Our Musical Legends

Today we celebrate what gets us through our days and that is the music that is in our hearts, mind and voices. Tonight is the Grammy Awards. It is the first time that the award ceremony will be held in New York in 15 years. We should also realize that the time has come when soon we will not be able to see two living musical legends that we all grew up singing along with who will retire their concert appearances. Elton John and Neil Diamond will be exiting the sound stage. Neither one ever gave much credit to the countless musicians that enhanced their melodies but we always forgave them. They both started out like Ed Sheeran did singing solo with their guitar or piano. It was their original songs that captivated us all.

Their successes dominated our musical lives. Between Elton and Neil they sold half a billion records. They both have been on tour for almost half a century. This past week these two musical superstars announced that they are coming to the end of their touring road. Elton said he is retiring from the road to spend more time with his two sons and be a family man. Tonight Neil Diamond will be receiving a Life Time Achievement Grammy. He is stopping touring because of his failing health. He has a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease that abruptly ended his most recent 50^th Anniversary tour.  Meanwhile it was just three years ago when he spoke of how happy he was to get back on the road.

For guys like these, the most perfect experience is to get on stage and be alone with your audience is the most perfect couple. But now they are breaking up with their live audiences. The life of a performer is a special relationship with their audiences. Neil Diamond got the performing bug when he performed at a New York bar called The Bitter End in Greenwich Village.  For many performers they owe their successful lives to the bar owners that let them do their thing without any fame or fortune yet. Like Ed it was Neil and his guitar that created magic for many people.

Neil Diamond broke into professionalism in 1966 with a top charting song called Cherry, Cherry. Then the hits poured like rain on the charts and into our hearts. Songs like I’m A Believer, Solitary Man, Sweet Caroline and  Coming Back To America. Neil admits to writing Sweet Caroline in one hour using a chord he never played before the A 6^th.

Elton also started his career early in life. His real name is Reginald Dwight and he answered an advertisement in a newspaper that a company called Liberty wanted talent. Singers, musicians, composers and artists to form a new group. Any successful person has to have the nerve to believe in themselves and has to have the courage to seek to promote themselves and not to be totally devoted to working for another person. Liberty paired Elton with Bernie Taupin  and then the musical magic began. They wrote songs like You Got A Friend, Your Song  and became one of the most successful songwriting teams ever. The beauty of good lyrics is when they can mean something different to us all. Then the song becomes a very personal experience.

Performing was important for Elton even when he battled depression and drug addiction. For many music is their best friend and can keep us all alive. For Elton music was his sanctuary since age three when he had to witness the horror of his parent’s divorce in childhood. Elton has two young children age 5 and 7 who he wants to be there for now that they are getting older. Before he becomes a homebody, Elton is planning on a three year world tour. Elton and Neil hope to continue to write and record new songs but will plan on leaving the road behind them. They are both the greatest touring acts of all time. So tonight enjoy the careers of the newer artists and thank them in your hearts for the joy and comfort their songs give you every day. Watch the Grammy Awards.