Elton John was unmatched in a time when guitar-dominated rock and roll. John joined the major hitters of the glam rock movement on albums like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, bringing his distinctive rock and roll to the audience after witnessing only a select few rock artists sit down at the piano. Elton John was already indebted to a future musical great, despite the fact that giants like Paul McCartney and John Lennon had been known to sometimes man the piano.
Being an ardent record collector throughout his adolescence, John was a lover of whatever pop music he could get his hands on as he rose up the ranks. Stevie Wonder, a young man from Motown Records, was one of the unusual bands that caught his attention. Even though Wonder was a wizard behind the piano and on the harmonica, his prime was still ahead of him.
Wonder was released from his record business responsibilities at the same time John ditched his old stage name of Reginald Dwight and started working with songwriter Bernie Taupin to create music. Wonder’s famous albums include Talking Book and Innervisions. John recalled being stunned when he heard Songs in the Key of Life for the first time, despite the fact that each project represented a fresh development.
From the jazzy rhythm of “Sir Duke” to the pure pop of “Isn’t She Lovely,” Wonder samples every type of music he can get his hands on throughout the course of a double album. John regards the album as the pinnacle of all his musical endeavors, even though it was still in the pop genre.
John revealed to Rolling Stone how much the record meant to him, recalling, “Wherever I go in the world, I always bring a copy of Songs in the Key of Life. It’s the best album ever made, and I’m always left in awe when I listen to it. He’s so multitalented that it’s hard to pinpoint what makes him the greatest ever.”
Even while John did enjoy Wonder’s 1960s classics like “Signed Sealed Delivered,” it is understandable why he would pick up some artistic advice from his Motown master. John almost balances both sides of his education in some of his epic songs, like “Funeral For a Friend” and “Love Lies Bleeding,” starting with the appropriate classical tones he acquired in school and moving into the rhythmic powerhouse that was always second nature to Wonder.
John is also sure that Wonder’s skills go well beyond the field he began in. John would remark that Wonder could hold his own against some of the greatest musicians of all time, such John Coltrane and Charlie Parker, based on his countless collaborations with giants like Paul McCartney.
Even if John could have a special connection to the music, only time will be able to measure Wonder’s legacy. John, though, concurs with the majority of music lovers about Wonder’s legacy: “When people in decades and centuries to come talk about the history of music, they will talk about Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, and Stevie Wonder.”
