The Rocket Man and the Tenor

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I’ve always said that God has a sense of humour. He gave me a boundless love of all types of music and he gave me the ability to learn every lyric to a song about the third time I hear it. He did not, however, give me a voice or the talent to play a musical instrument. That has never stopped me. I consider myself a singer because I sing all the time, and as Robert Fulghum so adequately stated, “singers sing. Period.”

In the soundtrack of my life, one of the great contributors has been Elton John. I danced my very first slow dance to “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”. During and immediately after my divorce, I would sing “I’m Still Standing” at the top of my lungs in my car on my way to and from work. His duet with George Michael on “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” is one of the great sing along tunes of all time - especially when one is alone and can sing both parts. “Philadelphia Freedom” reminds me of growing up and listening to the radio stations out of Philly. “Believe” was playing on the radio the day the movers were packing up my things so that I could move to London. I could go on and on and on.

For a few years, Elton John has had a show in Vegas called The Red Piano. It is one of the hottest shows in town and tickets to it are harder to get than a royal flush. He is considering bringing the show to Europe, so last night he did one show at the O2 Centre to see how it would translate. Again, tickets were almost impossible to find, but the miracle workers that are tenUK managed to get two for me, so Zarina and I ran out of work and over to see the show.

The O2 Centre is what was originally the Millennium Dome. It is on the edge of town and, since the end of 2000, has basically been standing empty. Someone decided that it would make a great music venue and has completely transformed it. It is filled with restaurants and bars, a cinema and two music arenas. It is a really cool place and was filled with people who were just there to eat or drink.

Elton was in the larger of the two arenas. Now - I have been to countless music events in my life. This was, by far, the best. Rather than try out new stuff, he just sang one song after another that everyone knew every word to. We sang and danced and just generally had the time of our lives. The concert ran for two hours, at the end of which Zarina and I were so pumped up that we sat at one of the bars and had a bottle of wine. We took the ferry back up the river and then I jumped in a taxi to get home. I was so excited, I could not get to sleep, so finally dozed off around 3.00.

The alarm going off this morning was a bit of a shock! Three hours of sleep is just not enough for this old girl. And, I woke up to the sad news that Luciano Pavarotti had died. I have had the pleasure of hearing him sing twice. The first was a concert he did in Hyde Park and the second was on stage at Covent Garden. Jeremy and I paid premium pounds to go, but I’m now so glad we did. Pavarotti was a bit weak and the props on the stage had to be strategically placed so that he always had something to lean against, but he could still belt out a tune. I’m here to tell you that hearing that man sing “La Donna E Mobile” was one of the highlights of my opera going career. And, his version of “Nessun Dorma” is life changing.

On his website today, there is a photo of him and a quote. “I think a life in music is a life beautifully spent and this is what I have devoted my life to.” I couldn’t agree more, even if that life is spent enjoying the music produced by others. God speed, Signore.

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Comments

[Bob Ramsey]

Wow
Christine, I had no idea. really, you can know the lyrics after only three listenings? Your writing is fabulous. You sucked me right in and I danced that first dance with you, felt the after divorce pain, and enjoyed the wine with you after 02, felt the power of your love of music for sure. You need to write girl. excellent.