Elton John, The #3 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Ten

 

(Continued from Part Nine)

 

In 1996, John released the album Love Songs.  The lead single, the nostalgic "You Can Make History (Young Again") hit #4 on the Adult chart.

 

Elton recorded "Live Like Horses" with Luciano Pavarotti in 1996, a #9 U.K. hit.  John released the compilation Love Songs in 1996. 

After Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash, Elton asked Taupin to rework the lyrics of "Candle In The Wind" to honor Diana.  On September 6, 1997, Elton performed "Candle In The Wind 1997" at Diana's funeral.

 

A single of the recording was released and it quickly became the #1-seller of all-time, topping 11 million copies in the United States and 33 million copies worldwide.  Proceeds were donated to Diana's charities through the work of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.

"Candle In The Wind 1997" captured the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Elton won an American Music Award for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist.  The flip side of this historic single achieved considerable airplay in its own right--"Something About The Way You Look Tonight".  

Elton joined other artists for "Perfect Day", a #1 U.K. song that benefitted Children in Need.  EJ appeared in the movie Spice World in 1997 and released the album The Big Picture that same year. 

John was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on February 24, 1998.  Later that year, Elton's music for "The Lion King" received further recognition when it was nominated for Best Original Score at the Tony Awards, as the Broadway play became one of the most successful in history. 

"Wake Up Wendy" is from Chef Aid: The South Park Album.

Sir Elton and Rice collaborated again for the Disney production of Aida in 1999, a partnership that won them the Grammy for Best Musical Show Album and the Tony Award for Best Original Score.

Elton released the live compilation album Elton John One Night Only - The Greatest Hits, including songs recorded at a concert in New York City's Madison Square Garden.

 

Sir Elton received the Legend Award at the Grammys and released the album of songs from the musical called Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, which included EJ's duet with LeAnn Rimes, "Written In The Stars", a #1 smash on the Adult Contemporary chart that also found its way to #10 in the U.K.

 

EJ picked up the award for Best Musical Show Album for Aida at the Grammys and won a Tony for Best Musical Score.  In 2000, John was named the MusiCares Person of the Year "for his artistic achievement in the music industry and dedication to philanthropy."  He recorded "Someday Out Of The Blue" for "The Road to El Dorado" Soundtrack, a #5 Adult hit.  

"16th Century Man" is another standout song from the film.

 

EJ released one of his best albums in years, Songs from the West Coast in 2001, which featured the great song "I Want Love", #6 AC in the United States, #7 in Canada and #9 in the U.K.

 

The follow-up is one of Sir Elton's career best, but with a #10 AC peak and virtually no airplay on Top 40 stations, is another of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*--"This Train Don't Stop Here Anymore". Elton brought in an old friend, Paul Buckmaster, to arrange the gorgeous strings, and EJ received a nomination for Best Male Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Songs from the West Coast was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the Grammys.  Bernie used the title from the popular Danish fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen as the inspiration for this song--"The Emperor's New Clothes".

 

Elton achieved the improbably feat of recapturing the early magic--he and Bernie were together writing songs again, and the result was some of Elton's best music in decades. "Look Ma, No Hands" is another solid song on the album.

 

Elton picked up two more Grammy nominations for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in the same year for "I Want Love" and this song, "Original Sin".

Music for the ages, and we have one more segment for you to enjoy!