from the three of them. Definition of "less is more."

Saw him a few years later at the Oakland Coliseum; another amazing, albeit, flashy show. Came out to the parking lot afterwards, couldn't find our car (63 VW Beetle) I knew I wasn't THAT high. Waited till every car left the lot; yeah, stolen.
Still, worth it.

Randi Swindel

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Sounds like a great show. I saw Elton in Poland last summer and, to my amazement, he satisfied many of my hopes: "Come Down in Time", "Madman Across the Water", an extended piano improv, and more. He's always been a major player.

He's been through some crazy times, but yes, he is for real. I've seen an interview clip where he describes his first real gig in a backing band for US artists brought to the UK. He starts raving about how great it was and what he learned, especially from Billy Stewart with his version of "Summertime". Elton was so excited in telling it! It touched me in a big way.

Robert Bond

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Saw him in toronto - tears for real

Scott Tavis

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I was there. My back was against the wall in the nose bleeds. But I danced and sang along all the same, it still sounded amazing, looked great, it felt incredible, and I cried when he played Border Song. Last time I cried at a show was when Paul Simon played "An American Tune" solo during the encore in Toronto. I must pay my respects to these musical giants who have changed my life. Goodbye for now Rocket Man!

Kaleb Hikele

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Loved the walk through of your evening at Madison Square Garden. Considering Elton's depth of masterpieces he could select on this farewell tour, what a gift for fans to hear 'All The Young Girls Love Alice.'

Shocking to know Elton considers 'Don't Shoot Me' a throwaway while most artists would give up their careers to deliver that single album. I thought I was the only one out there that thought 'Teacher I Need You' and 'Elderberry Wine' were great songs. My EJ challenge- visit the last track, 'High Flying Bird'. Discard the lyric, go straight to the chorus and listen to the melody line and chord progression. A sure fire hit for most artists yet a forgotten song from Elton. That underscores the greatness of Elton and what a gift he has been to us all.

Steve Harkins
Baker & Taylor
Vice President/General Manager

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If Elton John knows your name what else can you ask for - true that. I have seen Elton 3 times but the 1st time was MSG Thanksgiving the night John Lennon came out - wild (& funny thing was I had 4 tix but b/c of the holiday the girl I invited bailed to be with family & my other friend too, so I scalped the tix & sat "alone" with strangers - too bad for those forgotten friends).

Wallace Collins

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Back in the early 70's, I had met Elton through Seymour and Linda. I'd been to his house in Surrey, helped at the infamous lunch at their apartment before the John Lennon appearance at MSG, and was the recipient of a deal for JEM TO import his first album, "Empty Sky," from Dick James with Elton's blessing. But your post reminded me of how much Elton was interested in what others were recording—-when HE was #1.
One day Seymour calls me up and says Elton want me to buy a copy of EVERY ALBUM on the Top 200 and bring them to his suite at the Sherry Netherland Hotel. This was at a time when everything he touched turned multi platinum, yet he wanted to hear everyone else's records. When I brought boxes and boxes up to him, he just dived in and listened.
Because he was A FAN !

Marty Scott

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This is fantastic.

My first memory of an album is looking at the folding cover of "goodbye yellow brick road" while funeral of a friend started up on the family turntable - what a freakin invitation to rock and roll and everything it could be and would become. oh I could go on - but this is your moment!!

Awesome!!!!!!

Buffy Visick

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Just wow. That brought tears to MY eyes.

Amy Lewis Madnick

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Old school Santa Monica rent control like you and I have in this 21st century may be better than any home!

Heard Your Song and my heart opened wider, newer.
Then, won Tumbleweed Connection by calling in to the underground FM station. Hooked!
Saw Elton with the original trio open for Leon Russell at the Anaheim Convention Center. Moved to Laguna and my new pal at Laguna High couldn't stop playing Madman Across the Water. A year or so later in the south of France in a nefarious adventure one of the cassettes that was played in our funky chateau continually was Don't Shoot Me I'm the Piano Player.
Then, that same trip in '73 at the Rainbow Theater in London - Elton again, now singing Happy Birthday to Rod Stewart who was in the audience and came onstage. And on and on and on.

