Elton John Says ‘There’s Not Much of Me Left’ Following Surgeries

Elton John admitted “there’s not much of me left” after undergoing several surgeries in recent years.

The Rocketman, now 77 years old, has dealt with a variety of issues, including hip and knee surgeries. During a conversation at the premiere of his new documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer addressed his health.

“To be honest with you, there’s not much of me left,” John joked. “I don’t have tonsils, adenoids or an appendix. I don’t have a prostate, I don’t have a right hip or a left knee or a right knee. In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip. But I’m still here.”

READ MORE: Elton John Albums Ranked Worst to Best

Elton went on to thank fans for their continued support, while crediting his husband David Furnish and their two sons “for making me the happiest man in the world.”

"I found complete and utter happiness and bliss when I met David and when I had my children, our children. And it satisfied me so much. I've never felt happiness like I have now."

John also addressed his retirement from touring following 2023’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.

"I decided to stop touring because I'm 77 years of age,” he explained. “I've done all there is to do, to play. I've succeeded. I've been there and I've done it."

Despite the retirement, Elton noted that he's "still going to have music in [his] life." True to form, the rocker serenaded the crowd at his documentary premiere with a rendition of "Tiny Dancer."

When Does Elton John's Documentary Come Out?

Elton John: Never Too Late will have a limited theatrical run starting Nov. 15, before later being released on Disney+ on Dec. 13. The career-spanning film will chronicle the highs and lows of John's life, including his early years in music and his battles with addiction. The centerpiece of the documentary will be the singer's final North American concert, which took place Nov. 20, 2022 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

An official trailer for the documentary can be watched below.

'Empty Sky' (1969): “Skyline Pigeon”

Later in his career, John would remember “Skyline Pigeon” as the first song he and lyricist Bernie Taupin really became excited about. It’s hard not to see why; you could go so far as to call this the first real Elton John ballad. John’s elegiac melody marries perfectly with Taupin’s yearning lyrics, simple yet rich with imagery. John would return to “Skyline Pigeon” throughout his career; a re-recording during the sessions for 1972’s 'Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only the Piano Player' stripped back the original’s fussy production for a more simple approach.

'Elton John' (1970): “Your Song”

Like many of John’s best tracks, “Your Song” has become a standard in its own right, covered by everyone from Lady Gaga to Andy Williams. If you’ve spent 30 minutes listening to the radio over the past 40-odd years, it’s likely you know “Your Song.” If nothing else, it represents the first time John’s music and Taupin’s lyrics were able to pierce straight to the heart of pop culture and leave a lasting mark. It wouldn’t be the last.

'Tumbleweed Connection' (1970): “Burn Down the Mission”

'Tumbleweed Connection' found John embracing his love of American roots music and its more modern reinterpretation by artists such as the Band and Leon Russell. On “Burn Down the Mission,” John dug deep into the primal chords of classic gospel as a counterpoint to Taupin lyrics that document a slave populace ready to overthrow their master. The fiery piano-led breakdown ignites on record as well as live, and the song was a centerpiece of John’s earliest live sets.

'Madman Across the Water' (1971): “Tiny Dancer”

Aside from John’s own compositions in animated films like 'The Lion King' and 'The Road to El Dorado,' perhaps no John song has become more associated with a film than “Tiny Dancer” and its connection to 'Almost Famous.' In Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical movie about life on the road with a '70s rock band, “Tiny Dancer” accompanies a scene of the band and its beloved groupies cruising down a highway in a tour bus, singing along together—not unlike the same sweet, drifting tale that Taupin documents in his lyrics. It’s a perfect marriage of scene and song to document a timeless moment when a trip feels like it could go on forever, and never lead anywhere.

'Honky Chateau' (1972): “Rocket Man”

Even a notorious cover by William Shatner couldn’t torpedo John’s entry in the '70s' songs about space theme (see also David Bowie's “Space Oddity” and Harry Nilsson's “Spaceman”). Taupin’s lyrics approached the subject from a very earthbound mindset; rather than introduce sci-fi instrumentation such as synths or theremin, the arrangement feels grounded and organic. It also fits into the wider scope of the 'Honky Chateau' album, which moved away from the roots-rock pastiches of John’s early albums and began his transition into a pop-rock chameleon able to absorb countless influences and styles into a single tuneful sound.

'Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player' (1973): “Daniel”

Legend says that there’s a lost verse to “Daniel” that John unceremoniously tossed out as he was transforming Taupin’s lyrics into an actual song. That may have been creative serendipity; the lack of detail around the circumstances gives the song a universal appeal, allowing the listener to find their own way into it. Its sound may have helped define a specific vein of lite rock, but for its era, it’s a gentle gem on one of John’s more rollicking albums, full of stylistic transformations.

'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' (1973): “Bennie and the Jets”

There are moments in an artist’s career when an album instantly captures everything great about their music and sets a new standard, informing what has come before and defining all that will come. 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' is that moment for Elton John and Bernie Taupin. At least five songs on the record are legitimate stone-cold rock classics and could appear on this list; “Bennie and the Jets” makes the cut because it represented both a stylistic summation and a detour that earned John his first Top 40 hit on the 'Billboard' Hot Soul chart and a guest spot on 'Soul Train.' Although moments in his early output were clearly defined by homage and hero worship to the rock icons that had come before, by “Bennie and the Jets,” John had earned his own place at any table in popular music where he chose to take a seat.

'Caribou' (1974): “Ticking”

As impossible as it sounds, John and Taupin composed perhaps their most relevant song in 1974. The 'Caribou' album closes with “Ticking,” a crushing story song about a young man who snaps and shoots up the patrons at a local bar in a horrible hostage scenario. At the time, it must have felt like wild horror fiction; today, it’s just Tuesday’s headlines. Taupin’s lyrics are almost prescient in how they crawl inside the mindset of what we’d call today the “lone gunman,” especially when he suggests the gunman’s POV with jarring racial slurs that make it clear this was a crime prompted in part by xenophobia. The song is driven by John’s insistent piano and punctuated with ghostly harmony vocals and synth chords at key moments. From the “media machine" to how “that gun butt felt so smooth and warm cradled in your palm,” it’s as relevant today as it was haunting in 1974.

'Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy' (1975): “Someone Saved My Life Tonight"

Elton John capped off a remarkable five-year run of smash albums and singles with 1975’s 'Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy,' where he and Taupin returned to their memories of their earliest days together and wrote an autobiographical concept album about the triumphs and struggles of the starving-artist lifestyle. “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” chronicles an early low point where John attempted suicide as he was trapped in an awful relationship and headed toward marriage. Like much of John’s early '70s output, it’s part of the wallpaper of classic rock radio and grocery store loudspeakers, but it deserves far better. The production puts the music behind a light haze, creating echoes that call to mind Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound but with more space in the arrangements. Inside that space is the anguish and loss that Taupin’s lyrics capture.

'Rock of the Westies' (1975): “I Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)”

After an unprecedented five-year run of albums and singles, it was inevitable that the tank would run dry. For John, 1975’s 'Rock of the Westies' is an artist running on fumes—though it still debuted at No. 1, songs like “Grow Some Funk of Your Own” and “Island Girl” just couldn’t hold a candle to what had come before. Still, “I Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)” is a standout ballad, with Taupin returning to his fascination with the Old West for a metaphor describing a broken relationship.

'Blue Moves' (1976): “Tonight”

Two double albums within three years — such was the popularity and artistic energy of Elton John in the '70s, that he could meet that level of output and still maintain overall quality and success. In a sense, 1976’s 'Blue Moves' is almost a dark twin to 1973’s 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,' as minor-key and experimental as 'Road' is uptempo and built on solid pop song forms. “Tonight” is a darker, more emotional flip side to “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding,” with a long instrumental section leading into a more standard song—this time, it’s a pleading ballad that starts with an already damaged relationship and longs for unity.

'A Single Man' (1978): “Part Time Love”

John has done plenty of tracks where he’s led with guitar or synth, with his keys buried deep in the mix — but for 'A Single Man,' he sat down squarely back at the keys for a piano-driven record that also marked a departure from longtime lyricist Taupin. “Part Time Love” is a bouncy, classic pop song with an exceptional performance from John on both vocals and the ivories.

'Victim of Love' (1979): "Victim of Love"

'Victim of Love' is a true outlier in the career of Elton John. It’s the only album he’s ever recorded where he hasn’t written any of the songs, and the only one until 2010’s 'The Union' where none of his band members appear on any of the tracks. It’s also just one of two records (the other being 'A Single Man') where Bernie Taupin contributed no lyrics. John did very little to promote the album, and he’s never played any of the songs live. In other words, this is an album that even the artist himself would like to forget ever existed. It’s hard not to agree. But if you absolutely need to hear a song from this record, the title cut is perhaps the least painful. It’s also one of the shortest — if you’ve longed to hear an eight-minute disco reinvention of “Johnny B. Goode," cue up that cut instead.

