Elton John

[GreenLunchBox]

I love the Dua Lupa song and there is a Blue song I love. But please can people tell me why Elton John is so legendary. He doesn't have the best singing voice, does he?

OP, have you listened to some of his older songs too? You can't really judge on the basis of two songs from the same period.

I like him, personally, although I get his voice isn't for everyone (no one's is; I can't stand Dylan, even in his younger days). Elton John's and Taupin's music and lyrics are undeniably great IMO.

He's not my favourite but I went to see him with some friends at an outdoor concert and anyone who can play piano and sing at the same time for 2 hours gets my respect. Love a few of his songs, especially Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Nikita and Daniel.

I think he had a great voice (not sure about now as haven't heard it). My favourite song of his is Blue Eyes which really shows off his voice. I also love the collab in the charts at the moment.

So I saw him in concert in 2005 at a football stadium, what a showman (even DH was impressed,)
I'm nearly 70 and over the years have been to many live performances, by many artists, and Elton is in my top 3.
(along with Rag n Bone man and Take that)

Im 50 and grew up with his music as my parents loved him. Obviously he carried on having a huge career all through my teens and 20s. I think hes fantastic.

Pissing myself laughing about your opinions of Blue and Dua Lipa collabs

I loved the original Candle in the Wind that was about Marilyn Monroe. Also like 'Your Song' & 'I guess that's why they call it the Blues'.

I remember seeing interviews he did in the 80s & 90s, watching them at home with my parents in the UK so probably on Parkinson or something.
He was hilarious. Sharp wit, very funny, self-deprecating. Much more than a songwriter & singer. Changed my view of him.

He's getting old, his voice has changed, he's a bit of a diva. Plus his husband likes hot tubs & baby oil & isn't overly discreet about it but Elton's still standing.

@RJnomore1

He’s not a great singer but most pop singers aren’t

He is though a great songwriter and performer/showman

Agree 100%

Elton has an incredible back catalogue. I saw him in concert in the late 80s and he was amazing.

OP, please go and listen to Crocodile Rock!

OP, have you tried listening to Duo Lipa singing live, accompanied only by a piano, with no autotune or musical editing, for comparison?
If so, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts...

David Bowie, Leonard Cohen and Mick Jagger are legendary and none of them have a great voice either but their genre of music isn’t about just a voice. It’s not like classical choral music or Opera where the quality of voice is everything. I’m not an Elton fan but his songwriting is amazing and his voice suits and enhances his songs. Same with Bowie, Cohen etc. It’s the whole package - how they dress, present themselves on stage and of course their X Factor - the quality that makes them unique and instantly recognisable and is just as important as their voice.

I love Elton. His songwriting skills are amazing, so many beautiful songs written
by him. He's a great pianist and have to say never noticed he had a bad voice just a distinctive one.

Feel free to listen to the latest manufactured x-factor style diva warbler if that's more your speed- but the rest of us actually need a bit of substance to enjoy music. Not saying that Elton John is a favourite of mine and he's far too much of a lovey to appeal to me now, but his 70s stuff included some absolutely insane pieces of songwriting and interpretation and he popped out a few bangers in the 80s, as well.

I love his early stuff, and he is an extremely talented songwriter.

Having said that, we paid £150 each to see him in concert and it was so so disappointing...... it was an album he'd done with an orchestra and his voice was just lost over them. He wasn't very happy so stopped twice, and his behaviour was appalling to watch (he berated the sound guy on stage and venue staff). We left well before the end to miss the queue out of the car park......... never done that ever.

I would imagine he's not a very nice person to be around tbh.

its not just about the voice ( rod stewart!) it is about showmanship and charisma

he is a great performer and his songs have stood the test of time .

And considering his wealth and lifestyle I think he would quite rightly laugh in your face OP.

@HazelBite

not oxford was it?

It is also about the 'timbre' of the voice, the phrasing, the emotions a singer can convey, the energy in the voice and on the stage.

A beautiful voice without any of these is not even nice to listen to.

@BalloonSlayer Freddie had an exceptional voice. He took a while to develop it and then suffered from nodules - it wasn't at its best through his whole career - but to class him among the bad singers is pure ignorance.

Anyway, I'm not an Elton fan per se, but I love his loyalty and kindness to Freddie Mercury - he visited right to the bitter end.

I love elton john.

One of my faves-

I think you are underestimating how hard it is to sing well. Especially when playing the piano. Even more so while playing the piano flamboyantly. And wrestling with some seriously tongue-twistery Bernie Taupin lyrics. Elton John may not have an outstanding voice like, say, Tom Jones, but your average Joe could not hope to sing a fraction as well as he does.

He’s also phenomenally wide in musical range- compare “Electricity” from Billy Elliott to I’m still Standing, to Saturday Night’s alright for Fighting, to Circle of Life.

@Unsure33 no not Oxford
Watford, of course

And to really bring it home, think about how bland and insipid Ewan McGregor sounds singing Your Song in Moulin Rouge compared to Elton himself in that clip linked just above.

[quote MichelleScarn]@Redsquirrel5 have also seen Cohen live at Edinburgh Castle, amazing!
@GreenLunchBox listen to 'Too Low for Zero' an amazing and in my opinion under appreciated album especially the song 'Saint'.

[/quote] That must have been fantastic MichelleScarn

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit

Men lose their singing voice as they age

Paul McCartney
Barry Gibb
Andy Williams
and Bob Dylan (who didnt have a great one to begin with)

Even Tom Jones struggles now

You do know he wrote the Lion King soundtrack and the Billy Elliot musical?

No he bloody didn't. He co-wrote 5 songs with Tim Rice for The Lion King. The score was by Hans Zimmer.

Have you seen the film Rocketman? He's an extremely talented song writer and composer as well as piano and singing abilities - all from a young age with little in the way of formal training

@BorderlineHappy

Everyone slagging Dua sounds like a snob. And everyone saying about manufacturered pop being new is an arse. The Monkees where made for a TV show.

The Monkees were musicians as well as actors. Davy Jones, in particular, was a talented multi-musician and singer.

He strikes me as a massive arse, but there's no denying his talent as both a performer and a songwriter. His voice hasn't aged that well, but in his prime was a phenomenal singer.

Dua Lipa, too, can actually carry a tune...unlike many of her whispery auto-tuned contemporaries.