We are deeply blessed to have been splendidly spoiled by Elton & Bernie's gorgeous and transformational gifts throughout our formative and ever so impressionable years.

Happy you got them up close and personal tonight!

Melissa Ward

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Bob - I'm so happy for you! Feels like I've been following you for many years (guess it is) and know that Elton was a very important influence for you. To hear that he knows who you are (and actually showed it) feels like "a circle circled".

Dean Dorrell

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First-time responder. Been reading your posts since 2005. Lots of odd train-of-thought narratives, countless nuggets of awesome context from your life and experience in the entertainment industry.
I live in the sleepy 'burbs wayyy outside SF. Been traveling internationally with a Celtic trio since 2001,, you've been with me through three presidents now.
Tonight's Madison Square Garden review with Elton John hit me in the chest.
For what it's worth from a random citizen, thank you for the generous sharing of yourself over the last 17 years. This post was tops.

Much Respect,
Kathy Sierra

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Thanks Bob

Felt like I was there.

Paul Lancia
Turku, Finland

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Elton is a fan...of music, sports, life. He has an opinion, an educated one at that. I sat next to him on a commercial flight in 72. Honky Chateau was out. Started talking about hockey, (my sport) he asked questions, learned about it. I went to his show at Maple Leaf Gardens several days later. Stayed in touch for many years. I was in Eastern Sound when they recorded Blue Moves. My career burned out in 4 years and he just keeps showing up night after night. Thanks for the review.

Kevin McCloskey

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What an awesome letter Bob, the songs you wrote about Elton playing tonight brought back some of the happiest memories of my life.

Him hugging you, icing on the cake:)!

Me, just one of your countless fans that appreciates your letters more than you know
and I am blessed to be on your list:)

Thank you for being you...
Saludos
Alex Roberts

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I'm crying. This goes to your all time top 5 letters. The last sentence alone is priceless.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Cheers from Sydney,
Aku Valta

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Wow-Love this on the money post!

- Robzz

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What a stellar and fitting tribute!
Great job Bob!

J.A. Etchison

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Listening now...

That is one of your best ??

Hope your well Bob

Love from Scotland

Alan Cassidy

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Congrats, Bob! That is one beautiful piece of writing.

I'm seeing Elton next month, taking my 79 year old Dad who feels just like you about Elton!

Kim is an old friend of mine. So happy to be able to see the show.

Enjoy NYC!

Jon Regen

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Impressive. I guess that makes you a rock star too. I have seen live Elton so many times
that Mrs. Epstein has actually banned me from the farewell tour. "Another 401K tour"
she says. Eventually we all have to let go of the past. Seeing Paul Simon live at The Ryman in 2016 and then again in June of this year at Bridgestone Arena. Epic concerts.
And then agonizing about seeing him one more time in Atlanta. The Rock and Roll Dad
resists. And gets over the regret. Eventually. Having never regretted GOING to a show as much as MISSING one. This is the great paradox of life. Like the girlfriend you still recall as the one who got away. But you know even in your heart of hearts things would
have ended badly. Eventually. EE

Eron Epstein

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Elton John knows who you are and you have a HUGE following of subscribers who prioritize your emails over most everything else.

Hal Kempson

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Fantastic!

Hugo Burnham

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Bravo. THIS brought tears to my eyes..

Simma Levine

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Bravo, Bob! (May I call you Bob?). Not afraid to keep that heart on your sleeve. Thanks for saying it over and over for so many of us. I'll keep reading if you'll keep saying ... !

Thanks!

Robert Holladay

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.......a terrific bit of writing there, bob!!!

Tommy Allen

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Perfect!

Neil Lasher

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A life well lived Bob
"Be here Now" Be In the moment is all we can do
Think of the moments you've had! And your ability to share them...
I could feel your genuine excitement in every word.
What a night it must have been!
Dr. Blaine Leeds DDS

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Bob you have what everyone wants and less is more in today's world . Possessions mean nothing . Day to day memorable days and friends trump money . Bob just keep going forward and these surprises and amazing gifts in music are life

Russ Altman

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Wow. I have goose bumps. I'm enjoying your sirius show only problem is I listen on demand so can't call in. But you have females listening too.