'21 at 33' (1980): "Two Rooms at the End of the World”

'21 at 33' found John exploring new songwriting partnerships and studio players, including members of the Eagles and Toto. Even though he was working with other lyricists, John still found space for this Taupin co-write, a tribute to their working relationship that has only continued to gain resonance as their songwriting team has progressed over the decades. The song also provided the inspiration for the title of a 1991 tribute album and documentary on their working relationship.

'The Fox' (1981): “Carla/Etude”

On the album, it’s listed as “Carla/Etude - Fanfare - Chloe,” and it’s a monster eight-minute track with a questionable synth interlude and and the album’s lead single tacked onto it. Man, the '80s ... The standout here is that first four minutes and 30 seconds, where John interrupts one of his most forgettable albums with an achingly gorgeous, stately instrumental accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra. “Carla/Etude” was arranged by James Newton Howard, at the time a keyboardist in John’s band but later to become an Oscar-nominated film composer. For perhaps the song’s finest realization, seek out the version on 1987’s 'Live in Australia' album; John has also occasionally performed the tune in his solo live sets.

'Jump Up!' (1982): “Empty Garden”

The death of John Lennon in 1980 was a huge blow for Elton John, who had become good friends with the former Beatle. This song is his and Taupin’s tribute to Lennon, and it’s a stunning, moving moment on an otherwise tin-eared album. In general, the '80s were a period of continued success for John, but mixed artistic achievement; every album has at least one song that is a stone-cold classic, whether the world has realized it or not. On 'Jump Up,' “Empty Garden” is the keeper.

'Too Low for Zero' (1983): “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues”

This 1983 release is packed with a few singles and notable album cuts, including John’s mid-career anthem “I’m Still Standing” and jumping rocker “Kiss the Bride.” Even the deep cuts are solid John/Taupin compositions that benefit from a surprisingly clean and acoustic production for the early '80s. But it’s “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” that stands out here, one of those miraculous moments when Taupin’s simple, beautiful words inspired a standout composition from John. It’s partly a ballad about missing someone you love, but with an infectious mid-tempo beat that lifts you up even as you’re feeling down.

'Breaking Hearts' (1984): “Burning Buildings”

Instead of an army of session players and guest stars, 1984’s 'Breaking Hearts' found John returning to the studio with a small group of trusted musicians, the core members of the Elton John band (bassist Dee Murray, drummer Nigel Olsson and longtime guitarist Davey Johnstone). It’s maybe his most underrated effort of the decade, and “Burning Buildings” is a standout, a clear and brittle Taupin love-lost lyric paired with a soaring John melody and a sympathetic backing combo.

'Ice on Fire' (1985): “Nikita”

There are not a lot of pop songs about forbidden love behind the Iron Curtain, but John and Taupin were right there in 1985, capitalizing on the Cold War with this gentle ballad about an East German border guard and the singer who crushes on her hard. Interestingly enough, Nikita is a male name in Russian, although John approved the use of a male-female relationship in the video.

'Leather Jackets' (1986): “Hoop of Fire”

In a rough era for the work of Sir Elton Hercules John, the 1986 release 'Leather Jackets' marks a particularly low point. It was his first album since 1970’s 'Tumbleweed Connection' to have no hit singles (and 'Tumbleweed' had no singles to begin with!), and it remains his lowest-selling record. But every dud has at least one gem, right? The closest one on 'Leather Jackets' is probably “Hoop of Fire,” a passable ballad. It easily beats out “Slow Rivers,” a duet with British crooner Cliff Richard, and “Don’t Trust That Woman,” a co-write with Cher.

'Reg Strikes Back' (1988): “I Don’t Wanna Go on With You Like That”

For an artist who never met a string section he didn’t like, “I Don’t Wanna Go on With You Like That” feels almost minimalist — the clicking beat of a drum machine, John’s propulsive piano, a melodic bass line. This stripped-down approach doesn’t sound thin, and even if it did, it’s hard to care when a song moves like this one does. 'Reg Strikes Back' is full of ambitious misfires, including John and Taupin’s only sequel song (“Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters, Pt. 2”) and a sweeping Beach Boys pastiche (“Since God Invented Girls”). This tune was the album’s big hit single, and it’s not hard to see why.

