Elton John recently completed a raw new album with producer T Bone Burnett, resulting in what the singer is calling “”the most exciting solo record I’ve done in a long, long time.” The album, called The Diving Board, was written and recorded in just a few weeks in Los Angeles. “It was T Bone’s idea to get back with piano, bass and drums,” John told Rolling Stone. “He said, ‘Let’s start with that.’”
Lady Gaga has swept countless awards ceremonies over the course of her relatively short career. Zooey Deschanel has been in the news lately with her impending divorce and successful new sitcom. So how did lesser-known composers from The Muppets and Rio beat out these leading ladies (as well as superstars like Elton John, Willie Nelson and Elvis Costello) for the sole two spots in the 2012 Academy Awards’ “Best Original Song” category? Simple math, apparently. Out of the initial 39-song short list, only “Man or Muppet” and “Real in Rio” made the cut – but not for the reasons you might expect.
Find out how the Academy chose the Best Song nominees on RollingStone.com.
— Parry Ernsberger
The 26th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Monday night was an unforgettable tribute to the five musicians it celebrated. The five new members—Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, Darlene Love, Dr. John and Neil Diamond—were joined by such diverse guests as Bette Midler, Elton John, Leon Russell, John Legend and Rob Zombie at the Waldorf-Astoria for what we called a “long, amazing evening,” including an awesome Cooper-Diamond duet on Love’s classic, “Da Doo Ron Ron Ron.”
You can watch video from the incredible concert that made up the second half of the evening, check out photos of the entire ceremony and read our firsthand accounts of the festivities, performances and guest tributes over at RollingStone.com right now. We’ve also got tons of behind the scenes footage and interviews with the inductees to tide you over until Fuse broadcasts ceremony highlights on March 20th.
After a month of hints and tweeted snippets, Lady Gaga’s new single “Born This Way” is here. Elton John called it “the anthem that’s going to obliterate ‘I Will Survive,’” and Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield declares it “sums up all the complex Gaga mythos, all her politics and Catholic angst and smeared lipstick, in one brilliant pop blast.”
Read Sheff’s review and listen to Gaga’s “Born This Way” over at RollingStone.com.
Elton John hasn’t graced the Rolling Stone cover since he came out in our pages in 1976, but we’re very happy to have him back. In our revealing interview with the legend, Elton talks about the rather curious company he keeps these days—he played at Rush Limbaugh’s wedding, and he and Eminem call each other “cunts” over the phone—he dispenses some tough love for Billy Joel, and he makes a bold prediction about Lady Gaga’s upcoming “Born This Way.” Check all of this out and more in the preview of our Elton John cover story here.
While you’re waiting for the issue to make it to your mailbox on Friday, check out the video from Elton John’s cover shoot above, in which he heaps praise on Rolling Stone. We love you too, Elton!
In case you missed it, Kanye West recently announced that Watch the Throne, his anticipated duet album with Jay-Z will be out in March. Which got us thinking: What makes a pop collaboration click?
With that, RollingStone.com gives you The 20 Most Memorable Duets of All Time. From the surprising and fantastic—like Elton John and Eminem’s unforgettable Grammy performance of “Stan”—to the ones we wish we could forget (Diddy and Jimmy Page’s “Come With Me”, anyone?) the keyword is memorable, for better or worse…
