Elton John shared some crucial details about his life and thoughts on other artists in his autobiographical work, in which he also opened up about his relationship with the late musician Michael Jackson. John compared Jackson to Elvis Presley and explained how they both created another reality.
Elvis Presley became an icon in music and significantly influenced young people with his style. The singer earned the title of ‘King of Rock and Roll‘ thanks to his unique sound, bold fashion sense, and hit records such as ‘Elvis Presley,’ ‘Elvis Is Back!,’ ‘His Hand in Mine,’ ‘Something for Everybody.’ Unfortunately, his untimely death on August 16, 1977, ended his career.
A few years after Elvis Presley’s death, a child pop star from The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, started to hit the stage and change the music industry with his solo career. The mainstream success and popularity came quickly, mainly thanks to his sixth studio album, ‘Thriller,’ which became one of the most famous records in the world.
However, recently Yahoo! recalled that according to Elton John, the two iconic musicians didn’t only share the same destiny in terms of fame and glory but also related to their struggle with addiction. In his remarkable autobiography, ‘Me: Elton John,’ the singer highlighted that he had known Jackson since he was very young and described him as sweet. Then, things changed, and Jackson’s addiction to prescription drugs cost him his sense of reality like Presley.
Here’s what John said in the book:
“I’d known Michael since he was 13 or 14. He was just the most adorable kid you could imagine. But at some point in the intervening years, he started sequestering himself away from the world and reality, the way Elvis Presley did.
God knows what was going on in his head and what prescription drugs he was being pumped full of, but every time I saw him in his later years, I came away thinking that the poor guy had lost his marbles. I don’t mean that in a lighthearted way. He was genuinely mentally ill, a disturbing person to be around.”
Elton John added that Michael Jackson wasn’t just funny and crazy because of the drugs; he was a mentally ill person who couldn’t separate the notions of dream and reality. The legendary musician admitted that being around the pop icon disturbed him, which does not sound surprising considering his controversial behaviors.
