Elton John has 'serious infection,' cancels Vegas gigs

This post has been corrected. Please see note at bottom for details.

Sir Elton John has been forced to cancel three upcoming concerts due to a respiratory infection, the superstar singer announced on Thursday morning. According to information sent out by John's publicist, he developed a "serious respiratory infection" over the weekend during his weekly Las Vegas performances of "The Million Dollar Piano" show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

After the condition worsened on Monday and Tuesday, the six-time Grammy winner and member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles at 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, where he remained throughout the day. There he underwent tests, and his doctor recommended he take a week off for rest and to treat the infection with antibiotics. He was later released.

As a result, John will cancel three performances scheduled for Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at Caesar's Palace. 

“It feels strange not to be able to perform these ‘Million Dollar Piano’ concerts at the Colosseum,” said John in the press release. “I love performing this show and I will be thrilled when we return to the Colosseum in October to complete the 11 concerts soon to be scheduled. All I can say to the fans is sorry I can't be with you.”

John and his band still plan to tour Europe this summer, starting June 1 in Germany.

[For the record: 12:40 p.m., May 24: The headline on this post was changed to reflect that John was released from the hospital after a short stay.]

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— Randall Roberts
Twitter: @liledit

 Elton John at the Palladium in 2010. Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

Elton John, Lady Gaga among pop stars snubbed in Oscar best song category

The consolation for Elton John, Lady Gaga, Mary J. Blige, Elvis Costello, Willie Nelson, Brad Paisley, Chris Cornell, Zooey Deschanel and other superstar pop, rock and country musicians who got snubbed in the best song Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday is that they’re in pretty stellar company.

With just two songs earning nominations —“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” and “Real in Rio” from “Rio” -- the list of also-rans includes a bounty of heavyweight performers and songwriters.

Yet they didn’t score enough points with Academy voters to make the final nomination list. Voters had 39 songs to sort through this year, for which they were asked to assign a score to each on a scale of 6 to 10 points, after viewing clips from each film that included the eligible song.

FULL COVERAGE: The Oscar nominees

Only songs that received an average of 8.25 points or more could be nominated, with a maximum of five songs in the category, and no more than two songs from the same film.

Among the songs that fell short of that score were two Elton John songs from “Gnomeo and Juliet”: “Love Builds a Garden” and his duet with Lady Gaga, “Hello Hello.” Mary J. Blige’s “Living Proof” from “The Help” and Elvis Costello’s “Sparkling Day” from “One Day” were under consideration, along with Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell’s “The Keeper” from “Machine Gun Preacher,” Deschanel’s “So Long” from “Winnie the Pooh” and Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am’s “Hot Wings,” also from “Rio.”

One of the most powerful songs to appear in a movie last year was J. Ralph’s “Hell and Back,” sung by Willie Nelson. But because it appeared in a documentary, director Danfung Dennis’ “Hell and Back Again” about the war in Afghanistan, it was a longshot for a nomination.

Concert business is up 11% in first half of 2011, Pollstar reports

 
The record industry isn't the only segment of the music business that appears to be on the rebound. The concert industry too, after a difficult year in 2010, is showing total revenue from the Top 50 tours worldwide is up more than 11% for the first half of 2011, according to Pollstar, the concert-industry tracking publication.

Totals from those 50 tours added up to $1.65 billion, despite a 2.1% drop in the number of tickets sold -- 19.4 million -- meaning the bump in the total box office came as the result of higher ticket prices on average.

The increase in the cost of concert attendance “was not expected coming off a down year,” said Pollstar editor Gary Bongiovanni. “It's possible that much of this is driven by artists playing smaller venues at higher prices or better artist packaging, which increases show costs but offers fans a better value for their ticket dollar.”

Ticket prices increased by an average of 13.6%, or $10.23, worldwide, Pollstar reported. The story for the North American concert business is even better, with total revenue on the Top 50 tours jumping 16.2%, to $1.12 billion.

The news comes on the heels of Wednesday’s midyear report on recorded music sales, which also showed an increase over the same period last year, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Leading the pack on the concert trail, not surprisingly, is U2, with a six-month total gross of $164 million on the latest leg of its 360 Tour, which has become the highest-grossing tour of all time. With an average ticket price of $97.65 in stadiums where attendance averaged more than 104,000 people per show, U2 took in a whopping $10.25 million per night.  Bon Jovi's top-grossing tour of 2010, by comparison, took in $201.1 million worldwide over the whole year, according to Pollstar's figures.

