ELTON JOHN LIVE AT DODGER STADIUM
TWO DAYS THAT ROCKED THE WORLD
PHOTOGRAPHS BY TERRY O’NEILL
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FOREWORD BILLIE JEAN KING
October 25 and 26, 1975 were two of those days in my life that I happen to remember exactly where I was and what I was doing. There are probably more than 100,000 other followers and fans of Elton John that have fond memories of those two days as well. Let’s just say they were pretty special and definitely historic. Those two days were the culmination of Elton John Week in the greater Los Angeles area and Elton and his band were all set to perform two concerts at Dodger Stadium, marking the first time since a 1966 Beatles concert that a rock concert would be held at the venerable venue in Chavez Ravine. The great moments in history do not survive without extensive planning, commitment and dedication. Elton and the band definitely brought their A-game for those two shows and we are all so fortunate that Terry O’Neill captured every bit of it. Elton and I had become close friends just over two years earlier when we met at a party in Los Angeles hosted by our mutual friend Jerry Perenchio. Jerry was hosting a party for Elton and invited me to attend. Both Elton and I were too shy to talk to each other until Tony King, Elton’s longtime creative consultant, introduced us. It has been a friendship that has lasted a lifetime. I first met Terry a couple of years later when he came to shoot some photos of Elton and me at The Queen’s Club in London. Terry has this absolutely wonderful talent for 3
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The first night we were in our trailer getting changed and hanging out, doing all sorts of things – one of the wives, a real London girl – looked out of the curtain and said ‘Oi! Gary Cooper is out there!’ Not likely, I thought, as he was dead. But low and behold it was Cary Grant – looking like a knight in shining armour. I loved Cary Grant! We went out and talked to him and he had some really profound things to say. I was very humbled. DAVEY JOHNSTONE
Sound rehearsals with the band.
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Elton backstage.
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Every time I photographed him, I never knew what he was going to wear. He had the most bewildering selection of clothes. He just produced all these magic looks. TER RY O’NEILL
Last-minute costume fittings backstage. Bob Mackie’s nowfamous sequined white Dodgers uniform hangs in the background.
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Both shows were an instant sell-out. 110,000 rock fans descended upon Dodger Stadium to witness music magic.
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I don’t know who came up with the idea of a sequined baseball uniform, but it was a stroke of genius. He was number one in the charts, and these two days were the culmination of a blockbuster year. TER RY O’NEILL
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The concert was filled with guest appearances, including a few men in kilts.
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ELTON A HIT AT DODGER STADIUM Los Angeles Times Monday, October 27, 1975 By Robert Hilburn, Times Pop Music Critic
Elton John, wearing a striped T-shirt and blue athletic warmup pants, raced across the spacious Dodger Stadium outfield Friday afternoon on what appeared to be a collision course with bassist Kenny Passarelli. Opponents in an impromptu soccer match, both were heading for a blue and white ball that they wanted to kick in opposite directions. When they collided with a loud, menacing thud, Dodger president Peter O’Malley, standing nearby, shuddered at the incredulousness of the situation. “Can you imagine Maury Wills or Sandy Koufax playing soccer on the eve of the World Series?” he quipped to Howard Rose, John’s U.S. agent and part of the management-production team (with John Reid and Connie Pappas) that had put months of planning into the English rock star’s sold-out weekend concerts at the stadium. Tumultuous Response John’s Saturday and Sunday appearances were indeed akin to a World Series for rock music fans. Not only is singer-composer-pianist John the biggest star in pop music, but his weekend concerts marked the first time a rock act had played Dodger Stadium—the city’s most prestigious and best-designed outdoor athletic facility—since the Beatles in 1966. The audience response, predictably, was tumultuous at times. In fact, the 55,000 fans Saturday reacted to the key moments of John’s show with the kind of enthusiastic abandon that O’Malley and his staff had probably thought was limited to a series-winning, bottom-ofthe-ninth Steve Garvey double. Los Angeles Moments There were miniovations through John’s more-than-3 ½-hour set Saturday, but the emotional high point came during the encore when John, obviously touched by the audience response, brought lyricist Bernie Taupin and John’s tennis champion pal Billie Jean King on stage