Lizzz Kritzer
Kritzer Marketing

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"The journey not the arrival matters." T.S. Elliot
got goosebumps reading this one.
....some of us are on on the same journey, maybe even crossing paths and not even knowing it. There are moments your writing helps pulls us all together.
cheers
Ken
Langley, Canada

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Great writeup on Elton. My personal fav is a rarely heard oldie - Holiday Inn. Does he ever play that one?

Wyllys Ingersoll

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And this, Bob, is why we all love you.

Michael McCarty

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This is so good, Bob. Damn, wish I had been there. Thank you. Keep it up, man!

marktownsmail

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Long time fan of EJ and a long time reader of yours. You do make me lean back and think.

Of all the paragraphs you've crafted...this one just might be the best:


My life's pretty much been written in stone. I can't change the past, and there's only a little time to steer in the future. But looking back tonight, I feel that I have not wasted my life. And believe me, I wonder. I have no kids. My wife left me. I had horrific surgeries. I don't own a home, but if Elton John knows who I am, what else can I ask for?

If your travels ever bring you to mnpls/st. Paul-gimme a shout. We can play golf, eat well and talk about lives well lived.

JG
Widely Recognized as Someone Who Can Out-Slack Most Slackers

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Bob, your life was not wasted. You are an artist and you just keep giving us your art. I really feel a lot of love for you as I read this note—not in a weird way, just can't read this and not really care about you as one of your fans and longtime readers. Thank you for this one. You really nailed it in terms of what it's like being a fan, following the music, finding the meaning of your life in it.

Thank you.

Bill Higgins

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You're somebody to me, Bob. You make sense of things in a senseless world. Thank you.

Rod Pardey

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Nice... and congrats.

Michael A. Becker

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I wanted to be there so badly!
Tickets were insane!
Thx for being so vivid and visceral with your experience and sharing it with us! I'm sure that wasn't easy but probably carthartic at the end. We all need spiritual cleansing and religious worldliness. It's only healthy and by the sounds of it you had a heavy dosage.
Every time I hear Your Song my eyes tear up and Candle in the Wind.
Well, you may not have an endless cash stream but you get to go around the world seeing the artists you grew up listening to and writing about and on occasion receiving big hugs too. You're a lucky man!!

Fiona Bloom

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That was awesome.

Nick Lawson

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Love that you remain a fanboy!

Michael Fremer

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That last paragraph. A life in 73 words. Damn!

You continue to bring joy through your writing to so many!

And thanks as well for producing your most excellent podcast.

Tim Brunelle

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you may not have kids buddy ...

but you've got all of us with you each day Father Leftsetz!

Gordon Brown

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Shortly after Diana dies, Mother Theresa did too. The Onion ran an article that had the headline: Elton John wows mourners with The Bitch is Back at Mother Theresa funeral.

He's here in Saskatoon next October for two shows.

Todd Devonshire

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Your last line hit the nail on the head. That's fulfillment that resonates on a very deep level. Sounds like an amazing show and night for you personally. I'm happy for you. Elton's music takes me back to my childhood and was music that helped unlock the first of many doors. Clay

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Bob, you nailed it ! I took my wife Pam on and for her 59th birthday. Wow ! We saw opening night at the recently renovated Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. Elton's voice was solid gold. The band was super tight. You're right, tears were flowing. A three year farewell tour leaves me plenty of opportunity to see the magic again before it disappears forever.

Best,
Noel Cott

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Sir...you are good mensch!

Barry Cardinael

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Bob- you live a life nurtured by your passions, your values, and connection. And through you we realize that if we keep at it, maybe we can do it too. Your mark is made. That's priceless. Thank you!

Alex Cespedes

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When people exceed your expectations, it's ok to be speechless.

R. Lowenstein

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lovely piece. thank you.

re0621

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This is perhaps the best thing you've ever written:

"My life's pretty much been written in stone. I can't change the past, and there's only a little time to steer in the future. But looking back tonight, I feel that I have not wasted my life."

This is exactly why I leave the house 40 years on to still go see shows. A life in pursuit of music and art is not one lived in vain.

Thanks Bob.

Michael Evans

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Fabulous!!!

rluciano1

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Sounds like your travels on your own Yellow Brick Road was worth every Step!

Cheers to the Personal Joy that emanates from this piece!