Behind U2 is Roger Waters, who has pulled in $97.9 million with an average ticket price of $112.99, followed by Bon Jovi ($921 million, $96.26 ticket average), Lady Gaga ($65.3 million, $96.77 tickets) and Usher ($62.2 million, $83.28 tickets).

Rounding out the midyear Top 10 are Kylie Minogue ($52.1 million, $100.33 tickets), Kenny Chesney ($46.7 million, $72.41 tickets), Andre Rieu ($46 million, $113.72 tickets), Elton John ($44.6 million, $96.71 tickets) and Taylor Swift ($42.9 million, $68 tickets).

“The increased admission price seems to be spread throughout the chart rankings,” Pollstar’s report says. “There were 12 tours on this year’s chart that charged more than $100 per ticket, as compared to only eight last year. Even more interesting is the huge increase in tours hovering just under the magic three-digit price point. There were 22 tours charging more than $90 this year as compared to 12 tours last year.”

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-- Randy Lewis

Photo of U2 singer Bono during the group's 360 Tour stop in Anaheim in June. Credit: Arkasha Stevenson / Los Angeles Times.

Cameron Crowe's Elton John-Leon Russell doc, 'The Union,' to premiere tonight at Tribeca Film Festival

New York's Tribeca Film Festival kicks off tonight with the world premiere of "The Union," Cameron Crowe's documentary in which the director immerses himself in his first love: rock music.

It's a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the album of the same name that brought Elton John back together after nearly four decades with his own musical hero, Leon Russell. It yielded the duo a Grammy nomination and helped usher Russell into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month.

Music producer T Bone Burnett let Crowe bring cameras into the recording sessions early last year at The Village recording studio in West Los Angeles while they came up with the new songs for the album and recorded them under Burnett's guidance, everything transpiring as Russell was recuperating from brain surgery he’d undergone shortly before the sessions got underway.

Rock music has played a central role in Crowe's feature films, including "Almost Famous" and "Jerry Maguire," a reflection of his background as a rock journalist long before he became a film director. In addition to capturing the main participants, the film also includes segments with the album's guest artists, including Neil Young and Brian Wilson. John will follow tonight's free outdoor screening with a performance.

-- Randy Lewis

Photos: Elton John and Leon Russell at the Hollywood Palladium in November during their tour for "The Union." Credit: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times

'American Idol': Elton John songs offer finalists a crash course in showmanship

After having the contestants navigate broader themes such as Motown and birth-year tunes, "American Idol" went narrow and decided to was time to focus on a single musical deity. 

Getting the treatment was Elton John. 

Despite show producers making an effort to promise they wouldn't restrict the theme nights to one musical style or artist, John having his own evening served as a much-needed lesson to the contestants. 

Ryan Seacrest feted John as "a man that's about true showmanship. And a true icon."

And showmanship is the lesson that Interscope Records kingpin/Idol mentor Jimmy Iovine and company attempted to instill in the finalists: The stakes have risen in the competition, and two people will be eliminated Thursday, thanks to the dramatics of the judges' save last week.

Viewers were treated to an interview from 1976 in which John is quizzed about his flashy "sequins and glitter" and asked, "What's it all about?” John was never afraid to don kooky shades, fluorescent colors, feathers and eye-popping costumes (feel free to draw parallels to Lady Gaga here, the show certainly did). Cee-Lo Green recently paid tribute to one of John's most famous costumes with his Grammy performance.

"Anyone that's saying it's not showbiz is joking," John said in the interview.

Leon Russell: Back to the Garden, 40 years later

 

Newly inducted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Leon Russell added another highlight to his latter-day career renaissance on Wednesday with his first performance at New York's Madison Square Garden since 1971, when he led the band at George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh benefit.

Russell joined his friend and champion Elton John for an eight-song set from last year's duet album, "The Union," during John's concert at the Manhattan arena.

Southern rocker Gregg Allman also showed up to join the pair on the album's Civil War-themed gothic ballad, "Gone to Shiloh."

John has another Madison Square Garden show booked for Sunday, a few days ahead of his 64th birthday.

Russell will bring his own band with him when he returns to Southern California for a May 1 appearance in Indio for this year's Stagecoach Country Music Festival.

