Elton John: Artists Who Boycott Arizona Are ‘(Expletive) Twits’

Big Hollywood.com ^ | July 6, 2010 | John Nolte

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

Opposes same-sex marriage, plays Rush Limbaugh’s wedding, refuses to boycott Israel, and now this. Does Elton John’s free-thinking apostasy know no bounds?
Today’s Arizona Daily Star:
Elton John didn’t mince words in slamming his fellow musicians for boycotting Arizona over the controversial SB 1070 immigration law. From the stage at his sold-out Tucson Arena concert Thursday night, John savored a few choice, not-so-family-friendly words:“We are all very pleased to be playing in Arizona. I have read that some of the artists won’t come here. They are (expletive)wits! Let’s face it: I still play in California, and as a gay man I have no legal rights whatsoever. So what’s the (expletive) with these people?”

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

‘and the pursuit of happiness.’

Pursuit of happiness, not the obtaining of happiness.

[Maelstorm]

Good for him. I hope it is real. Reason and intellectual honesty are hard sometimes. So much of what is accepted by the modern world as truth is not so and it is not easy to balk it especially when one is in the public space and is being constantly rewarded for believing what is not true. I’ll not read too much into this.

[Wildbill22]

I love his music. A while ago, right after I decided I didn’t care what Elton John thinks, I was going to like him anyway for the happiness his music gives me, then he goes and starts to agree with me.
I am straight, but I love this guy!

[Vendome]

I would love to meet her for drinks in the Oak Room and just listen to her.

[personalaccts]

He may have read Shut up and sing

[Mere Survival]

Heh, I’m glad I can listen to Elton guilt free. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

[Mere Survival]

I am a straight man and I don’t have the right to get married in California to a woman either. See, I’m already married.

[Drumbo]

"I used to be a rolling stone,
You know if the cause was right
I'd leave to find the answer on the road.
I used to be a heart beating (bleeding?) for someone
But the times have changed,
The less I say the more my work gets done.

"`Cause I live and breathe this Philadelphia freedom,
From the day that I was born I've waved the flag.
Philadelphia freedom took me knee-high to a man,
Gave me peace of mind my daddy never had."

There's no doubt that Reggie is intelligent, rich, persistent, industrious and maybe (just maybe), he gets it.

[Rodamala]

with the exception of marriage they have the same rights and you and I.

Actually they have precisely the same rights to marriage as you and I. I have the right to marry someone of the opposite gender, and so do they. You might say that they would get less pleasure from such a marriage. Pleasure is a right for nobody.

Actually, with "hate crime" legislation, they have beyond constitutional equal protection.

[Caipirabob]

Wow, I wonder where all this is coming from with Elton John? Here's a guy who's brutally persecuted the sensibilties of the American family for years.

I mean, it's nice to see him toss some nice platitudes every now and then, but I wonder what's behind it?

[newfreep]

Reggie never wrote lyrics - just the music.

[Drumbo]

Bernie never sang the lyrics - just Elton.

[newfreep]

As I wrote, EJ absolutely NEVER wrote the lyrics and should not be credited as the “intelligence” behind the lyrics. The early years, Bernie T wrote the lyrics - some were quite amazing. Later, EJ broke with BT and worked with other lyricists.

Again, my point was to clarify EJ did NOT write any lyrics and should NOT be given any credit for their brilliance as you did in your initial post.

[ThePatrioticArtist]

Sir Elton can be pi$$y sometimes, but I love his music. Mostly the older stuff. Madman Across the Water is my favorite album by him. (Rotten Peaches is a great song) While everyone else ( most bands that I’ve never heard of before) is boycotting Arizona and Israel, Sir Elton is giving it his all. I love him for it, it’s the right thing to do.

[Buckeye Battle Cry]

Could it be possible that Elton is applying logic and common sense in re-evaluating his political beliefs?

[NCC-1701]

“...Let’s face it: I still play in California, and as a gay man I have no legal rights whatsoever....”

He’s still a Brit. That means he’s not an American. That means that he should have all of the rights that an illegal alien has.

[allmendream]

Reminds me of a Dennis Miller’ism.

Someone asked him about some intemperate remarks Elton John had made regarding Miller's political statements. They asked if it bothered him. Miller replied...

“No, not really. It is not like Bernie Taupin said it!”

[floridavoter2]

He’s one of the few in the industry who seems to be getting smarter the longer he’s there, unlike most entertainers.

[Drumbo]

EJ did NOT write any lyrics and should NOT be given any credit for their brilliance as you did in your initial post.

While I quoted Bernie's lyrics in my original post, I do not recall crediting the lyrics' brilliance to Elton's intelligence (although I would argue that he always had ultimate veto power - and yes, he often sang, "bleeding heart" in concert despite the published words, which was sort of my point in quoting that particular snatch of lyric). I did credit Elton's intelligence (among other traits) and I stand by it - no one survives (much less thrives) in the music industry for 40+ years without it. Hunter Thompson is credited with saying, "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." Truer words have never been uttered.

While we are picking nits, perhaps you should consider that Sir Elton has the final say on what comes out of his mouth and he always assumes the responsibility. Due to that quest for perfection, his long collaboration with Mr. Taurpin has seen some rough patches when Elton simply chose not to embrace Bernie's lyrics or dramas. While the "two rooms" school of thought in the literary sense is admirable and even 'romantic', Elton John is a self-made prima donna as any of his long-time band-mates and collaborators will testify. As the proud owner of one of five of Nigel Olson's signature 1984 custom built, consecutive serial numbered, Slingerland chrome cannon touring kits, I speak with slight credibility, although I make no claims of being anywhere near the inner circle. I have studied and followed Elton's remarkable career since first being introduced to his genius in 1969, and I rank him among the top 10 all-time success stories in the music industry, slightly below Frank Sinatra (who didn't compose lyrics either, but masterfully controlled every phrase he ever vocalized).

I admire Elton and Bernie and meant no offense to either, nor did I credit Elton with creating the "Philadelphia Freedom" lyrics, but if you are willing to do the research, you'll find the song's lyrics were commissioned and made to order to a specific theme, an existing title and a completed melody. Bernie didn't have much wiggle room on that one.

In the end, Sir Elton has proved time and again that he is a savvy capitalist, a shrewd businessman, a brilliant composer/musician and a collector of talented collaborators as well as a unique herder of cats. Elton has more in common with El-Rushbo than he does with the vast majority of his crooning pop contemporaries. He's no-nonsense in his professional dealings, he's a still standing survivor and a self described bitch (and yes, Bernie wrote those lyrics as well, but Elton supplied the templates). If you choose to believe that Bernie didn't spend decades following Elton's marching orders (as do all his business partners) you are entitled to your opinion, but I plea foul at being accused of misrepresenting in my original post.

Anything under the EJ brand since circa 1973, from road crew hires to jet fuel brand was choreographed by the man himself, a rare control freak admired by those he controls and who ultimately assumes responsibility for his countless successes and rare failures. Elton is an industry and Bernie, a brilliant and well compensated employee. In the end, Sir Elton strokes the checks.

[gunsequalfreedom]

This one is going much further than I intended. Was just making a simply correction to an earlier post that suggested they had not rights.