Elton John Drops Bombshell Revelation About Michael Jackson Following His Tragic Death

Jan 23, 2024 by apost team

Elton Hercules John, born as Reginald Kenneth Dwight, is an English singer best known for his fantastical, theatrical piano playing and stage presence. He earned the nickname "Rocket Man" after achieving tremendous commercial success with his hit single of the same name. 

He's since released dozens of albums and launched many other well-known tunes, including "Your Song," "Candle in the Wind," "Tiny Dancer," "Crocodile Rock," and "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues," onto the radio. 

The legendary singer-songwriter won an Academy Award at the 2020 Oscars ceremony, and two special boys were more than excited to see him win: his sons, Zachary and Elijah. John and his longtime collaborator, Bernie Taupin, were awarded the Oscar for Best Original Song for their song "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from "Rocketman," a biopic based on John's very own life. 

Now 76, John has had no problems filling large stadiums worldwide throughout his career. In 2018, he started his final tour, the “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour. The tour began in Pennsylvania in 2018 and ended in Stockholm, Sweden, in July 2023. By the time the concert ended, John had performed 300 concerts during this tour alone. 

With the acclaim, influence, and fame John has wielded up until today, it's no surprise he has met plenty of celebrities and other industry icons. Among those was the late Michael Jackson. 

In the last few years of Jackson's life, the singer garnered huge attention because of his rather questionable transformation and behavior, which John talked about in his memoir, as he revealed details not a lot of people knew about. Read on to learn more about John and Jackson's friendship. 

Throughout his career, John has had the privilege of performing at several significant events, including those for the royal family. Namely, he sang at the funeral of the late Princess Diana at Westminster Abbey in 1997, giving a haunting performance of "Candle in the Wind." Also known as "Goodbye English Rose," the song was a rewrite of a tune John had originally penned for Marylin Monroe in 1973. 

Re-tweaked with his longstanding writing partner, lyricist and songwriter Taupin, "Candle in the Wind" won John the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammys in 1998. The song also went on to be one of the highest-selling physical singles of all time, behind only Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." John directed that all global proceeds from the song go towards Princess Diana's charities. 

John has a long history of using his musical appearances to highlight and honor global events. In 1986, John recorded a cover with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder called "That's What Friends Are For." Originally released by Rod Stewart, the aim of the song was to raise funds for the American Foundation for AIDS Research.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, John performed alongside Kesha, The Killers, Hozier and countless others to raise funds as well as spirits as a part of the "One World: Together At Home" TV special in April 2020.

Although he had collaborated with huge artists in the music industry, he never got to work with the King of Pop, Jackson, but that doesn't mean they didn't interact or become friends while the latter was still alive. 

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In 2019, John released his memoir, “Me: Elton John Official Autobiography,” which contained the “truth about his extraordinary life, from his rollercoaster lifestyle as shown in the film Rocketman, to becoming a living legend.” 

John’s memoir also included mentions of Jackson, which shocked people because of how unflattering his descriptions of the late artist were. 

“I’d known Michael since he was thirteen or fourteen,” John claimed. “He was just the most adorable kid you could imagine. But at some point in the intervening years, he started sequestering himself away from the world and away from reality, the way Elvis Presley did.”

Infamously, Jackson started having cosmetic surgery to alter his face — he even received criticism for looking white despite being African-American. Like many of Jackson’s critics and worried fans, John believed that his transformation was due to the prescription drugs he largely took at the time. 

“God knows what was going on in his head,” John went on to say. “and God knows what prescription drugs he was being pumped full of, but every time I saw him in his later years I came away thinking that the poor guy had totally lost his marbles. I don’t mean that in a light-hearted way. He was genuinely mentally ill, a disturbing person to be around.”

Jackson shocked the world when he was accused of child molestation and intoxicating a minor with alcoholic drinks in 2003. Eventually, he was acquitted of all charges, but had he been proven guilty, the music icon would have spent 20 years in prison. Sadly, in 2009, Jackson passed away due to a propofol and benzodiazepine overdose. 

As for John, who performed at Princess Diana’s funeral, he later reportedly declined King Charles III’s invitation to perform at his Coronation Concert in May 2023.

Are you a fan of Elton John? What can you say about his description of Michael Jackson? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends and fans of these iconic musicians.