11-17-70

Fifty years ago today, bassist Dee Murray, drummer Nigel Olsson, and pianist/vocalist Elton John performed for a small audience in New York’s A&R Studios, and to a slightly larger one over the airwaves of WABC-FM.

Bootleg recordings of this show surfaced almost immediately, and eventually Elton’s label MCA released an LP of some 48 minutes of the 80-minute set.

For those of you who are familiar only with the slickly produced pop the Artist Formerly Known As Reg Dwight released over the succeeding decades, you might be interested in what he sounded like before he put on his Donald Duck suit and sang about Lady Di. Enjoy.

“Take Me To The Pilot”

Complete show