Elton John was all in on a plan to perform at the White House before the world-famous rockin' piano player hangs it up — he says — for good.
Biden and first lady Jill Biden talked about the British singer’s activism, the power of his music and his all-around goodness. The event was dreamed up and paid for by A+E and the History Channel.
The night, in fact, was called “A Night When Hope and History Rhyme,” a reference to the poem Biden quoted by Ireland’s Heaney.— has sold over 300 million records worldwide, played over 4,000 shows in 80 countries and recorded one of the best-selling singles of all time, his 1997 reworking of “Candle In The Wind” to eulogize Princess Diana, which sold 33 million copies.
It was his first White House gig since he performed with Stevie Wonder at a state dinner in 1998 honoring British Prime Minister Tony Blair. John is on a farewell tour that began in July after performing for more than 50 years.The show came together after A+E Networks and the History Channel asked the White House and John if they’d be up for a collaboration honoring “everyday history-makers” as well as John himself.
“I started singing the lyrics to Beau, quietly, so just the two of us could hear it,” Biden wrote. “Beau didn’t open his eyes, but I could see through my own tears that he was smiling.”John played the song Friday, saying someone told him Biden used to sing it to his little boys. “I can’t imagine him singin’ it,” John quipped before suggesting the president come up on stage. He did not. But the whole crowd did do the “La-La-Las” from their seats.