JoeNaz

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Great letter. I agree with you on so many things.
I hope you get a house someday

Ralph Spillenger

Musician/ Club Owner etc.

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Sir Bob,

Again a Beautiful perfect sharing so on the money .

Continued : Good ,Good, Good,
Good - Vibrations to you

David Richard

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There are a lot of people on this planet with shit kids and / or facade marriages.
Your life ( and mine ) are NOT. a waste - but rather the thrill of risking all for what you love.

Skydiving for REAL

! ! !

Mark Flores

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Very very happy for you Bob, nothing more than you deserve.

Sir Harry Cowell

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Love ya' Bob -- thanks so much. Again!
Beautiful, beautiful "letter".

Rock on,
Kevin Rtchie

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Fantastic post. My life has been made vastly better when I discovered your writing.

Jan Burden

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Thanks for the review.
Decided to catch it next year at Nassau Coliseum.
I hope I am no taking a risk.
Loved the point about the idol knowing you.
On a smaller level of fame, I expect that when I see Poco's founder at (the brand new) My Father's Place Thursday.
New York is always a great place to be….or visit.

Corey B. Bearak, Esq.

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Hey Bob, I love your columns, really do, but this one you really seemed to make all about yourself. Just my humble opinion. Regards, Doug Deutsch

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Bob, the entire music industry knows who you are. Paul Lanning

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Hey Bob...friends of mine got me tickets to see Reg with Ray at the Palladium on 14th St. for my birthday in 1979...thnx for the reminder...Mitchell Fox

P.S. Good for you Bob...

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Yes!

Vicki Whicker

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A+

David Terry

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Great letter! Trust us (your subscribers), Bob, you have not wasted your life.

Art Velordi

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Good for you Bob. Your love of music is contagious -- well, that's not the right word. When you have that in your soul, you just have it, and you recognize a kindred spirit, and it feels good to have a tribe based on something like this. That post-show feeling... nothing beats it.
Thank you.

jeff neely

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And now Bob Lefsetz knows who I am, what else can I ask for?!?

Gregory McLoughlin

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that is awesome!!

Kate O'Laughlin

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All I can say is you have done alright!

Good wishes!!

Kathy Bonner

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Dude... you're Bob Lefsetz! It's no surprise you needed no introduction. Thanks for sharing the fun with us.

Ted Schreiber

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Fantastic, just wonderful Bob.

I have so many thoughts to share but instead just want to say that I get it and thank you for expressing what I often feel about music, the connection/soul, live shows, and artists quarks (I've met, worked for a few).

What a thrill to have Sir Elton hug and be a human to you.

Steve Anderko
Syracuse NY

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I, like you have been a fan since I was a kid. Bought all the albums
through Westies. You and have have the same favorite Elton tunes! Im taken
back instantly as well,to where I was when I first heard those songs.
That?s the magic of music and were richer for those experiences. I've had
the opportunity to see him recently (several times) in Vegas at his
residency and that show was amazing.. he?s truly an artist like no other.

Jeff Lewis

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Thanks Bob! I feel the same way about Elton. I am a bit younger so I did not see him in the 70's but seeing him in the 80's at the Hollywood Bowl was pure magic. One other footnote, Julian's Auctions is selling Bernie Taupin's original lyrics, record awards etc. It is an unbelievable archive of material. One would assume he doesn't need the money but then again you never know. Maybe he was a victim of the other Bernie... It just made me feel bad that he is selling his stuff (for whatever the reason...)

Cheers, Mark
Southland CD

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Elton John knows who YOU are!

I'd agree that you can't ask for much more. I was really moved by this one, Bob. My heart has belonged to Elton since I was a girl.

I'm only 47, not super old, but no longer young. Your reflections usually hit me hard. This one cut a bitch.

My mother passed away almost 3 years ago now. We made a tape when I was a little kid of us singing Don't Go Breaking My Heart. I sang the Kiki Dee parts. I still can't hear that song without losing it.

I know The Forum show will hurt, but I also know it will be life affirming, as you lay out right here.

Indian Sunset?!?! Damn.

Anyway, thanks for pouring your heart into this one.