to sing backup vocals during raucous, extended versions of “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” and “Pinball Wizard.” There have been many dramatic moments for John in Los Angeles the past five years: the Troubadour debut in 1970 that helped launch his career in this country, the gala 1973 Hollywood Bowl party-concert in which he gave free T-shirts to everyone who attended and August’s fifth anniversary benefit shows at the Troubadour. But Dodger Stadium Saturday had to be his finest hour here. Despite the often valid laments about the trend toward larger and larger venues in rock, there is a sense of celebration that occurs at an 18,700-seat Inglewood Forum or the 55,000-seat Dodger Stadium that cannot be duplicated in a club or small hall. The energy level and feeling of collective goodwill that can be generated in a large setting can bring an added dimension to a concert. That’s why people at Woodstock and Watkins Glen could enjoy a show they couldn’t—for the most part—truly see or hear. Because of the vastness of Dodger Stadium, some of the visual effectiveness of John’s performance Saturday was clearly minimized. The full impact of such elements as John’s good-natured mugging/strutting and Ray Cooper’s often fascinating miniscenes as he plays percussion were lost on almost everyone except those who watched through binoculars. But the concert was far more intimate Saturday than one would expect from a show in a large outdoor setting. Both the natural upright (as opposed to stretched out) configuration of Dodger Stadium and the decision to bring the stage 100 feet into center field (rather than place it even with the fence) contributed to the intimacy. The sound was excellent. Though the parking gates were scheduled to open at 9 a.m. Saturday, they were opened 2 ½ hours early because some 8,000 to 10,000 fans, hoping to get the best locations under the unreserved seating arrange-
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ment, were already on hand. By 8 a.m. the stadium infield was pretty much filled. The crowd was orderly and well behaved throughout the long day. Emmylou Harris, the opening act, went on stage just before noon and it was nearly 6:30 by the time John ended the show. “The crowd was ideal,” said Bob Smith, director of operations for Dodger Stadium. “We couldn’t have asked for a better group. There weren’t any more problems than we’d have for a regular baseball game.” An estimated 75 illegally parked cars outside the stadium, however did have to be towed away. Harris, backed by her Hot Band (including guitarist James Burton and pianist Glen D. Hardin from Elvis Presley’s band), opened the concert with an excellent, generally upbeat set that transferred well from the clubs and small halls she has played during this early point in her career. But the audience—eager for Elton’s arrival—responded only politely to her country-tinged sounds. Similiary, Joe Walsh’s harsher rock set, complete with such notable guest musicians as bassist Willie Weeks and a backup vocal group, received only scattered applause. There were no encores. In fact, the atmosphere was so laid-back during the Harris and Walsh sets that it seemed at times almost as if the audience had been painted on the infield and grandstand seats—the sort of huge background mural one might find on a movie soundstage. But the audience came to life when John came on stage, opening with a solo version of “Your Song.” Following the same basic format and song lineup used on other stops on his West Coast tour, John did some three dozen songs—ranging from the early “Empty Sky” through several songs from the “Captain Fantastic” album to the current “Island Girl” single—in a blistering performance that once again underscored the immense variety and appeal of his poprock music.
There has been a consistency of excellence in John’s performances over the years—from his own vocals and keyboard work to the intensity and precision of his support musicians—that is rare in pop music. Only the Band—the finest collection of musicians in rock—seems to come close to its artistic peak so often on stage. John’s sound is more tailored and rich than ever, thanks to his expanded six-piece band. Besides John’s regular backup vocalists, the 45-member Rev. James Cleveland Choir joined him on stage for the closing numbers Saturday. Since John was the first act to play Dodger Stadium since the Beatles, it was only appropriate that he did—as on other tour stops— the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “I Saw Her Standing There.” Ringo Starr, the former Beatle, was at the stadium Saturday but did not go on stage. Though John lacks the sociological link with his audience that made the Beatles (and the Rolling Stones) significant in more ways than just music, with lyricist Taupin he has put together a body of work in the last six years that has reached as large and varied an audience as anyone in pop music since the Beatles and the Stones. In an affectionate tip of the hat to the stadium itself, John wore a sequined replica of a Dodger uniform—complete with cap and the name “Elton” above the number 1 on the back of the shirt—for the second half of his set Saturday. He also carried a baseball bat on stage, but his swing looked more like that of a cricket player than a Dodger recruit. But when John sat down at the piano and brought the audience to its feet time after time, even Dodger manager Walter Alston would have had to be impressed. The Dodgers may not have made it even to the playoffs this year, but Dodger Stadium got its World Series after all. At least, it did for the 110,000 rock fans.
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TWO DAYS THAT ROCKED THE WORLD
ELTON JOHN LIVE AT DODGER STADIUM
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