Sir Elton John Celebrates 70th Birthday With Fundraising Gala, Streaming Activity

Sir Elton John

SIR ELTON JOHN will mark his 70th birthday and his 50-year partnership with BERNIE TAUPIN at a benefit for his ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION and UCLA's HAMMER MUSEUM. Held at RED STUDIOS in LOS ANGELES, the evening will be hosted by ROB LOWE and will feature dinner and special musical performances by LADY GAGA and "surprise" guests. 

The event will support two important causes for ELTON -- ending the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, and art in all its many forms. 

Of his career with BERNIE TAUPIN, ELTON said, "It's the same excitement now as when we first started. That this year marks the 50th anniversary of my partnership with BERNIE TAUPIN is mind-boggling for me because it seems like only yesterday that I met him. It's an amazing achievement to stay with one person for 50 years on a creative basis, in an industry where that doesn't really happen very much."

On reaching his 70th year, ELTON noted, "I'm interested in moving forward all the time, with what I create, my collaborations, and also with discovering the work of other people. I think age is immaterial, provided we keep our minds alive by being open to new things. I can be as excited by a new artist who plays me their demo as I am by a new record of one of my musical heroes. I can be excited by playing a new city I've never played before, or revisiting somewhere I know well and seeing how it's changed. Life is a constant state of flux for us all, and I like to embrace that. I also feel very happy to use my position to bring attention to injustice in the world, and to try to help where I can. At this time in my life I'm the happiest I have ever been."

Added BERNIE, "It's been an unconventional partnership and while we pretty much patented the two-rooms technique I'd venture to say you'd be hard pressed to find a couple of songwriters more in sync with each other and their craft".

As part of the celebration, ELTON is taking over SONG OF THE DAY on AMAZON MUSIC UNLIMITED, picking a favorite song from today through MARCH 30th. 

ELTON's picks include BIG SEAN, FATHER JOHN MISTY and NORWEGIAN newcomer SIGRID, among others. His first pick is LANA DEL REY's "Love," which he described as "gorgeous." 

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