Sir Elton John has millions of fans all over the world, but few fans are dedicated as the young girl who first heard his music over 30 years ago.
In 1992, Brandy Marie Carlisle was a child living in a single wide trailer in the countryside of Washington. For her, Elton John was everything. Young Brandy has gathered everything about him she can get – records, photos, and even Elton John’s book she borrowed from the library 33 years ago (!). “The date is still here. Boulevard Park Library, May 10, 1992. All times are engraved.
Little Brandy is now a music superstar Brandy Carlisle, but for a young girl who is approaching age and struggling with her own sexuality, Elton John was a flicker of hope in a confused world. She loved him, and in writing he covered the entire page from front to back with “I love Elton John.” “That’s insane,” she said. “I’m watching it now. I can’t believe what happened in my life to take me where I am. It’s so strange. It makes you wonder.
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As a child, she never dreamed of actually meeting him one day, but sometimes dreams come true in interesting ways. Now they are not just friends, they are collaborators. A few years ago, Carlisle wrote Blue to John and asked him to play the piano on a new record. Simply put, he said yes and they became the best friends.
And now they are about to release an album they made together, recorded in Hollywood Sunset Sound. It is Brandi Carlisle’s eighth studio album and Elton John’s 33rd.
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So why did they decide to do the entire album together? “She knew how great she was, so she wanted to work with her for a long time. She knew how her voice was, she wanted to push more, and she wanted her to push me more.
The studio had cameras that captured all the highs and some lows. “I didn’t even think they were there,” John said.
“Yeah, I’ve never seen it,” Carlisle said.
It was sometimes nervous (John said, “I’ve never seen the footage, but it’s really, really, really moving. And everything about my actions isn’t that moving!”), but for Brandi, it was still the best show on the planet. “I felt like I was watching Mozart or seeing one of the great composers,” she said. “The flow of consciousness through their whole body, creating music in ways I’ve never seen before. And I was very close. I had the front row seating.”
John called it “one of the greatest musical experiences of my life.”
Elton John and Brandi Carlisle play “Swing for the Fence”:
The fact that John went through the recording process at all is surprising. Over the past year he has been battling a severe eye infection, and he is almost blinded. But he says that with all that in mind, he’s fine. “Medically, I’m just as good as ever,” he said. “I get a monthly checkup, but my eyesight is a bit tight because I couldn’t see anything for about seven months. I couldn’t read, I couldn’t watch TV or anything.
“But what do you know? If we can’t find a solution to it, we have come to the conclusion of what this is for the rest of my life. “I can still play the piano. I can still sing. This is a gift. My life is wonderful. It is still the biggest gift that anyone can have.”
John, who recently turned 78 last week, has been counting his blessings. But the final track on the album really got nervous: “When This Old World Ends With Me,” co-written by longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin.
He got very emotional in the studio while recording it: “Well, I started singing, and I thought the poem was really beautiful. But I didn’t know what was coming. And when I got to the chorus I just realized that it had broken. And I sobbed. With my kids and my friends, you want to count every moment.
David is her husband, David Furnish. The two got married in 2014. They have two sons, Zachary and Elijah.
Dad may be a global superstar, but there’s no doubt where his heart lies. Asked what he was most proud of, John said, “Yeah, my children. My husband. That’s all I want on my gravestone is, “He was a great dad.” It has nothing to do with music. That’s all I care about. ”
Their new album is coming out this week, and for Carlisle, “Yeah, it’s so weird. It’s so weird. It’s so amazing. It’s so wonderful. It’s so wonderful. I hope we can take hope and beauty from the fact that this happened.
These two friends don’t just lean on each other. They push each other to new heights. The title track for their album is “Who believes in angels?” But maybe Elton John and Brandi Carlisle are each other’s angels.
Elton John and Brandi Carlisle play “Who believes in angels?”
John said, “God, that was a challenge. But that’s what life is all about. If you don’t have a challenge at 76, you’ll never give up. It’s never the Coast. There are many coasts that don’t make new songs.
“And she gave it to me.”
Online only: Check out our extended interview with Elton John and Brandi Khalil
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A story created by John Damelio. Editor: Stephen Tyler.
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