Keirda Bahruth
Los Angeles

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It was 1990 or so. I had tickets to Elton John at the Garden. Was busy during the day at a photo shoot for a new client - Johnson and Johnson "Micatin". Had recently opened my own ad agency and was excited to pull in this J and J account. The shoot went late so I raced into NYC from Scotch Plains. And parked on the street at 33 rd street.
And met my friend Ed Lee at the Garden.
What a show Elton put on. I recall the amazing female backup singers wrapped in Saran/wrap like mini dresses. And a sax player who twisted and turned and made that piece of metal seem like an extension of his lips.
Ed and I were dressed like businessmen in shirts and ties nevertheless bounced and swayed and lived the moment with chills and thrills.
Elton put on a non-stop show with all the passion of his youth - though not a 20- year old anymore.
Walking out of the Garden and back to the car we sang and laughed and loved what we had just experienced.
Everything changed when I got back to the car. The back door of my Toyota Cressida
Was ajar and everything I had inside- which I had tucked under a car blanket was missing.
I opened the trunk- empty. About a dozen pair of high end sneakers which had been photographed earlier in the day - were gone.
As was a VCR and other props.
I told Ed to go home and went to the phone booth and called the police.
Eventually, they came. Took a report and were not surprised at what happened in that neighborhood."Use a garage next time," they said.
Finally, I got into the drivers seat and started towards the tunnel. And suddenly began to sing "I'm Still Standing" with a smirk on my face and a great feeling of having experienced the amazing Elton John in person.
Screw the theft I thought. I'm insured.

Marty Regen

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Your Elton John blog SANG to me. That was as much a masterpiece as "Your Song" or "Daniel!" Again, you nailed it as music does make the past come alive! Recently on a drive from NY to Chicago, I realized I had spaced my CDs & was headed into the almost-radio-free Allegheny Mountains. The truck stop had a bin filled with CDs but what could I possibly listen to for the next 10 hours?? In the sea of Country, Metal and current R&B, I was terrified until I swooped up "Elton John's Greatest Hits" - a 20 or more song disc set with Elton on the front cover basically saying, "This is what you need!" Ahhh! My drive was filled with memories and the past coming alive! Mostly happy like when my friend and I were studying cello and bassoon in 8th grade, smoking pot and playing along to the "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album and of course before that when we were all listening to "Daniel" - singing along, completely absorbed which possibly was the cause of another friend Falling out of a tree we had climbed with our transistor radio. Enthusiasm! Hey Hey, we're not the Monkees! She lived. We lived .. we LOVED Elton John. Madman Across The Water! He still rules so much of my preteen and teen years along with Zep & Joni. Thank you, Bob. Another greatest hit from you!

XXOO
Beki Brindle-Scala
Woodstock, NY

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As a fan of the man and his music, it is the ultimate accolade to be able to say that "Elton John knows me." Elton and his band are perhaps the single most significant musical influence on me over the past 43 years. It was the string riff on Philadelphia Freedom that brought me into rock music. It's the little things. Before that it was Herb Alpert and the Carpenters. While their music is still great, discovering Elton in 1975 expanded my musical Horizons both going forward and looking backwards before his time.
As to musicianship, Nigel Olsson is one of the great drummers of the Rock period. For me, as a drummer, he remains a touchstone as to great groove andtasty licks. I still miss Elton's original bass player, Dee Murray, who died of cancer many years ago. He was one of the greatest, and most under-appreciated, bass players ever.
And let's not forget pure songwriting ability. Don't Shoot Me, While underappreciated in Elton's canon, is a songwriting masterpiece from start to finish. I have loved Teacher I Need You for over four decades now. Who can't love that infectious shuffle groove along with Elton's mischevious vocal. I still get chills when I listen to Blues for Baby and Me, especially the little flute touches. In this respect, you also have to give a hat tip to elton's genius producer, Gus Dudgeon, who put it all together. He is missed, as well.
Congratulations, Bob. You have once again hit upon that tangibly intangible Joy that comes from loving the music so much.