-- Randy Lewis

Photo: Elton John introduces Leon Russell at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony March 14. Credit: Lucas Jackson / Reuters

Live from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony: Tom Waits, Dr. John, Darlene Love, Alice Cooper and Neil Diamond celebrate in New York

 

Now into its second quarter-century, its rebellious youth largely a memory and its adolescence rapidly receding into the past, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's annual induction ceremony canonized Neil Diamond, the Alice Cooper band, Tom Waits, Dr. John and Darlene Love as its newest performer honorees on Monday night at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan.

All five had long been eligible under the hall's requirement that acts only become candidates 25 years after the release of their first recording, making this something of a catch-up year for those like Cooper, Diamond and Love, all of whom sold millions of records in their prime, or in the cases of Waits and Dr. John, artists whose critically admired work hadn't been accompanied by the kind of commercial success that might have helped usher them into the hall earlier. Fellow pianist Leon Russell was inducted in the "sideman" category.

Rock Hall opens doors to ceremony rehearsals -- for a price

 

 

 

For the first time in its 25-year history, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will allow an audience into rehearsals for its star-studded induction ceremony and dinner, which take place this year on March 14 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.

Through a new partnership between the Rock Hall and the Gilt City website, which specializes in luxury services and experiences, fans can buy tickets that will include admission to the March 13 rehearsal for this year’s event, at which the Alice Cooper Band, Neil Diamond, Tom Waits, Dr. John and Darlene Love are being inducted.

The privilege comes at a price, however. A VIP ticket that opens the door to otherwise closed rehearsals costs $3,500, and also includes entrance to the pre-ceremony cocktail party and the awards dinner itself. For $2,000, members of the public can get into the cocktail party and awards dinner.

This year’s honorees are being inducted by Neil Young (Waits), Paul Simon (Diamond), Bette Midler (Love), Rob Zombie (Cooper) and John Legend (Dr. John). Elton John will present Leon Russell with the hall’s new musical excellence award, which replaces the former Sideman category; Doors’ drummer John Densmore will usher in Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman as a non-performer; and Lloyd Price will do the same for Specialty Records founder Art Rupe.

-- Randy Lewis

Tom Waits, left, will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Neil Young. Credit (Waits): Michael O'Brien; (Young): Jack Plunkett / Associated Press.

Herbie Hancock + a Beatle? = Grammy time

 
A night of full of upsets and other surprises started early with Grammy voters’ verdict in the pop collaboration with vocals category. In a field featuring tracks that teamed superstar combinations of Eminem, B.o.B. and Hayley Williams; Elton John and Leon Russell; Lady Gaga and Beyoncé; and Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg, the Grammy went to … Herbie Hancock.

Now, we know how much the Grammys love Herbie, most illustriously when he took the 2008 album of the year award for "River: The Joni Mitchell Letters” album of the celebrated singer-songwriter's music. This time, he trumped the pop, rock, rap and R&B heavy hitters with his version of John Lennon's "Imagine,” from his "The Imagine Project" collection, for which he was joined on the Grammy-winning track by Pink, India.Arie and a group of international friends.

The award also delivered yet another example of the Grammy night adage: Never underestimate the power of a Beatle.

The music industry's love affair with the Beatles surfaced two other times Sunday, with awards to Paul McCartney for solo rock vocal for his rendition of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" from his “Good Evening New York City” live album, and the award for historical album for "The Beatles in Stereo," the 16-disc box set that packaged stereo versions of all the Fab Four's original studio albums.

-- Randy Lewis

Photo of Herbie Hancock at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times.

 

Presenters for 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class announced

What do Rob Zombie, Neil Young, Bette Midler, John Legend and Elton John have in common?

They’ll all be onstage in New York in March, along with Paul Simon, Lloyd Price and the Doors’ John Densmore, welcoming the latest class of inductees into the Rock and Roll of Fame, hall officials will announce Tuesday.

Zombie has been tapped to welcome in one of his musical forebears, shock-rock pioneer Alice Cooper; Young will induct fellow iconoclast Tom Waits; John will bring in his friend and recent collaborator Leon Russell; and Simon will deliver remarks on Neil Diamond. Legend inducts Dr. John,  Midler will handle Darlene Love and Densmore gets Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman, who signed the Doors and launched their recording career.

The ceremony is scheduled for March 14 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

-- Randy Lewis

Photo (left) of Alice Cooper. Credit: Ethan Miller

Photo (right) of Rob Zombie: Credit: Stephen C. Mitchell / EPA