On The Fly

In this episode - The Captain and the Kid . . . At 76, Elton John may not be able to vocally hit the high notes in  Bennie And The Jets . Still, his solo piano renditions put many a classical pianist to shame as his accomplished fingers flow freely over his Yamaha Grand. He will always be Captain Fantastic -  “A crazy kid becoming a better man.” Last night (11/20/2022), while watching Elton’s return to Dodger Stadium, 47 years later, his Farewell Yellow Brick Road, North American tour, streaming on Disney+, feelings of immense gratitude stirred my soul. The song -  Someone Saved My Life Tonight  from Captain Fantastic & the Brown Dirt Cowboy brought tears to my eyes. An LP vinyl album that shaped my youth. In 1976 I first experienced Elton John in concert ( see Captain Fantastic ) . Little did I realize at the time my dream of adult independence from small-town life took root during those impressionable years. Yes, Elton’s music and Bernie’s lyrics shaped the mi...

“Captain Fantastic raised and regimented hardly a hero, just someone his mother might know.” - Bernie Taupin. In this episode - Captain Fantastic . . .   1975 was my first full year of college; like most teens, music was my world. The ideals of our small midwestern town of Cuba, Illinois, were being reshaped by a record, at least for me. For those who don't remember, 1975 was the year the album  Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy  was released; music by Elton John and lyrics by Bernie Taupin. Hundreds, maybe thousands of hours were spent with that album spinning on turntables while studying that grotesque album cover. During the 1970s, many records spun on home stereo systems and radio stations throughout the world that brought artists like Elton John to your town. LP Record albums with flashy covers were the delivery vehicle for music, lyrics, album art, and what parents considered wild ideas in the minds of the baby-boomer generation. In hindsight, music had...