Elton spawn H
How the Rocket Man helps launch success for younger indie artists
E’S been churning out the hits for nearly 50 years, but these days, Elton John is just as concerned with helping to shape the hits of the next 50 years.
The British legend releases his new best-of compilation, “Diamonds,” on Friday, but at the age of 70, John is now a key tastemaker.
For years, John (born Reginald Dwight) has accrued hip points, supporting unknown bands by talking about them in interviews, inviting them on tour, calling them to say, “Hi,” or playing their music on his weekly radio show “Rocket Hour” (broadcast on Beats 1, the digital radio station available to Apple Music subscribers).
“He’s competitive about discovering new music,” says Zane Lowe, who hosts his own daily show on Beats 1, and helped bring John on board. “He sends me voice notes saying, ‘Hey Zane, it’s Elton here. I know you’re really into Khalid right now. That’s great, but I was playing him six months before you!’ ”
Here’s how a few key artists have benefited from the Elton endorsement.
1. THE LEMONTWIGS:
Long Island baroque-pop outfit the Lemon Twigs has been a firm favorite of the “Tiny Dancer” singer since it released its 2016 debut, “Do Hollywood.” Co-frontman Brian D’Addario thought he was supposed to be doing an interview with a British magazine when his phone rang unexpectedly and someone with an English accent began talking. It was John, calling to say “Hello.” “The person on the phone said, ‘It’s Elton,’ and I was like, ‘Wait, what?!’” D’Addario tells The Post. “It was the first time anyone of that level had been interested in us.”
He reveals that the root of John’s interest in supporting young groups goes way back. “He said it was always very important to him that people, like George Harrison or whoever, said they liked his stuff when he was starting out. So he’s always made a point to do the same for new bands.”
2. LOW CUT CONNIE:
It’s no surprise to find out that John has a special place in his heart for piano-driven rock ’n’ roll groups like Low Cut Connie. The Philly band was first featured on “Rocket Hour” over the summer, when John played the band’s single “Dirty Water” and he invited singer Adam Weiner onto the show to chat. “I’ve named my piano Shondra, which he loved because he also names his pianos after women,” Weiner tells The Post. “He has [pianos named] Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Diana Krall and Winifred [after boogie-woogie pianist Winifred Atwell].”
3. SCISSOR SISTERS:
John has been a North Star for the New York glam-pop group over the course of its 15-year career. “The first time I ever met him was in the early 2000s when he came to see us play,” singer Jake Shears says. “He came with George Michael. I have a picture of the three of us . . . and I look like a crazy person — my eyeballs are bugging out of my head!”
John bought lots of copies of their self-titled first album (2004) and gave them to friends. And he helped them write their biggest hit, “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’.”
Shears (who plays at Brooklyn’s Elsewhere on Sunday) still sees John. “One of his favorite things to do after dinner is to go around a turntable and just DJ to his friends and introduce them to new songs. He just lights up.”