Sir Elton Hercules John has had one of the most illustrious, prolific, and flamboyant careers in the history of rock. And as a testament to his chosen middle name, he has also had to overcome a number of obstacles and tragedies along the way.

Taped in New York City, this interview with Lisa Robinson for The Inside Track radio show was aired in support of Elton’s 1982 Jump Up! However, besides talking about the John Lennon tribute “Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny),” the conversation doesn’t cover his new material. Instead, the topics include his outrageous image during the 70’s, his coming out in a Rolling Stone article, his unhappy childhood, his songwriting process, and recollections of some of his biggest concerts.

This interview captures Sir Elton at an interesting crossroads in his career. His status of rock legend is evident through the content of his stories and the way he is able to pepper certain names, numbers and events into his talking. At the same time, he also seems weary of his past. He is able to laugh at his old flamboyance but appears ready to approach his future with some hard-earned wisdom.

00:00 – The old orgy house in L.A. 00:26 – Still living in England in spite of the taxes 01:10 – A semi-reclusive lifestyle 01:57 – Writing “Empty Garden” for John Lennon 03:14 – His outrageous mid-70’s image / later embarrassment 04:13 – A big accident / getting depressed / advice from John Lennon 05:13 – How he became so successful / flamboyance 06:35 – Not knowing what would come next 07:06 – The old outfits / compensating with humor 08:27 – Getting involved with the soccer club (Watford) 09:27 – Repercussions of coming out / different reaction in the US and England 10:41 – Comfort level with singing Taupin lyrics 11:09 – Writing his own lyrics 11:50 – Writing songs quickly 12:38 – Process of writing melodies 13:04 – Some great concerts: Dodger Stadium, Central Park, Russia / adrenaline 14:34 – Coming back down to earth 15:28 – Writing songs that sound similar 16:15 – The songwriting in England / Elvis Costello, other favorite bands and singles 17:20 – An unhappy childhood / family issues 18:58 – Mother introduced him to rock n’ roll 19:13 – Biggest influences 19:53 – Other effects of Lennon’s death / handguns in US vs. England

These voice overs were performed by Frank Welker for King Biscuit’s 1985 Halloween broadcast, coinciding with their 13th year on the air. Welker was, at the time, best known for his work on the show Tales From The Crypt. Since then, he has provided voices or sound effects for an impressive list of animated TV shows and movies.

In June of 1982, Pete Townshend released his solo album, All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes; in September, The Who released It’s Hard, which was then followed by their first farewell tour. And while these projects are touched upon in this interview with Lisa Robinson, this is not a chat geared towards promoting either of them. Instead, Townshend talks more introspectively about his career and what rock and roll has meant to him. Recorded at a transitional time in his career, there are great psychological insights into the music, lifestyle, and demise of The Who, and Townshend’s place at the center of it all.

00:00 – Dying laughing 00:30 – Current status of The Who / sensing the end 01:35 – Not being able to “afford” being in the band 02:58 – Appreciation for the dodgy aspects of rock and roll 03:30 – Dangers presented by the corporate aspect of record making 05:18 – Practical dangers of performances 06:12 – Rock stars vs. movie stars / being oneself 06:58 – The Who creating danger in order to keep it interesting 08:13 – Rock and roll as defiance against real-world dangers 10:49 – The resiliency of rock and roll / knowing what to do with their crazy people 14:04 – Hypocrisy of punk musicians / the stage as a place of privilege 15:12 – The irony of the Clash, the Sex Pistols, and the Jam disliking each other 15:40 – Mutual feelings between the early British Invasion bands / not a huge fan of the Beatles 16:26 – A big fan of the Rolling Stones and the Kinks 17:04 – The Jann Wenner interview 17:44 – His life not measuring up to his childhood dreams 18:30 – A girl who fell in love with David Sylvian (thanks to the record company) 21:18 – Some dreams came true but bitterness remained 22:15 – Problems as the source of introspective songs 23:45 – Enjoying happiness, but prepared for sadness 24:25 – Intuition about the world’s desire to set off a bomb / cause of pacifism 25:40 – The Who’s violent image as an expression of impotence 27:35 – The implicit contract between artist and fan 28:35 – Problems with alcohol / Keith not being an alcoholic 30:45 – Stopping drinking as an alternative to sickness and exercise 31:44 – The original intentions for All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes 32:36 – Putting a group together for the new album 33:15 – Writing differently for solo work vs. work for The Who 34:03 – Thoughts on “Communication” 35:30 – Thoughts on “Somebody Save Me” 37:41 – Thoughts on “Uniforms (Corp d’Espirit)”