Sunday, April 03, 2011

Elton John & Leon Russell on SNL - Leon and Mary Russell Wedding Album

Saturday Night Live was amazing last night! Elton John, Leon Russell, Tom Hanks, Jake Gyllenhaal. And the Elton/Leon musical segments were just great. I hope they go back out on tour together again (Elton will be in Bismark, North Dakota in a few days so he is going out on tour with his own band). The fabulous and MATURE backup singers with Elton and Leon were beautiful and much appreciated by us baby boomers! Thanks to the comment that made me dig a little harder for their names: Tiffany Smith, Rose Stone, Tata Vega and Jean Witherspoon. These are the girls who toured with Elton and Leon last fall and I will try to confirm that they all performed on SNL. Tata Vega is the lead backup and I will post more about her soon.


I bought the Leon and Mary Russell Wedding Album right after the show because it was the finest album of the 1970s. Magical harmonies, romantic and breathless love songs, beautiful writing, full and rich orchestration. There isn't a bad song on the album. There is a fascinating story on CBS Sunday Morning about Elton bringing Leon back to performing and I am so glad he did. All the songs on the Wedding Album are great but Fantasy, Love's Supposed to Be That Way, and Like a Dream Come True are spectacular. Rainbow in your Eyes will have you out of your chair and boogiein' through the whole song - you won't be able to sit still!

2 comments:

  1. The Wedding Album is fantastic. Saw Leon a few years ago at the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville, PA, and brought The Wedding Album for him to sign. He did... and drew a mustache on Mary!

    I LOVE seeing Tata Vega singing backup!

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  2. okay, I'm jealous! And thanks for Ms. Vega's name. A number of people asked me about the backup singers so I'm glad to know who they are. I saw Elton in St. Louis in 1976 and it's wonderful to see him continuing to be great and as innovative as he was back then. My daughter asked me if he was the Lady Gaga of that time...lol. I guess so?! His show was huge and fantastic. It was during Yellow Brick Road so his material made for a colorful and hugely popular show.

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