WHAT? Did she really say that? Well, if it got you to read my blog, then it worked – even if it isn’t quite true. Of course, I do like the way his music sounded before, but I also like the way it sounds now, too.
Idol is supposedly about Elvis, who was a big influence on both Elton and Bernie (“the boy from Tupelo”). And I can see that:
`Cause the fifties shifted out of gear
He was an idol then, now he’s an idol here
But his face has changed, he’s not the same no more
And I have to say that I like the way his music sounded before
But part of me wonders if it’s also a foreshadowing of what was to come with Elton’s own career and idolatry. The song was recorded in 1976, which was when his popularity was just beginning to wane. I suspect they both knew that the spectacle couldn’t last forever, and that at some point, they might find themselves in a similar predicament as Elvis.
But don’t bet them
They can’t take him
To the very bottom
Because they made him and they’ll waste him
And I don’t believe that I want to watch them
Love the sigh in that last line…
They certainly fought their own demons, but they made it through. Yes, they made it through! And though he’s never risen to that same level of popularity as the early ’70s:
Highly prized in the wallet size
The number one crush in a schoolgirl’s eyes
…He’s certainly stuck around, hasn’t he?
And don’t you just love the sax? It’s amazing. (Duh! It’s David Sanborn).
Idol (Blue Moves – 1976)
The Captain and the Kim 