“The greatest soul artist of all time”: the singer Elton John truly reveres
Elton John didn’t sign up for this whole “rockstar” thing to be shackled to one genre.
He had a lot to explore whenever he sat behind the piano, and even if he and Bernie Taupin created absolute magic together when they were working on the right pop song, it wasn’t out of the question to make a tribute to the genres that they loved growing up with from time to time. But even when going outside of his comfort zone, there was no reason to think that John was going to give the greatest names in soul music a run for their money.
Because, really, it makes zero sense for John to be working in soul music at all. I mean, if you look at the kind of outfits that he was wearing, it’s not like everyone expected the piano legend to be a main feature on Soul Train while wearing spandex, but stranger things have happened when Don Cornelius had the microphone. After all, they made the disco version of the Star Wars theme work, and when John came out with ‘Bennie and the Jets’, it definitely had the same stomp that you’d expect out of R&B tunes.
So while John joined a club with Dusty Springfield for being one of the few white crossover acts on the R&B charts, he was quick to dismiss himself as a credible artist in that field. In his mind, that genre belonged to the true showstopping talents, and while John did have a great affection for the biggest names in Motown, there was no way that he was going to put himself in the same conversation as Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson.
Then again, if you think about the biggest names in R&B, John wasn’t cut out for that kind of vocal prowess, either. He never envisioned himself as a singer in the first place, so putting him in the same conversation as Stevie Wonder didn’t make any sense to him. No one in their right mind was competing with Wonder on any instrument, but even if John could fashion out a decent Ray Charles impression, there was no one on this Earth who could ever match what Aretha Franklin was doing.
The closest one to match Franklin’s power was probably Whitney Houston, and even then, Houston’s precision when it came to every note had nothing on what Franklin did. ‘Respect’ is still one of the greatest vocal performances of all time because of how much bluesy flair she puts into it, and as much as John loved playing the blues on piano, he felt that Franklin was in a completely different league whenever he put her records on.
There were plenty of artists who tried to copy her technique, but John knew no one ever came close to what she did, saying, “I was fortunate enough to spend time with her and witness her last performance – a benefit for the Elton John AIDS Foundation at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. She was obviously unwell, and I wasn’t sure she could perform. But Aretha did and she raised the roof. She sang and played magnificently, and we all wept. We were witnessing the greatest soul artist of all time. I adored her and worshipped her talent. God bless her.”
John could definitely have that same effect on people, but even after spending years on the charts, all it took was a couple of notes to bring him right back to being that kid in England hearing Franklin for the first time. There was no one else that touched his heart more, and even if you aren’t the religious type, you will feel a lot more spiritual just being in the presence of someone like Franklin whenever she performed.
Soul music may have been one piece of John’s musical upbringing, but the biggest moments for him were where his heroes were able to become his peers. He still didn’t consider himself anywhere near Franklin’s talent, but getting the chance to hold a conversation with her, if only for a few seconds, was enough to sustain him for the rest of his life.
