packed with lush strings, harp and a
synthesizer, he performed that night
accompaniedonlybyOlssonand
bassist Dee Murray. “We just made
alotofnoise,”MurraytoldRolling
Stonein 1987. “It was new. Elton
wasexperimenting.Plus,wehadto
make up for the orchestra. We just
socked it to them.”
Eltonplayedfivemorenightsas
wordstartedtospreadaroundtown:
“Hismusicissostaggeringlyorigi-
nal,”LosAngelesTimesmusic critic
RobertHilburnwrote.Inthecom-
ing weeks, “Your Song” began climb-
ing the charts, eventually hitting
Number Eight in January 1971.
Forty-seven years later, Elton still
looks back fondly on that first trip to
America.“Itwasjustallsystemsgo,”
he says. “Nothing was impossible.
You’reworkingonadrenalineandthe
sheerfactthatyou’reasuccess.Istill
love what I do, and I’m 70 years old.
Iloveitevenmore.” ANDY GREENE“I’m here because of having listened
to Elton John’s album.”
Butthosewhohadheardhis
album had no idea what they were
in for: a poetic singer-songwrit-
erwiththeflamboyanceofarock
star.Albumtrackslike“TakeMe
to the Pilot” and “Sixty Years On”
wereplayedwithapunklikeenergy,
Elton falling to his knees like Jerry
LeeLewisandknockingthepiano
benchover.Thesetalsomixedin
standardslike“GreatBallsofFire”
and“HonkyTonkWomen”.Andthe
rapturous reception he received en-
couraged him to experiment with
even more adventurous stagecraft.
“Heseemedlikeaveryquiet,sub-
dued person,” says drummer Nigel
Olsson. “All of a sudden, in front
of an American audience, he start-
ed wearing Mickey Mouse ears and
jumping up and down. That’s where
allthestrangegearstarted.”Un-
like Elton’s debut album, which was¥WHEN ELTONJOHNtook the stage at
Los Angeles’ Troubadour for the first
night of his six-date residency, he
wasalittle-known23-year-oldpop
singer with thick glasses and greasy
hair who had only recently changed
hisnamefromReginaldKenneth
Dwight.Whentheshowwasover,
Eltonwasasensation.Thestakes
couldn’t have been higher: His debut
LP,whichhadcomeoutthatspring,
wasn’t selling. After what he called a
“crisis meeting” with his label, it sent
him to the States. The label made
sure to pack the 300-capacity club
withbignameslikeDavidCrosby,
Graham Nash, and Mike Love of the
Beach Boys. “The second night, Leon
Russellwasinthefrontrow,butI
didn’t see him until the last num-
ber,”Eltonrecalled.“ThankGodI
didn’t, because at that time I slept
and drank Leon Russell.”
Neil Diamond introduced Elton.
“I’mliketherestofyou,”hesaid.ELTON JOHN
AUGUST 25-30, 1970
THE TROUBADOUR
July, 2017 RollingStoneAus.com | Rolling Stone | 53ED CARAEFF/GETTY IMAGES
Before the
Troubadour
concerts,
Elton and his
record label
were in crisis
mode. After
the shows, he
was the
fastest-rising
star in
America.Elton in
L.A., 1970