Inside Elton John's Iconic Dodger Stadium Concerts

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Not all concerts are created equal: There are concerts, and then there are the sort of events that attendees know are going to go down in history.

We're looking at you, Sir Elton John. An absolutely singular artist, there's no denying that John is in the rather unique position of having fans that span not only countries but generations. While some remember the first time they ever heard "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Your Song," and "Daniel," there are plenty of other fans who don't know a life without a soundtrack that's heavy on both the classics and newer material, from the songs of "The Lion King" to collaborations with artists like Dua Lipa.

And that far-reaching popularity — and the ability to bring together the generations — is just part of the reason that John's concerts at Los Angeles's Dodger Stadium have become so iconic. Watch — or listen to — any clip, and it's clear that he's not just a musician and a performer, but it's also clear that he's a vehicle for something otherworldly: Those performances are enough to make even the most cynical person believe in a higher power. And clearly? That higher power is definitely a fan.

In 2022, John took the stage again for an epic, 3-night concert series reminiscent of those nights so long ago. Let's peek behind the curtain at some of the most iconic concerts in music history.

Sure, Los Angeles is a great city. But is there a decades-long history between the city and Elton John that makes Dodger Stadium the logical choice to wrap up his American tour? Absolutely — and it goes all the way back to the earliest days of his career, and his attempts at making a name for himself in the U.S. He explained to the Associated Press: "I started off in Los Angeles at the Troubadour, and I want it to end here because it's been a magical place for me." It was echoed in one of the insights that John offered during the concert itself, saying (via the Los Angeles Times), "I first came to America in 1970 to the City of Angels ... and [the Troubadour] helped me by accelerating my career in America with a review I got from Robert Hilburn for the LA Times. So I'll never forget that."

While reading reviews of critics getting things wrong is hilarious, Hilburn ended up being so spot-on that it was prophetic, writing: "Rejoice. Rock music ... has a new star. He's Elton John, a 23-year-old Englishman whose United States debut Tuesday night at the Troubadour was, in almost every way, magnificent."

John filled Dodger stadium just a few years later. Then 28 years old, his rise had been meteoric: He had two No. 1 albums under his sparkly belt, and five years after performing in a small LA club, John sold out Dodger stadium for several nights in a row.

Elton John's 1975 Dodger Stadium concert might be iconic, but so was the photographer that captured all of those famous photos. That was Terry O'Neill, who was known as the photographer who captured the music of the 1960s and '70s. He — and his cameras — had a front-row seat at Dodger Stadium. When he was interviewed for Elton John's official site, O'Neill said that it hadn't mattered that he'd been there for rehearsals ahead of time: "Those two days and nights, I never really knew what was going to happen."

Over the course of the two 1975 performances, O'Neill revealed that he had carried three cameras — one for color photos, one for black-and-white, and a backup. He shot a whopping 50 rolls of film, explaining, "I never knew what was going to be on the film until I developed it. ... your eyes saw the shot the second you hit the button, and you didn't see it again until days later."

One entire performance — the first — O'Neill shot from across the stadium and in the crowd, and it wasn't until the second that he got up close and personal on stage. While many of his photos ended up famous on their own, they were also released in a book called "Two Days that Rocked the World: Elton John live at Dodger Stadium." Sadly, O'Neill didn't get to shoot or see the 2022 farewell concert: The Guardian reported that he passed away in 2019.

While Elton John's 1975 and 2022 Dodger Stadium concerts are by far the most iconic, he's played there a bunch of times — and in 1992, the time that he shared the stage there with Eric Clapton. It was part of a tour where he was playing in America for the first time after making some major changes in his personal life. When he spoke to the Los Angeles Times a few days before returning to Dodger Stadium, he said it had been somewhere around 10 years since he'd last played in America while fully sober and clean. Since the 1975 show, he'd had some difficult experiences, saying, "It's easy to lose your values and self-respect. I got to where I didn't know how to speak to someone unless I had a nose full of cocaine. Nothing could satisfy me. ... I had to change because I was frightened."

Coupled with his own unhappiness over his day-to-day, John also credited the influence of Ryan White as a major factor in getting him checked into rehab and clean. He not only reached out to the family but befriended them, spending the last weeks of White's life with his family, serving as a pallbearer at his funeral, and — he told The Telegraph — having his eyes opened by the family's resilience, kindness, and quiet strength.

When the Los Angeles Times reviewed the show, they lauded it as the return of a new, less flamboyant, but still mesmerizing John — who performed "Your Song" to harken back to earlier days.

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While the 1975 concert at Dodger Stadium was documented most famously by a single photographer, a couple of cameras, and about 50 rolls of film, the scale of the tech necessary to pull off a live stream of Elton John's 2022 show was nothing short of mind-blowing. There was an army of people behind it, led by producers Ben Winston and Gabe Turner, along with director Paul Dugdale. Not only was there the pressure of doing justice to John's farewell show, but there was also a time crunch: Everything started at 8:15, and had to be done and dusted by 11 and the start of a police-enforced noise curfew.

The Hollywood Reporter says that six more cameras were added to the original 22 that were planned to cover the concert, in addition to drones and a helicopter used to capture aerial shots.

Then, there are going to be a few slightly different versions of it available for people to watch at home. While the live stream is obviously the biggest deal, Winston and Turner told Forbes that they're going to be going back and reassembling the concert from all the footage captured that night. "We're going to watch it again and we're going to take the best of the best. ... we'll have time to make it absolutely perfect, so it's a moment of history rather than a live cut."

Elton John has been fortunate enough to be able to embrace some lifelong friends — and while the casual concert-viewer might not notice it, there are a lot of people who were either on-stage or back-stage at the 1975 Dodger Stadium concert that were on hand for the 2022 farewell shows. That includes tennis great Billie Jean King, who — along with her wife, Ilana Kloss — has been friends with John for decades. Although they lost touch during one of his darkest periods, their friendship has endured: She was at both shows, although she told the Los Angeles Times that her days of jumping off the piano were long gone.

Also there for a repeat? Kiki Dee, who once again joined him for their duet "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." Several members of John's backing band were also on hand to help everything go full circle, including Davey Johnstone (guitar, pictured in 1975) and Ray Cooper (percussion). Cindy Bullens — his one-time backup singer turned longtime friend — wasn't performing anymore, but was definitely there to show support. Also showing his support from the audience? Robert Hilburn, the LA Times writer who penned the review that John credited for giving him the momentum he needed to break into the US.

And, of course, longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin wasn't far from John's side for the series, explaining, "Our relationship with LA has always been sacrosanct. It was here we flourished and found our sweet spot. LA embraced us before anyone, so we're indebted."