Elton John's Arkansas connections:
◼️ In 2020, John interviewed Conway native and singer-songwriter Erin Enderlin on his "Rocket Radio Hour Radio Show" after his pal Rosanne Cash hipped him to Enderlin's song "The Queen of Marina Del Ray."
◼️ Lyricist Bernie Taupin clarified in 2013 that "Levon," from John's 1971 album "Madman Across the Water," is not about Levon Helm, the Phillips County native and drummer/vocalist for The Band. Still, Taupin and John were huge fans of the group and Helm, who died in 2012; John even named his son, Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John, for the drummer.
◼️ Long before it was renamed Simmons Bank Arena in 2019, the North Little Rock venue was originally called Alltel Arena. John played the first concert there on Oct. 29, 1999. He also played Barton Coliseum on July 2, 1982, and co-headlined with Billy Joel a show at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock for more than 41,000 fans on April 7, 1995.
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