Me by Elton John

“Mom, I thought you said you weren’t a fan of Elton John.”

Be careful what you say to and around your small children because they hear and remember everything! My daughter, now 30 years old, is right. I wasn’t a fan. I’ve never been able to separate the person, entertainer or even political leader, from the public persona. If I think they have issues that don’t align with my personal standards, I will not support them. I’m the same with businesses. I still won’t eat at Chick-fil-A.

So I didn’t really start paying attention and listening to Elton John until he got clean and sober and stopped acting like a douche. I’m glad he got his act together because oh my what a talent he is! One of only a couple of musicians I regret not seeing live.

“The rock memoir of the decade.” This is how Elton John’s newly released autobiography has been described.

I’ve read and listened to more than a handful of great biographies, auto and otherwise, about musicians and bands including James Taylor and The Eagles, and the thing about these reads that sets them apart from other great bios about people like Barbara Bush, Leonardo da Vinci, and Frederick Douglass, is that I find myself learning a great deal about other people, other musicians, not just the subject of the biography. Maybe it’s the fact that musicians are successful because of other musicians? We’ve all heard stories of musicians making failing attempts to go it alone after once being extremely successful as part of a band or duet. I personally know of an amazing band with a lead singer who recently made the decision to part ways to do his own thing and I can tell you, as talented a front man as he is, I would not pay to see him solo. I saw the band several times and I’ve heard him solo. It just doesn’t do it for me. I wish him only the best. Which I believe means getting back together with the exact same bandmembers. If they’ll have him.

Me, by Elton John is loaded with a history of not only his own life but interesting details about others without whom his life would not be the extraordinary, shocking, inspiring, or entertaining timeline of events. You’ll learn a variety of tidbits about Bernie Taupin, his genius lifelong friend and writing partner, John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, George Michael, and Elizabeth Taylor, just to name a few.

Sir Elton John, CBE, is a multi-award winning solo artist who has achieved 38 gold and 31 platinum or multi-platinum albums, has sold more than 300 million records worldwide, and holds the record for the biggest-selling single of all time, ‘Candle in the Wind 1997’. And in reading the book, that all seems to be just a sidenote to his personal life.

The hit movie about Elton John, Rocketman, is just as good and also deserves a 5 Heart Rating. I can’t say that about any other book and movie combo. And although the movie is not associated with the book, it came out around the same time and has Elton John’s input and approval. As a matter of fact, John’s husband, David Furnish, co-produced the film and the songwriter had a say on everything from the script to the daily footage, which was sent to him from the set while he was on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.

Of course, I listened to Me on audio and recommend you do too. Narrator Taron Egerton does an excellent job and sounds like a slightly younger Elton John. Elton himself also narrates some. Read the book and watch the movie. Or watch the movie and read the book. Enjoy!

 

 

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Also published on Medium.