Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Memorabilia from Elton John's Concert at Dodger Stadium


I don't always pay attention to rock 'n roll memorabilia, but the current Heritage auction is a worthy exception. As I'm sure you know, Dodger Stadium has been host to plenty of musical acts over the decades. Just last weekend Paul McCartney headlined a sold-out gig there -- a bit of a reprise of the Beatles concert at the stadium in 1966. Other musical guest at Chavez Ravine have included Genesis, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, U2, KISS, *NSYNC, Madonna and The Rolling Stones. One artist's performance, though has become legend.

Over two nights in late October 1975 Elton John, who had just released his 10th studio album "Rock of the Westies" the day before, came to Dodger Stadium and played in front of over 100,000 adoring fans -- the largest concert ever, at the time. Best yet, he strutted out onto the outfield stage during his second set of the evening wearing a super-sparkly blinged-out Dodger uniform.

Fans went wild, and many in attendance describe the show as being more than just a concert. It was an experience unlike anything any concertgoer had ever experienced.

As you can imagine, memorabilia from this event is rather sparse. After all, in the mid-70's memorabilia collecting was nowhere near the size it is today. So, when something does pop up it demands to be noticed.

Featured at the very top is an official baseball jacket, in Dodger Blue, that was made for the touring crew on the 1975 tour. On the front is a crew members name ("Jeff") and on the reverse is the name Elton John and "Rock of the Westies" in Dodger-styled script. (Heritage Auction Link) On the left is an unused concert ticket to the show and a photo of Elton John wearing his diamond-like studded Dodger uniform. (Heritage Auction Link).

BTW, Elton John's website shares a whole bunch of quotes from concertgoers that I thought you might want to check out. He also includes a setlist.
“There is no moment in my life that will ever compare to the moment when Elton first appeared on stage at Dodger Stadium. My whole young being changed in that moment. I had never experienced fans so thrilled to be seeing a performer appear on stage. In that moment I felt one with music and everyone in Dodger Stadium.

During the first set, it was just amazing when Elton unexpectedly threw his hat high above and into the crowd. Seeing those thousands of hands lift up high into the sky along with the roar of the crowd is something I will never forget.”

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

1 comment:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...