Douglas Weinstein

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More than any other artist, Elton is the reason I became a musician. I was a fanatic as a kid. He made me want to play piano, but the apartment and the family finances didn't allow that, so I picked up a cheap guitar. I still have this weird fantasy about playing on a session with him.
I'm surprised that EJ thinks of Don't Shoot Me as a throwaway. Blues for My Baby and Me, Have Mercy and High Flying Bird and the two you mentioned are classics and bring back a lot of great memories for me. In fact, I was listening to it in my car the other day, followed by Tumbleweed Connection.
And his original band...man, what a chemistry they all had. That is almost impossible to find. Davey Johnstone, a fantastic utility player and master of taste. Nigel, a weird style that really gelled with the band. And let's never forget Dee Murray, the most underrated bass player to have ever graced the instrument.
On a side note, I'll go see the movie, but would have preferred a Netflix series about Elton, where all the key players could get a little more screen time and character development. Same goes for the Queen movie.

Wade Mosher

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My heart also belongs to Philadelphia Freedom. Not only have I been obsessed with the sport of lacrosse for 50 years, I have evolved (devolved?) through the entire Bell Curve: from neophyte learning to catch and throw on up to high school and college player and back down the slide to today when I play in as many Geezer (age 60 and over) tournaments as I can find. (My motto: "I may be old... But I'm slow.") Looking back over the past half-century, I can pinpoint the absolute peak of that curve as a 2-week span in late April /early May of 1975. It was a magical... that thing that everyone calls "The Zone." Not only did I know that the ball was going in the goal before it left my stick, it felt like I was watching someone else do it. I never talked about this with any of my Bowdoin College teammates ("The less I say the more my work gets done.") for fear that it would end, which it did. Since that spring of 43 years ago, I've had flashes of brilliance, but nothing has ever approached the magic of that 2-week span. However, thanks to Elton, I get to take a delicious sentimental journey every time Philadelphia Freedom pops up on my radio today. And I still command enough gravitas in "my good old family home" to insist that my wife and kids not touch that dial and sit and join me in listening to it.

Malcolm Gauld
Bath, Maine

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I first saw Elton in '75 at Rich Stadium; a big road trip for a 16 year old from Ottawa. Boz Scaggs was one of the opening acts and Kiki Dee sang with him.

The amount of amazing music that he and Bernie put out in a few short years is incredible. I still have vivid memories of being in my next door neighbour's basement pouring of the GYBR album cover and lyrics as we listened to the record for the first time.

Some punk with a shotgun ....

And I loved your skiing reference. We grew up in the young and free days of freestyle skiing; when ballet was still an event, moguls weren't groomed and K2, Scott and Vuarnet were the brands of the day. My sports heroes at the time were Roger De Coster, Mark Spitz, Dave Keon and Airborne Eddy Ferguson. While I appreciate the difficulty of today's ariels, the moguls event sucks. Give me the beauty and grace of the timeless back scratcher, the pleasure of a daffy held over a soaring jump and the raw athleticism of a top to bottom, always on the edge, old style mogul run.

We're running short of heroes ...

Ken

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you are killing me with this.....I have spent my last 5-6-7 years,( hospitals, operations, more operations, bad lungs, heart, cannot take any stress, the same thing as you, BUT I worked with Azoff, Jerry Heller, ICM, Booked / Managed Ike and Tina Turner at 20 years old. In my experience with all the artist I worked with and got close to they did not give a shit about me unless I could do something for them. MUCH MUCH WORSE then the regular people you see every day. I remember Elton coming to America, I had just started working for Jerry Heller, asked him if he would get me in at the Troubador, Nope, the rest is History.

Dennis Rubenstein

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Good one.

I like Elton, though I am a little worn out from 50 years of hearing those songs.

He headlined N.O. JazzFest a few years ago (a zoo) and we were there and heard him, it was ok, but it was the SAME songs.
But...
Two things I have always loved about Elton. One: his piano playing.
And two: years ago, Jerry Lee Lewis did a big tribute type album in London with all the most famous Brit players. They interviewed Elton, who said something like--and I'm paraphrasing--"Jerry is so damn good, much better than me, but he coasts and doesn't work at it and that pisses me off." Or words to that effect. I loved that he was so honest. And on the money.

Reg is a pretty cool guy.

Rik Shafer

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Elton, what a legend. But why won't he license his music to online educational services like HDpiano or Flowkey where there are thousands of students desperate to learn to play his tunes? It's 2018! I don't read sheet music so the books are useless. Next time you see him maybe drop a hint? Same goes for Billy :(

Love the musings. Cheers.

