WASHINGTON (AP) — Elton John was set to perform at the White House before the world-famous rocker pianist hung him up — he says — for good.
The event is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET. Watch the concert in the player above.
John was swinging on the South Lawn Friday night for a show he titled “A Night When Hope and History Rhyme,” a reference to a poem by Irishman Seamus Heaney that President Joe Biden often quotes.
It will be John’s first concert at the White House since performing with Stevie Wonder at a 1998 state dinner honoring British Prime Minister Tony Blair. At 75, John is on a farewell tour after performing for over 50 years.
A giant outdoor tent and stage were set up on the White House lawn for the show. The 2,000-person guest list includes teachers, nurses, frontline workers and LGBTQ advocates, as well as civil rights activist Ruby Bridges and Jeanne White-Ginder, an AIDS activist and mother of Ryan White, who died of AIDS-related complications in 1990. The president was expected to make remarks.
“The President and First Lady will celebrate the vast contributions Sir Elton has made throughout his life as an artist and advocate,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday.
The show reunited after A+E Networks and History Channel, who are footing the bill, asked the White House and John if they would be up for a collaboration honoring the “history makers of all days” as well as John himself, according to people familiar with the discussions who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.
LOOK: Elton John on AIDS — Compassion is part of the treatment
It’s unclear if the show will air beyond the live performance, though eager viewers can tune into the live stream from the White House to at least catch the president’s remarks. John has worked with A+E in the past on his global HIV/AIDS charity, The Elton John Foundation, which has raised over $525 million to fight the virus around the world.
The History Channel is hosting a new episode of its “HistoryTalks” series in Washington on Saturday, and John will be in town to perform at Nationals Park as part of his final tour. He opened the final leg of his North American farewell series in Philadelphia in July.
The president and the first lady are big fans. Biden wrote in a 2017 memoir about singing “Crocodile Rock” to his two young boys as he drove them to school, and later to his son Beau before he died of cancer at age 46.
“I started singing Beau’s lyrics, quietly, so we could both hear it,” Biden wrote. “Beau didn’t open his eyes, but I could see through my own tears that he was smiling.”
Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, was also a fan of John. He tried to have John play at his inauguration in 2017, but John refused, saying he didn’t think it was appropriate for a Briton to play at the swearing-in of a US president.
The White House has insisted Friday’s show was not an effort to troll Trump, who has praised John in his books and often featured John’s music – including ‘Rocket Man’ and “Tiny Dancer” – in his pre-rally playlists over the years. Trump has dubbed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un the “rocket man” for his record of missile testing.
Sir Elton – he was knighted in 1998 by Queen Elizabeth II – has sold over 300 million records worldwide, played more than 4,000 shows in 80 countries and recorded one of the best-selling singles of all time, his 1997 revamp of “Candle In The Wind.” to praise Princess Diana, which has sold 33 million copies.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elton John was set to perform at the White House before the world-famous rocker pianist hung him up — he says — for good.
The event is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET. Watch the concert in the player above.
John was swinging on the South Lawn Friday night for a show he titled “A Night When Hope and History Rhyme,” a reference to a poem by Irishman Seamus Heaney that President Joe Biden often quotes.
It will be John’s first concert at the White House since performing with Stevie Wonder at a 1998 state dinner honoring British Prime Minister Tony Blair. At 75, John is on a farewell tour after performing for over 50 years.
A giant outdoor tent and stage were set up on the White House lawn for the show. The 2,000-person guest list includes teachers, nurses, frontline workers and LGBTQ advocates, as well as civil rights activist Ruby Bridges and Jeanne White-Ginder, an AIDS activist and mother of Ryan White, who died of AIDS-related complications in 1990. The president was expected to make remarks.
“The President and First Lady will celebrate the vast contributions Sir Elton has made throughout his life as an artist and advocate,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday.
The show reunited after A+E Networks and History Channel, who are footing the bill, asked the White House and John if they would be up for a collaboration honoring the “history makers of all days” as well as John himself, according to people familiar with the discussions who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.
LOOK: Elton John on AIDS — Compassion is part of the treatment
It’s unclear if the show will air beyond the live performance, though eager viewers can tune into the live stream from the White House to at least catch the president’s remarks. John has worked with A+E in the past on his global HIV/AIDS charity, The Elton John Foundation, which has raised over $525 million to fight the virus around the world.
The History Channel is hosting a new episode of its “HistoryTalks” series in Washington on Saturday, and John will be in town to perform at Nationals Park as part of his final tour. He opened the final leg of his North American farewell series in Philadelphia in July.
The president and the first lady are big fans. Biden wrote in a 2017 memoir about singing “Crocodile Rock” to his two young boys as he drove them to school, and later to his son Beau before he died of cancer at age 46.
“I started singing Beau’s lyrics, quietly, so we could both hear it,” Biden wrote. “Beau didn’t open his eyes, but I could see through my own tears that he was smiling.”
Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, was also a fan of John. He tried to have John play at his inauguration in 2017, but John refused, saying he didn’t think it was appropriate for a Briton to play at the swearing-in of a US president.
The White House has insisted Friday’s show was not an effort to troll Trump, who has praised John in his books and often featured John’s music – including ‘Rocket Man’ and “Tiny Dancer” – in his pre-rally playlists over the years. Trump has dubbed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un the “rocket man” for his record of missile testing.
Sir Elton – he was knighted in 1998 by Queen Elizabeth II – has sold over 300 million records worldwide, played more than 4,000 shows in 80 countries and recorded one of the best-selling singles of all time, his 1997 revamp of “Candle In The Wind.” to praise Princess Diana, which has sold 33 million copies.