4 Musicians Who Hated Elton John
Elton John is a classic rock artist whose career extended beyond his 1970s peak. The piano-playing singer and songwriter scored several hits in the 1970s, reached the top once in the 1980s, and scored two Billboard No. 1 singles (“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and “Candle in the Wind”) in the 1990s. He admired John Lennon for more than his music, but some of Elton’s fellow artists weren’t as kind. Here are four musicians who hated Elton John.
1. Rolling Stones guitar player Keith Richards hates Elton John
The Rolling Stones invited Elton to join them on stage at one 1970s concert. What should have been a brief appearance turned into the pianist vamping for much of the set. That ticked off Richards, and it might have triggered a lifelong hatred — one that cut both ways.
Richards poked fun at Elton’s real name in a 1988 interview, but the guitarist grew savage a decade later. The Rolling Stones icon said the 1997 version of “Candle in the Wind” was jarring, as was seeing John perform at Princess Diana’s funeral.
Elton didn’t take the criticism lying down, though. He hilariously said Richards was a monkey with arthritis and that the Stones would have been better off without him.
2. Rod Stewart criticized Elton’s farewell tour
John and the former Jeff Beck and Faces singer Rod Stewart enjoyed a close friendship. Until Stewart threw the “Rocket Man” singer under the bus with a derisive comment about his retirement from touring, that is.
Stewart said it was dishonest and strictly a money grab to make a big announcement about it. The two stars eventually ended their feud, though their friendship suffered because of Stewart’s comments. Saying Stewart hates Elton John might be a tad strong, but he definitely despised how the former Reginald Dwight announced the end of his touring career.
3. George Harrison called the pianist’s music formulaic
George Harrison wrote witty and sharp political songs (“Taxman”), tunes tinged with Indian influences (“Love You To” and “Within You Without You”), and heavily psychedelic pieces (“Blue Jay Way” and “It’s All Too Much” ) with The Beatles.
In short, he could never be pegged to one style as a songwriter. George hated Elton’s music because it sounded like he made it according to a formula. George wasn’t a great fan of Elton John’s music, but that didn’t stop them from collaborating on the ex-Beatle’s 1987 album Cloud Nine.
4. David Bowie had a falling out with John
Elton and David Bowie both broke through into the mainstream around the same time. They became friendly, though not quite close friends, when their artistic ascents overlapped in the early 1970s.
However, Ziggy and John never worked together, and their loose friendship skidded downhill when Bowie called Elton a “rock ‘n’ roll queen.” Yet the “Benny and the Jets” singer never lost sight of the fact that Bowie helped him achieve fame by hooking him up with a producer who could capture his sound properly. When Bowie died, John had nothing but kind words for the “Space Oddity” singer’s songs.
He has legions of fans around the world and was very close to Princess Diana. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that some famous musicians hated Elton John and his music.
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