“By far”: The musician Elton John called “the best entertainer”
It’s easy for some artists to forget the entertainment side of the business half the time they’re making music. Although it’s everyone’s dream to make something that satisfies them whenever they perform, there’s no telling whether it’s going to look good when they eventually bring it to the masses and have to let the audience accept their record for what it is. It can make the crowd think, but it also needs to keep them happy too, and while Elton John was more than happy to keep the customer satisfied, he wasn’t even close to the top tier of entertainers as far as he was concerned.
Granted, it was always going to be hard to top what John was doing in his prime. Although he fashioned himself along the same lines as the singer-songwriters of the day, you weren’t going to see James Taylor donning lavish outfits like he did or see Cat Stevens adopt those crazy glasses whenever he took to the stage. Because for John, music meant more than playing a song on the piano.
After all, he got into the business as a songwriter first, and since no one was going to record his tunes, the next best thing would be to perform them himself and make up for the lack of movement with the craziest visuals he could think of. And considering some of his biggest performances at the Hollywood Bowl included doves flying out of a piano and him being introduced by people like Linda Lovelace, it’s not like he didn’t want to draw some more attention to himself even if he wasn’t playing a note.
Even though John was the complete package in many respects, there was only so much one could do when sitting behind a piano. Everyone needed that extra push to get them to the front of the stage, but whereas John had some of the biggest moments of his career while sitting in front of his grand piano, it was a lot easier for him to look on in amazement when listening to the biggest starlets of MTV.
Despite having some fairly harsh words for the channel’s first breakout stars like Madonna, it’s not like the network couldn’t spit out great entertainers throughout their tenure. David Bowie had adapted marvellously to the medium, and Michael Jackson practically used it as a springboard for his solo career, but once Prince showed his face, he was the kind of creative dynamo that no one could take their eyes off of.
And while Purple Rain etched his name in stone before the decade was over, John knew that his performing ability hadn’t dwindled since his prime, saying, “I’ve had the luxury of singing with him twice on stage. So I understand the way he works, the way he thinks. And it’s fine with me. I have so much admiration for him. And what he does is — I think he’s, personally, the best entertainer in the world by far.”
Even though not every album Prince made was designed for a pop audience, anyone can admire the craftsmanship that was put into it. Aside from playing every genre under the sun, it’s safe to say that Prince eventually replaced James Brown as the hardest working man in show business, down to the fact that most of his ailments and pain in his later years most likely stemmed from the intense dancing he did every time he took the stage.
While no one is entitled to suffer for their art and eventually lose to their demons like Prince did, it’s easy to see what John was saying looking back on his legacy. Prince was the consummate musician in every sense of the word, so for him, performing wasn’t something he was doing to fulfill a contract. It was a moral obligation to his fans to give them the best show they could ask for.
