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WASHINGTON (AP) — Elton John said Friday that he has performed in some beautiful venues, but on a perfect fall night, the stage in front of the White House, under a giant tent, “could be the icing on the cake.” .
He then kicked off the show with “Your Song”, his first international hit.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden welcomed the 75-year-old singer to talk about his activism, the power of his music and his all-around kindness. The event is curated and paid for by A+E and the History Channel.
“Seamus Heaney once wrote, and I quote, ‘Once in a lifetime, a longing tide of justice rises, hope rhymes with history,'” Biden said. During his incredible career, Sir Elton John It has always been the tides, the tides that help people rise, the tides that make hope and history rhyme. “
By the end of the show, Biden earned John the National Humanities Medal for his songbook and his long legacy of advocacy.
In tears, John said he was “stunned and humbled”.
The 2,000-person guest list includes teachers, nurses, frontline workers and LGBTQ advocates, as well as former first lady Laura Bush, civil rights advocate Ruby Bridges, education activist Malala You Suphozai with AIDS activist and mother of Ryan White, Jeanne White-Kinder. Died of AIDS-related complications in 1990.
In fact, the night was dubbed “The Night of Hope that Rhymes with History,” referring to Ireland’s Heaney quoting a Biden poem.
It was John’s first White House performance since he performed with Stevie Wonder at a state dinner in honor of British Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998. At 75, John is on his farewell tour after more than 50 years of acting.
The show comes after A+E Networks and the History Channel, which paid for the bill, asked the White House and John if they would work together to honor “everyday history makers” and John himself, according to people familiar with the matter. Familiar with discussions with The Associated Press about internal planning on condition of anonymity.
It’s unclear if the show will air. 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 worldwide.
John will be in town Saturday for the Nationals Park race as part of his final tour. In July, he opened the final stop of the North American farewell series in Philadelphia.
Both the president and the first lady are big fans. Biden wrote in his 2017 memoir that he sang “Crocodile Rock” while driving two young boys to school and later to his son Beau until he died of cancer at age 46.
“I started singing the lyrics to Beau quietly so only the two of us could hear it,” Biden wrote. “Beau didn’t open his eyes, but I could see through my own tears that he was laughing.”
John played the song on Friday, saying he was told that Biden once sang it.
Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, is also a fan of John. He tried to get John to perform at the 2017 inauguration, but John refused, saying he didn’t think it would be appropriate for the British to perform at the US president’s inauguration.
The White House insisted Friday’s show was not meant to ridicule Trump, who praised John in his book and regularly played John’s music — including “Rocket Man” — on his pre-rally playlists over the years. ” and “Little Dancer.” Trump has called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a “rocket man” for his record of missile tests.
John did play “Little Dancer” on Friday to thunderous applause.
Sir Elton– He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998 — has sold over 300 million records worldwide, played over 4,000 shows in 80 countries, and recorded one of the best-selling singles of all time, his 1997 adaptation of Princess Diana’s tribute to Princess Diana “Candle In The Wind” sold 33 million copies.
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