Despite scaling nearly every peak in the music industry, Elton John faced adversity when his record label refused to release one of his studio albums, a surprising turn of events for the world-famous superstar with a massive fanbase in the millions.
As a seasoned figure in the music world, Elton John has grown comfortable operating beyond the hit parade. Having spent decades dominating the charts, he no longer expects his new releases to compete with the emerging pop stars familiar to younger audiences. Nevertheless, there remains an invaluable prestige attached to his name.
Since the release of his biopic, Rocketman, in 2019, Elton John has experienced a resurgence in mainstream relevance, potentially becoming as popular as ever. His farewell performance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2023 marked a historic moment, with the entire crowd at Worthy Farm gathering at the Pyramid Stage to witness his final UK tour show.
However, less than a decade before this milestone Glastonbury appearance, Elton John found himself unwelcome with his record label. Though this seems inconceivable given his current stature, the music industry is dynamic, and John is now rightfully treated with the respect he deserves, with every label eager to distribute his new albums.
In 2015, Elton John completed work on his upcoming record, "Wonderful Crazy Night," originally set to be released through Capitol Records. Despite his affiliation with the label, they declined to be associated with the album, putting John in a precarious situation.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, John candidly discussed the ordeal, revealing it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. "I was gutted, I have to say. I thought, ‘This is a good record, and I can’t understand why they don’t want to put it out.’ But they’ve done me a favour," he admitted.
He went on to say, "I was so upset for about a week, and then I landed on Island’s doorstep with David Massey, and they are so thrilled. They have a lot of young artists on their label. I am, by far, the oldest artist they have. They have The Killers, who are friends of mine. I’m 68 years old, and I’ve made 33 studio albums. All I’m asking for at this age is for them to like it, to be enthusiastic and to do their best. I can ask for no more."
As both Island Records and Capitol Records are under Universal Music Group, it was a seamless transfer for John. However, had Island Records also rejected the record, Elton John might have found himself with an album he couldn't share with his fans. Fortunately, this was not the case.
Though Elton John acknowledged he's no longer "going to sell a million albums," "Wonderful Crazy Night" still proved to be an international success, reaching the top ten in various territories worldwide.
No comments:
Post a Comment