WELCOME BACK!
MY NEXT GUEST IS A MUSICAL ICON WHO HAS SOLD OVER
300 MILLION RECORDS, HAS FIVE GRAMMYS, AND IS IN BOTH THE ROCK
'N' ROLL AND SONGWRITERS HALLS OF FAME.
PLEASE WELCOME ELTON JOHN!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ( BAND PLAYING )
>> Stephen: THIS IS FOR YOU.
I KNOW.
>> Stephen: ELTON JOHN!
ELTON JOHN!
NOW, ELTON JOHN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
THIS IS GOING TO BE SLIGHTLY DIFFICULT FOR ME BECAUSE I'M
GOING TO GEEK OUT AT YOU EXTREMELY HARD.
WHEN I WAS IN THIRD GRADE, I HAD A BAND CALLED NEBULA FIVE.
THERE WERE ONLY THREE OF US.
I WAS THE LEAD MAN, GREY ON DRUMS, TOMMY ON PIANO, WE DID
ALL ELTON JOHN SONGS.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) I WAS AN ELTON JOHN TRIBUTE
PERFORMER IN EIGHTH GRADE.
>> WOW, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>> Stephen: YOU'VE GOT THE NEW BOX SET HERE CALLED "ELTON JOHN
DIAMONDS."
>> IT'S THE GREATEST OF THE PACKAGES YOU WILL EVER SEE.
I CAME UP WITH THE TITLE "DIAMONDS" BECAUSE I LIKE
"DIAMONDS."
>> Stephen: THERE YOU ARE.
YOU'RE ELTON JOHN, YOU CAN NAME IT.
YOU HAVE "DIAMONDS" OUT, STILL ON TOUR, PERFORMING THIS
VIOLATION, WORKING FOR THE ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION.
YOU'RE RAISING TWO SONS.
IS RAISING SONS CUTTING INTO YOUR COOL AT ALL?
>> NO, IT'S JUST CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE OF MY LIVES.
I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD BE DAD BUT IT CAME TO PASS, MY CHILDREN
WILL BE SEVEN AND FIVE SOON, AND IT'S THE BEST THING THAT EVER
HAPPENED TO ME.
I HAVE BEEN SO BLESSED DURING MY LIFE.
I HAD A GREAT CAREER.
I GOT SOBER.
I MET MY HUSBAND AND THE CAREERS ARE GREAT, BUT THE GREATEST
THING THAT EVER HAPPENED IS HAVING THE CHILDREN BECAUSE IT
TAKES THE FOCUS AWAY FROM ME.
>> Stephen: "DIAMONDS" IS CELEBRATING YOUR 50t
50th ANNIVERSARY OF SONG WRITING PARTNERSHIP WITH BERNIE
UPIN, HOW DID YOU GUYS MEET?
>> I WAS IN A MEDIOCRE BAND AND GETTING FED UP PLAYING TO PEOPLE
EATING FISH AND CHIPS AND THE CABARET THING.
I THOUGHT, WHAT CAN I DO?
I SAW AN ADVERTISEMENT FROM A RECORD COMPANY THAT SAID SINGERS
AND SONGWRITERS WANTED.
I HAD WRITTEN A COUPLE OF SONGS FOR THE BAND AND WE RECORDED
THEM.
AND I ANSWERED THE AD.
WHEN I LOOK BACK, I WAS KIND OF CHUBBY, VERY SHY, NOT THE LEAD
SINGER, JUST THE PIANO PLAYER IN H THE BAND, BUT I WAS SO FED UP,
AND I WENT TO THE OFFICE IN LONDON, IT WAS LIBERTY RECORDS,
AND I WENT IN THERE AND THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF REEL TO REEL
TAPES -- THIS IS IN THE LATE '60s -- AND PILES OF
ENVELOPES, AND THE GUY BEHIND THE DESK SAID WHAT DO YOU DO?
I SAID, WELL, I CAN SING AND WRITE SONGS BUT I CAN'T WRITE
LYRICS, I'M HOPELESS.
HE SAID, WELL, WHY DON'T YOU TAKE THIS ENVELOPE.
HE WENT THROUGH A PILE OF THEM.
HE GAVE ME AN ENVELOPE WHICH WAS FILLED.
I TOOK IT BACK ON THE TUBE TRAIN OR SUBWAY AND I READ IT AND IT
WAS BERNIE.
THAT WAS THE ENVELOPE HE GAVE ME.
>> Stephen: WERE ANY OF THOSE SONGS POEMS?
>> THEY WERE ESOTERIC AND FLOWER POWER AND SWEET.
I WROTE MELODIES SO THE SONGS AND LIKED THEM AND SUBSEQUENTLY
WE GOT A SONG WRITER CONTRACT WITH KIWITH DICK JAMES WHO PUBLI
THE BEATLES.
IT'S A LONG TIME WHEN WE MADE IT.
>> Stephen: BUT BOY DID YOU MAKE IT.
IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, YOUR FIRST ALBUM WAS --
>> THE FIRST BREAKTHROUGH ALBUM WAS ELTON JOHN WITH YOUR SONG ON
IT, THAT WAS 1970.
>> Stephen: THEN DON'T SHOOT ME, I'M THE PIANO PLAYER.
>> TUMBLEWEED, MAD MAN.
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC, CARIBOU, ROCK OF THE WESTERS.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) IN ABOUT FIVE YEARS.
>> Stephen: FIVE YEARS.
AND SEPARATE SINGLES.
PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM, PINWHEEL WIZARD, LUCY IN THE SKY WITH
DIAMONDS.
>> Stephen: CORRECT ME, IT'S YOUR LIFE, BUT GOODBYE YELLOW
BRICK ROAD WENT PLATINUM BEFORE IT WAS EVER RELEASED, THAT'S MY
UNDERSTANDING.
>> I HAD NO IDEA ABOUT YELLOW BRICK ROAD.
WE WERE SO BUSY AND WE LOVE WHAT WE'RE DOING SO MUCH WE DIDN'T
PAUSE FOR THOUGHT.
WE WERE HAVING SO MUCH FUN.
WHEN YOU HAVE THAT ADRENALINE, WHEN YOU HAVE THAT IMPETUS AND
YOU'RE SUCCESSFUL, WE WERE LIKE KIDS IN CANDY STORES, SO WE
LOVED WHAT WE WERE DOING, AND THAT HELPS.
>> Stephen: WELL, THE NEW COLLECTION OF COLLECTIONS HERE
IS "DIAMONDS."
IT'S GOT STUFF LIKE,.
♪ YOU CAN TELL EVERYBODY THIS WAS YOUR SONG ♪
♪ HOLD ME CLOSE TINY DANCER ♪ ♪ ROCKET MAN ♪
♪ FUNKY CAT ♪ ♪ I REMEMBER WHEN ROCK WAS
YOUNG ♪ ♪ DANIEL MY BROTHER ♪
♪ SATURDAY ♪ ♪ GOOD BUY YELLOW BRICK ROAD ♪
♪ IT SEEMS TO ME ♪ ♪ YOU LIVED YOUR LIFE ♪
♪ BENNIE AND THE YES, IT IS ♪ ♪ PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM ♪
♪ I LOVE YOU GIRL ♪ SOMEONE SAVE MY LIFE ♪
♪ DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART ♪ ♪ SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST
WORD ♪ ♪ LITTLE GENIE ♪
"DIAMONDS," ELTON JOHN!
STICK AROUND FOR THE PERFORMANCE BY THE SAME MAN!