Elton John Gershwin Prize Performances Ranked

Puth, at 32 the youngest artist on the invoice, appeared slightly daunted by the duty of performing this stately rock ballad, however he pulled it off. Nonetheless, it received’t make anybody overlook both Elton’s authentic, which reached No. 2 on the Sizzling 100 in 1974, or the 1991 George Michael/Elton John pairing that went all the way in which to No. 1.

The pop and nation singer did a wonderful job on this ballad, which Taupin stated that he regards as one among their finest songs. “It’s positively one among our most interesting songs…I imply, it’s a easy music, but it surely’s a wonderful music.” It’s additionally the one music carried out on the present that wasn’t written by Elton and Bernie alone. Davey Johnstone joined them in penning this music.

Lennox opened the present by performing this gospel-inflected ballad, which Aretha Franklin became a prime 40 hit on the Sizzling 100 in late 1970. The Queen of Soul’s model entered the highest 40 the identical week (Dec. 19, 1970) as Elton’s first prime 40 hit as an artist, “Your Music” — so his songs have been his calling card from the beginning.

Carlile carried out these two early album cuts in separate spots on the present. The tender ballad “Sky Pigeon” was an ideal option to observe an emotional, however overlong, phase that featured Elton’s work with the Elton John AIDS Basis, in addition to his friendship with Ryan White.

Brooks, the 2020 Gershwin Prize recipient, ably carried out these prime 10 Sizzling 100 hits in separate spots on the present. Kim Bullard’s accordion break within the torch music “Sorry Appears to Be the Hardest Phrase” was intriguing and extremely efficient.

Porter, who additionally hosted the present, carried out this music from the middle aisle within the viewers. Along with being the hardest-rocking single Elton ever took to the highest 10 on the Sizzling 100, this music speaks to the inside brat in all of us: Who wouldn’t sometimes like to chop free and say “I don’t like these!/ My God, what’s that?”

The music nonetheless has the electrical jolt that it dropped at pop radio in 1974, when it went up in opposition to extra sedate hits by the likes of John Denver and Olivia Newton-John. Porter (fairly needlessly) stated, “Pay attention, it’s 2024. I don’t need you to be offended by the phrase ‘bitch.’ The queer group makes use of it as a love letter.” If “bitch” may fly on the radio 50 (gulp) years in the past, it’s a non-issue on this rather more permissive period.

Even with 29 prime 10 hits on the Sizzling 100 to select from for his three-song mini-set, it’s fascinating that Elton chosen an album monitor, “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” (from 1972’s Honky Chateau). He additionally selected “Saturday Night time’s Alright…,” a Stones-like rocker that, on Billboard’s 2022 checklist, Melinda Newman referred to as “an unadulterated mix of youthful pleasure and aggression.” Elton was 26 when it was launched. He’s now 77 – a reminder that youthfulness is an perspective, not a quantity.

“Your Music” might be Elton’s most universally beloved music – and for good cause. The ballad marries a swish melody to a splendidly conversational lyric. “It could be fairly easy,” Elton sings, and that simplicity is on the coronary heart of the music’s enchantment. In her remarks, Carole King referred to as the music “perfection” – and he or she is aware of a factor or two about writing good pop songs.

Lusk, the lead singer of Gabriels, was most likely the least well-known performer on the invoice. Lusk carried out “Are You Prepared for Love” alongside Elton on the Glastonbury Pageant final June, however he hasn’t actually damaged by way of within the U.S. but.

His extremely theatrical, falsetto efficiency of this smash, which received the viewers on its toes, ought to elevate his profile. This “spaced-out” music is likely one of the most eccentric songs in Elton’s catalog of hits. The selection in early 1974 to go along with this as a single, fairly than a extra typical Elton monitor like “Concord” or “Candle within the Wind,” was one of many boldest and finally smartest of his profession.

The music ranked No. 7 on Billboard’s 2022 checklist of Elton’s finest songs. Andrew Unterberger wrote “It performs virtually like a parody of glam rock… Elton and Bernie might have finally been too tradition-bound at coronary heart to essentially match into glam full-time, however they’ve nice enjoyable making an attempt on the furs for one music.”

This two-part opus, a spotlight of Elton’s 1973 double-album masterwork Goodbye Yellow Brick Highway, topped Billboard’s 2022 checklist of Elton’s 75 finest songs. Metallica amped up the rock element significantly, taking it from about 6.5 to 10 (if not 11). The outcome was undoubtedly the hardest-rocking quantity within the historical past of the Gershwin Prize occasion. At night time’s finish, Bernie praised Elton’s band, calling them “the very best band on this planet – exterior of Metallica, in fact.”

We’re so used to listening to this as a spunky, sassy pop music, are you able to even think about it slowed-down? Nicely, rattling if it doesn’t work that method too! Mitchell, the 2023 Gershwin Prize recipient, carried out it as a jazzy, mid-tempo ballad, which introduced out the music’s sly humor. She additionally modified some lyrics, with Elton and Bernie’s permission, which superfan Brandi Carlile stated “is actually probably the most Joni Mitchell factor I’ve ever heard of.”

Elton and Bernie wrote this music to have a good time Elton’s surviving some profession and private downs within the late ’70s and early ’80s. These have been strange struggles in comparison with the back-from-the-brink challenges Mitchell has overcome: 9 years in the past, she suffered a mind aneurysm rupture, which required her to endure bodily remedy and be taught to stroll once more. (That was unstated, however apparent to individuals who know her story.) At one level, Mitchell waved the strolling stick she nonetheless must get round within the air. That defiant gesture added to the music’s sense of uplift – and the present’s sense of triumph.