Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden awards the 2024 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song to Elton John and Bernie Taupin during a tribute concert at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., March 20, 2024. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress.
Even at 77 years old, singer Elton John remains one of the most booked and busy performers on the planet.
As 2024 nearly wraps up, the icon has been making headlines for his well-being and impressive line-up of projects. Just last October 1, during the premiere of his latest documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late, the singer shared that he’s had to think about his own mortality due to his compounding health problems. The most recent of these includes a severe injury, which he announced amid news of an upcoming musical and the just-released documentary.
Decades of health scares
Since the 70s, he’s experienced respiratory infections, appendicitis, and several injuries requiring surgeries for his hips and knees. Most recently, just this year, he shared that he’d been dealing with a serious eye infection that limited vision in his left eye. According to his Instagram post, he’s still being treated for it and foresees a long but stable road to recovery. Of course, this isn’t his first brush with ocular concerns, either. Since the beginning of his career, the Brit has been known to wear outlandish eyewear.
While the unorthodox designs were once deemed eccentric, there’s no doubt that Elton’s love for them helped make these styles mainstream. Today, such sunglasses are widely available from retailers like Foster Grant. Here, Solar Shield styles like Natalie, Arrowhead, and Lucy feature oversized silhouettes, rounded curves, tinted lenses, and even some crystal embellishments. All of these are clearly reminiscent of the many shades Elton has donned over the years. Initially, his preference for always wearing eyewear was said to be due to his admiration of the late Buddy Holly. However, others speculate it’s also because he has myopia, which is a progressive condition that requires vision correction. Should this latter health reason be true, then he joins the ranks of musical artists like Bono, who’s been known to wear Armani tinted glasses for his glaucoma.
What’s next for the Rocket Man?
Although he’s undeniably slowed down in the past few decades, the Tiny Dancer has proven to be still one of the most vibrant artists on the scene. In the last few years alone, he was executive producer for his biopic Rocketman, toured several times, and worked with several younger musicians in popular collaborations. This includes names like Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa. In 2018, he even released a musical cover of Young, Dumb, and Broke with original singer Khalid. This was released on Spotify, much to the joy of old and new fans alike.
This unstoppable streak continues this fall 2024, as Elton has already announced that he’ll be involved in several projects. Aside from the aforementioned premiere of his documentary, the songwriter is also responsible for the music in the stage adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada, which will debut on the West End later this October. In November, John will also usher in the Broadway run of Tammy Faye. Based on the colorful life of the TV evangelist, this play’s music has also been written by the multi-award winner. While it’s unlikely that he’ll be going back on the road anytime soon, especially after he formally announced his retirement from touring in 2023 with his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, it’s likely that John will still be making the festival rounds as the year ends. A frequent performer during the holidays, many believe that the singer may also participate in at least a few year-end and yuletide events, as he’s done in the past.
© 2024, Seth "Digital Crates" Barmash. All rights reserved.