Devon

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It was 1970 and I had just come off producing the #1 show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, on CBS-TV. A record promoter and friend in the Northeast sent me an album of a new artist to listen to. I got so many records those days that I put it with the others behind my desk. One day, as I left the office, I took all the albums home to listen to.

Most of them I quickly tossed out after a song or two. Then I put on the one the one the record promoter had sent. From the first song it was magic and I was blown away. I listened to it over and over. It was Elton John's! Just like you, I was particularly moved by "Your Song" and it became my favorite.

Elton hadn't been to the States yet but he was scheduled to play the famous Troubadour in Los Angeles in the coming weeks. That club was virtually a second home to me and my various artists. I went there opening night and, after his terrific show, I spent time with him and his manager, John Reid. Elton was wonderful to me and I ultimately acted like a groupie and went to his shows all over the US.

As the years went by I had many more wonderful experiences with Elton including the time I was having a luncheon meeting at Le Dome on Sunset near my office. Elton spotted me from his table way across the spacious restaurant and unlike any artist I've ever known he got up and came all the way to our table to give me a hug. Needless to say my companions were impressed. So your experience shows he's still the same Elton.

On another occasion my wife, Cathy, and I were in Australia with my then client, Lionel Richie, and after Lionel's show, we were celebrating Lionel's mother's birthday. Around midnight at the restaurant we all were at, Elton came bounding in with bottles of Champagne and hugged everyone and sang "Happy Birthday" to Alberta.

Finally, this past April, Cathy and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary by going up to Las Vegas to see Elton's show for what will probably be the last time. His agent, Howard Rose, gave us comp tickets and wonderful seats and the show was great. Only disappointment for me was that he was not seeing any one backstage that night and I couldn't come totally full circle.

The great news is he's still the same sensational entertainer and wonderful person. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Ken Kragen

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They wrote some great songs. B has a couple still in her back pocket. I know you didn't get into Bettye until Interpretations, so if you didn't backtrack, you may have missed her version of Talking Old Soldiers from Scene Of The Crime. Here's what Elton had to say after Interpretations came out.

"Bettye LaVette has always been a wonderful singer – I have been a huge fan for many years. To my delight and surprise she recorded an amazing version of "Talking Old Soldiers" – a song which nobody else has covered, and made it her own. Now she has recorded "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" and has done exactly the same – but this time with a much more familiar song. I am truly touched by her picking these songs and can only hope that this album brings more attention to this incredible artist."

Check out the video, below.
The recording had David Hood on bass, Spooner Oldham on piano, recorded at Fame Studios.

Talking Old Soldiers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0nO9VXC6lw

Kevin Kiley

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I was born in '75, but my first memory of Elton was in the back seat of my Dad's Audi Coupe in 1980, barrelling down the autobahn in Germany, listening to a squeaky cassette of Captain Fantastic. Philadelphia Freedom…and no speed limits! You can imagine how that blew my 5 year-old mind.

But the song I keep coming back to is Someone Saved My Life Tonight, also off that album. Back then, I just loved the way the song soars, but it was only later I realised the poignancy of the lyrics. And until recently I lived just up Holloway Road in London and used to walk down Furlong Road, where Reg and Bernie lived and almost lost it. It's the epitome of north London gentrification now which is fitting.

I've got to take in this tour. He can't really be retiring, surely?

Patrick Horton
MOJO, London

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You don't have to have money to be loved. All of the persons whom I know that read your column, love you, buddy.
The first time I saw Elton John was December 2, 1970 (I keep track of these things for 50 years now). Four of us (still friends to this day) drove from St. Lawrence to Syracuse (130 miles) to see the show. The opening act was Toe Fat, followed by Elton and headliner Derek and the Dominoes featuring Duane Allman. Duane only did a handful of these shows. At the time, we were high on the Elton John LP, which featured "Your Song" and other classics. He had "it" already and was the primary reason we went to the War Memorial in the Salt City.
The concert was great but what also sticks out to this day was our return trip back to campus, where somewhere between Watertown and Canton, we stopped the car and witnessed Aurora Borealis in magnificent splendor. There are few city lights in that part of the world.
Great memories...

