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Post by joshferrell on Jan 4, 2011 15:29:20 GMT -5
Which song did Elton bet John would go #1 so that John would eventually loose and perform with Elton on stage? Some places say ELton's "Lucy in the sky" while others say it's "whatever gets you through the night"? thanks..
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Post by acebackwords on Jan 4, 2011 15:31:41 GMT -5
Which song did Elton bet John would go #1 so that John would eventually loose and perform with Elton on stage? Some places say ELton's "Lucy in the sky" while others say it's "whatever gets you through the night"? thanks.. I'm pretty sure it was "Whatever." At the time -- Lennon's Lost Weekend period -- his reputation (and sales) were at such a low ebb he never thought he'd have a hit. On the other hand, it surprised nobody that Elton was having hits back then.
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Post by John S. Damm on Jan 4, 2011 17:23:45 GMT -5
Which song did Elton bet John would go #1 so that John would eventually loose and perform with Elton on stage? Some places say ELton's "Lucy in the sky" while others say it's "whatever gets you through the night"? thanks.. I'm pretty sure it was "Whatever." At the time -- Lennon's Lost Weekend period -- his reputation (and sales) were at such a low ebb he never thought he'd have a hit. On the other hand, it surprised nobody that Elton was having hits back then. I think it was "Whatever" too. Still, the two songs mentioned are tied in. Didn't John first help Elton on "Lucy" so Elton later helped John on "Whatever" and that's when the famous promise was made that if it went to #1 then John would play it live with Elton and Band. That's my memory of it. The neat thing is that John played live with Elton on both songs and ISHST to boot!
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Post by RockoRoll on Jan 4, 2011 17:48:48 GMT -5
Extract from a Wall & Bridges review from the net.... The big hit on here was 'Whatever Gets You Thru The Night' - a fast, slightly disco-ified, jazzy number, but it's all right: the multiple layers of guitars, pianos and saxes give it a specific kind of sound. It's just a cool pop number, and quite deservingly, it hit it real well on the charts (with a goofy story about John and Elton John making bets - the latter bet Lennon it was going to be a hit and if it would, the two would play a gig together, which they did). Not that it gives the listener an accurate picture of the album: cheerful, upbeat and groovy, it hardly fits in with the general atmosphere, but at least it provides us with some relief from the incessant hammer-on of depression, compassion and declension.
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Post by Snookeroo on Jan 21, 2011 22:32:06 GMT -5
Whatever Gets You Through The Night is the one.
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diego
Very Clean
Posts: 130
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Post by diego on Jan 21, 2011 23:09:09 GMT -5
From Melody Maker, March 8, 1975:
John: It was great. He was more nervous than I was, because he was nervous for me as well. Elton used to be in the Dick James office when The Beatles sent in their latest demo, so he had a real emotional feel for The Beatles. I went to see Elton at Boston and I was nervous just watching him. I was thinking "Thank God it isn't me" as he was getting dressed to go on. I went through my stagefright at Boston so by the time I got to Madison Square I had a good time, and when I walked on they were all screaming and shouting. It was like Beatlemania. I was thinking "What is this!"
It brought the rook down. It was déjà vu for me, not like The Beatles screaming bit, but the place was really rocking. We'd had a rehearsal but we weren't that together. By the time we got to 'I Saw Her Standing There', Elton's piano was jumping off the floor. It was Elton's idea to do that song. We had to do 'Whatever Gets You Thru The Night' because of a bet we had. Elton played the piano on the single and he said that if it got to No 1, would I appear on stage with him?
I never thought it'd make No 1, but it did and Elton called me and said I hadn't to break my word. So naturally we did 'Whatever Gets You Thru The Night'. And naturally we did 'Lucy' because I did that with him on Caribou. That's me out of tune in the background, doing the reggae bit. I got it wrong just like I did the original on Pepper.
Elton wanted me to do 'Imagine', but I didn't want to come on like Dean Martin doing my classic hits. I wanted to have some fun and play some rock 'n' roll, and I didn't want to do more than three because it was Elton's show after all. He suggested 'I Saw Her Standing There' and I thought 'great' because I never sang the original of that. Paul sang it and I did the harmony.
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