Mike Inez, James Hetfield, Robert Trujillo, Billy Porter, David Furnish, Charlie Puth, Jacob Lusk, Joni Mitchell, Monique Ross, Carmen Carter, Brandi Carlile, Kenneth Ehrlich, Honorees Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Chauntee Ross, Adam Chester, Davey Johnstone, Georgey Taupin, Heather Taupin, Annie Lennox, Maren Morris, Nigel Olsson, Kirk Hammett, and Ken Stacey position onstage throughout the Library Of Congress 2024 Gershwin Prize For Popular Song at DAR Constitution Hall on March 20, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Taylor Hill/WireImage) Taylor Hill/WireImage
The stars not just radiate over the country’s resources on Wednesday (March 20), when Elton John and Bernie Taupin were bestowed the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song — they glowed, shone and danced.
Only the 3rd composing group — and just the 2nd and 3rd Brits — to obtain the honor from the Library of Congress, the well-known duo brought a variety of musicians to the phase at DAR Constitution Hall. Joining the serenade were 2020 Gershwin Prize guest of honor Garth Brooks, Brandi Carlile, Annie Lennox, Metallica, Maren Morris, Billy Porter, Charlie Puth and Jacob Lusk of Gabriels. 2023 guest of honor Joni Mitchell transformed “I’m Still Standing” right into a simmering jazz number. All yet Metallica were backed by John’s very own band.
What joined the entertainers were their music chops and their sheer, unabashed joy to be wining and dine 2 of their music heroes. It was a delight matched just by John and Taupin, seated front and facility with their households, that might be seen grooving along, hands in the air.
John sat at the piano towards completion of the night to present the group with a triad of tracks: “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” and more detailed “Your Song,” done as Taupin stood piano-side. Porter emceed the occasion, which will certainly be relayed on PBS on April 8.
Before outset, Billboard overtook several of the evening’s entertainers — consisting of the males of the hour — on the red rug. From their motivations to their preferred tracks, below’s what they needed to claim:
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Elton John & Bernie Taupin
Billboard asked the guest of honors to every share their preferred George and Ira Gershwin tune, and they not just chose the exact same one, yet began completing each various other’s sentences.
John mentioned “Someone to Watch Over Me” (which he taped for the all-star 1994 cd The Glory of Gershwin) without a secondly’s doubt, to which Taupin quickly reacted, “You just took the words right out of my mouth. It’s such a beautiful song, the lyrics, everything about it are incredible. It’s the epitome of the great American song.”
“I’m a little lamb who’s lost in the woods — it’s amazing,” chipped in John, pricing quote a verse.
On the variety of musicians taking the phase to execute their songs, John claimed it’s a testimony to the series of their tracks. “There’s not a genre of music we don’t love. The longevity of our career has been because the songs vary, and the songs last because they cover different territories. ‘Philadelphia Freedom’ is not like ‘Burn Down the Mission.’ ‘Daniel’ is not like ‘Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.’”
“Our palette is full of colors,” Taupin included. His preferred tune they’re composed with each other? “Probably ‘Sacrifice’ is my favorite.”
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Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, that is familiar with political advocacy and philanthropy, fasted to commend John for his advocacy. “He’s lived his life in a hugely public way, he’s taken huge risks and he seems to be very comfortable with his fame,” she claimed. “But he’s used it in a way that’s made massive global differences in really significant areas. HIV and AIDS is a massive challenge, and yet, Elton has been and is still saving lives. I have so much respect for him.”
Picking a fave of the vibrant duo’s tracks verified more difficult to determine. “I’ll give you ‘Rocket Man,’ I’ll give you ‘Your Song.’ I’ll give you ‘Daniel.’ I think I’ll give you the whole catalog, to be honest,” she informed Billboard. “It’s very hard to find a song in that whole catalog that isn’t as good as the next. Each one is phenomenal.”
As for her very own songs, Lennox hinted there might be much more heading. “The one thing that is difficult for me is touring. That’s something I did constantly, and at my age, physically, it’s too demanding. But I think there might be other waus to share my music and the music I’m probably going to be making in the future. I haven’t stopped.”
Song done: “Border Song”
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Metallica’s James Hetfield
James Hetfield might shake hard as prima donna, rhythm guitar player and a key songwriter of Metallica, yet when it pertains to his desert island John-Taupin tune, he’s done in for among the duo’s most poetic tracks. “That would be ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,’” he claimed. “It’s beautiful, it’s epic — and I love the lyrics as well. The castle, the wonderful dust … and what does it mean after that.”
Songs done: “Funeral for a Friend”/”Love Lies Bleeding”
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Maren Morris
Morris had only love for the guest of honors pre-show. “I love both of them so much,” she claimed. “Bernie has come to every show I’ve had in L.A., and his family is so lovely; and it’s wonderful being here tonight. I feel like this is certainly the longest partnership in songwriting history. It’s amazing they’ve been able to nurture it for many decades. When you find a partner you have chemistry with, lyrically, musically and can grow through the years with one another, there’s nothing more special.”
She claimed her portal to the Elton John songbook was The Lion King (he and lyricist Tim Rice created the songs for the 1994 movie, consisting of hits “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and “Circle of Life”). “I have to be frank about my age,” she giggled. But when she dug in, it was Taupin’s verses in “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” from the 1972 cd Honky Château that’s reverberated one of the most. “‘Mona Lisa,’ when I first moved to Nashville, had the most tremendous impact on me — just about being sort of alone in a city,” she claimed. “Bernie wrote that about New York City, obviously, but I heard Nashville in it. You eventually find a community of friendships and make your own town out of it.”
Song done: “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues”
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Brandi Carlile
Brandi Carlile was psychological on the red rug as she explained what it implied to be commemorating her buddies. “It’s bringing me back to a time in my life when I really needed Elton and Bernie. I needed their words and I needed them to help sculpt my world view, and show me a future I could be a part of,” she claimed. “And so it’s going to be heavy for me tonight, but I’m so proud of them. The Gershwin Prize is the highest honor in songwriting, and it’s really beautiful to see them honored in such a profound way for their craft. I don’t know that there’s ever been anybody better than Elton John and Bernie Taupin.”
Songs done: “Madman Across the Water” and “Skyline Pigeon”
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Billy Porter
“Bennie and the Jets” is the tune that initially ordered Porter, he informed Billboard, yet his link to Elton John went beyond the songs. “I was really young, yet really connected with him,” he claimed. “And didn’t know why. The eccentricity, the flamboyance, the fun. It was like, ‘Oh, that’s queer.’ There was no language for it, but that’s what it was, and eventually, that’s what we all came to understand. That was the first connection.”
Song done: “The Bitch Is Back”
