180301306 Elton John Opens Up About How Elvis Saved His Life

[alexcarratu]

Elton was not trashing Elvis at all. In fact, Elton has said that it was Elvis who got him into music and that Elton has been an Elvis Presley fan since childhood. Elton was speaking the hard cold truth of addiction and has had a drug abuse history himself, which he has admitted to many times over the past 20-30 years. Drug/alcohol addiction can cause you to say and do things you normally wouldn't say and do. Did the addiction make Elvis and Elton bad people? Absolutely not, just ill. Was it a choice for Elvis to become an addict and was it a choice for Elton to become an addict too? Absolutely not, it just made them very ill. Elton was simply saying how Elvis's troubles planted the seeds for Elton's recovery from the illness of drug/alcohol addiction, which took over a decade for him to finally sober up. It was actually his friend, Ryan White's, death from AIDS in the early 90s at the age of 18 that finally made Elton sober up for good. Elvis's sickness and subsequent tragic death planted the seeds for Elton's recovery. Addiction recovery (sobriety) doesn't happen overnight. Elvis died in 1977 and Ryan died in 1990, 13 years apart from each other and during that time, Elton was fighting his demons. He finally beat drug addiction by 1990, by which point Elvis was long gone. So did Elvis help Elton get sober and recover from drug addiction? Yes, it just took Elton almost a decade and a half to do. So for all those bashing Elton here and glorifying Elvis over Elton, get a grip. Elton and Elvis are two great artists, just troubled, as are many artists. Stop bashing Elton and glorifying Elvis over Elton. They're both legends in their own respective rights. Again, read what I said earlier: Elton has said that Elvis was who got Elton into music and that Elton has been an Elvis fan since childhood.

[detlevgebers]

@Steve DL: You say Elvis was not a musician. That is not right. He was a great singer. He may not be the best guitarist. But he was an artist who had visions. The variety in his music was overwhelming. He was not just a rock n 'roll artist. He was gospel, country and more. But like many of these artists, he was also a prisoner. At the American Sound Recording Studio sessions you can hear what Elvis was capable of. There are links here on YouTube from the label FTD. He was an arranger. He was a producer. For me, there are two American artists who, like Bach or Mozart, are still important in a hundred years: Elvis and Michael Jackson. Both were also victims. And one must not forget that ELVIS was far ahead of its time. After the army time came the film contracts and then the concert years. He was part of an industry. We should deal better with our stars!

[hollielee]

Even though Elvis 😇 grew up dirt poor, he learned to play the the guitar 🎸 bass and piano 🎹 on his own. Elvis 😇 never had any singing, dancing 🩰 and acting lessons. He was a very talented, natural, gifted, and amazing singer, dancer, and actor. It was the evil scoundrel 👿 name Tom Parker 👿 who kept Elvis in a box.

[Richbar-qebx]

Elvis invited Elton to Graceland for Lisa's birthday. Elvis gave Elton a gold lament suit and Elton gave Elvis one of his big trademark glasses. Elvis wore the glasses during a concert the mid 70s.

[titansfan]

My cousin Aaron was a very heavy drinker for years. Everything Elton says here reminds me of his situation. He started gaining weight, became very unhealthy, but always thought he could fix the problem on his own. He passed away yesterday afternoon at 31 years old… Words can’t describe how devastated we are. If you know anyone truly struggling with addiction, do something. Don’t assume they’ll be alright.

[priamelada]

It is so bloody easy to speak of Elvis when you are actually not... Him... So damn easy...

[hollielee]

A lot of people do/did not know that Elvis 😇 had glaucoma (eye 👁️👀 disease) and a lot of times he had pain in his eyes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, severe and chronic, and pain in his body. Therefore, Elvis 😇 took a lot of prescription pills 💊 due to his various health problems and stress. Elvis 😇 was under a lot of pressure. He has various health problems and was financially supporting over 100 💯 people.

[dannad]

Elton said that seeing Elvis in a bad way was a wake up call...that was 1976. Elton carried on drinking and taking drugs til 1990! lol Also Elton is fatter now than he was then! Leave Elvis alone, Elton hahaha

[ToyiaBoatright]

As a lifelong Elvis fan, (born in 1970) this makes me feel incredibly sad. 42 is so very young to die.

[hollielee]

Typo: Meant to say Elvis 😇 had severe and chronic insomnia

[thomaspetersen]

Abd they only One rember is Elvis Presley ❤

[hollielee]

Typo for the word "has' Meant to say had 😇❤️🎵

[topsyturvyy]

I will start by saying that Elton John is a giant but Elvis was a Mega-giant! What I mean is that Elvis was a virtual prisoner of his own fame that must've been difficult to deal with. You can do that for a decade but later on you get paranoid! He needed help but the tragic part is that he was surrounded by sycophants all the time.

[lauriewagner]

Look in the mirror Elton! Even now you look that way. Just look down at your belly!

[stevedl]

I had no idea that Elton John was a fan of Elvis. It should be the other way round.