Tony Colao
Easthampton, MA

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You couldn't be more right about Elton being a fan. When I lived in Atlanta in the nineties, it wasn't surprising to see him at the now-defunct Tower Records on Tuesdays, looking for new music.

And speaking of Reginald Dwight, in 1992, the Atlanta Falcons drafted Reggie Dwight, a tight end from Troy University. He had to change his phone number to an unlisted one because people were finding his name, Reginald Dwight, in the phone book and were calling and asking for Elton.

Peter Gilbert

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Hi Bob, another good read, thanks. IN 1970/71, I was the manager of the record, stereo and TV dept. for The Emporium department store in Sonestown. This was walking distance from SF state college, my alma mater. The record section was the most pathetic and neglected area in the store despite the many students that passed by the area shopping in the store. I loved music and was an album collector myself as were most of my 20 something peers. One of the first things I did was put an end cap of Billboard top ten albums right in front where nobody could miss them. But the most revolutionary idea was to play the albums. Nobody had thought before to have a soundtrack of hit albums playing in a department store. I thought the store manager would shut it down but when the Album sales took off, he was so pleased with the skyrocket sales numbers and the positive feedback from the customers he would give me suggestions everyday to make sure and play this album or this artist. And his favorite and one of mine was Elton's "Mad Man Across the Water", and both our favorite song was "Tiny Dancer". The album got played so many times, during a day we set some kind of sales record and won an award from the distributor for selling more than Tower's famous SF store in one month. I think every Elton fan that went to SF State must have bought the album from my dept that month. OK, probably a bit of an exaggeration, but I do owe Sir Elton a thank you for getting my sales numbers up and a quicker than expected promotion.

alan segal san diego

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Bob-WHY are you up writing your letters at 2:03a? Oh yeah, I know-it's because you were hanging out with my husband Wallace Collins ( you guys finally got to meet each other!) and Jason Flom, Daniel Glass, et al. and Wallace said you asked him about his life—and you found out he had gone to Fordham undergrad and Fordham Law-you mentioned that he must be Catholic and he gave the Woody Allen answer of 'lapsed Catholic'——and he married me, a 'lapsed Jew'—-but anyway he was so excited to meet you...we are always enthralled with your letters.......I am a nobody, as I am sure you know..but I have always loved your letters asI have told you in the past, ESPECIALLY the more personal ones...your mom, your dad, people who have worked with/for you...and Wallace loves the music biz letters, of course...BUT-we have an Elton John story as well...way back in the dark ages when they were doing the VH1 Storytellers...we were in New Orleans for a music conference..Wallace was on a panel...Elton John was going to be at the Hard Rock doing storytellers....our friend's family OWNED the building that housed the Hard Rock...and they told us that IF we could sneak in to the building, we were golden. After his panel, Wallace had checked out the streets where all of the possible entrances to the Hard Rock would be...he said it was all clear-we'd be fine——later, when we went back to sneak in...there were HUGE trucks blocking every entrance..so we literally CRAWLED under one of the trucks and ran into one of the doors where we saw someone was walking out ——score! I then did my 'sneak on the elevator to another floor, go the ladies room then the bar, order a drink at the bar and pretend I'd been there the entire time' and Wallace just tried to find me-but we got to hear the entire concert-so intimate—BUT—Elton did NOT say hi to us or that he knew who we were—that only happens to you!!
Thank you for always writing in such a refreshing, prolific way. You rock.

Barbara Zats

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I was there Thursday night, sorry I missed you. Supernova indeed! It's obvious singing his songs is important to him and he still LOVES performing them. Can't say that about a lot of "legacy" artists. First album I ever bought was Captain Fantastic, and if you would've told that little boy that one day he'd be walking back stage and heard echoing through the halls, "Where's JS?" -coming from Elton John's dressing room - he would have died. (Years ago in Vegas) So I know how you feel, and of course he knows you. Anyone that wants to know anything about the music business or music culture, or just read a good smart specifically opinionated take on the world, knows Bob Lefsetz. When you're back in town, let me buy you lunch.

Stamos

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Hey Bob,
Does Felice get any credit???

Ginny Mancini

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