'Sleeping With the Past' (1989): “Healing Hands”

The last John/Taupin album recorded before the singer’s well-publicized stint in a rehab center for drug and alcohol abuse, 'Sleeping With the Past' finds the pair digging into its pop fandom for a tribute album to '60s R&B. That’s filtered through their own sensibilities, but you can hear that foundation in “Healing Hands,” which gives us John in full-on pop gospel mode, territory he hadn’t really explored much since way back in the “Border Song” days of the early '70s. “Healing Hands” shared a double-A side single with “Sacrifice,” which is the tune you’re more likely to hear in the grocery store, but “Healing Hands” is a fat, unapologetic slab of revivalist pop that deserves more airtime.

'The One' (1992): “The One”

'The One' is an album of mid-tempo ballads broken up with the occasional uptempo curiosity. “Runaway Train” is a rocking duet with Eric Clapton that also featured on the 'Lethal Weapon 3' soundtrack. This whole record is lathered in a heavy haze of '90s production; drums echo, synth beds underpin every note, and the result is a messy miasma of ill-defined sound. Nevertheless, this standout ballad made it to No. 1 on the 'Billboard' Adult Contemporary chart and remains a staple of John’s live shows.

'Duets' (1993): “A Woman’s Needs”

Feel free to check the math on this, but it seems a safe bet that when an artist puts out a duets album, they’ve officially run out of ideas. John and Taupin’s 'Duets' is a flat-out mess, plain and simple, one that veers from the intriguing (John and P.M. Dawn) to the boring (John and k.d. Lang) and the excruciating (a huge failure of a team-up between John and Little Richard). This duet with Tammy Wynette is a diamond in the rough, a John/Taupin original recorded with all the lush sincerity of her singles with George Jones. From the pedal steel to the earnest, reverent vocal by John, it’s a fitting tribute to a country and western icon.

'Made in England' (1995): “Please”

John’s discography is full of peaks and valleys, especially throughout the '80s and '90s; for every 'Duets' there’s a 'Made in England.' This felt like a return to form for John, who abandoned the '90s production style of 'The One' for a clean, full, acoustic sound that spotlights the strong songwriting. Call it hyperbole, but “Please” is an album cut that belongs among the best John/Taupin compositions. A yearning mid-tempo pop-country song, it’s a simple plea of loyalty to a lover — “Please, please/let me grow old with you.” As he moved into these late-era albums, John would return to the twangy songwriting that defined so much of his first two albums, always with great results.

'The Big Picture' (1997): “Love’s Got a Lot to Answer For”

Taupin has cited 'The Big Picture' as his least favorite Elton John album, telling 'Rolling Stone' in 2013, “I thought that was one of the most anemic records we made. In fact, it was miserable being in the studio, since it was all done on machines.” The machines definitely won on 'The Big Picture,' but there are a few songwriting gems buried beneath the digital slop. “Love’s Got a Lost to Answer For” calls to mind “Blue Eyes” with its gentle melody and light instrumentation.

'Songs From the West Coast' (2001): “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore”

One of Taupin’s great gifts as a lyricist has been his ability to capture moments in John’s life, not just as an artist but as a person. “The Bitch Is Back” forever immortalized the singer’s penchant for bad behavior in the height of their '70s fame. Similarly, “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore” bookends that song with an elegiac tone, looking back over the glory years and admitting that John’s lifestyle, perspective and place in the pop universe have forever changed.

'Peachtree Road' (2004): “Answer in the Sky”

'Peachtree Road' was recorded in John’s U.S. “hometown” of Atlanta. It’s another of John’s '00s releases that draws from the rich traditions of American gospel, country and soul music. For “Answer in the Sky,” John calls the gospel choir back into the studio for an uplifting song of spiritual longing. Don’t sleep on 'Peachtree Road'; it’s a record that showcases everything great about late-era John and Taupin.

'The Captain and the Kid' (2006): “Postcards from Richard Nixon”

More than 30 years after 'Captain Fantastic,' John and Taupin produced a sequel, 2006’s 'The Captain and the Kid.' This opening cut finds the duo picking up with their first big break in America, from their arrival in Southern California to a (fictional?) request from President Nixon to help him connect with the kids of the day. It’s a rollicking opening to the record that showcases Taupin’s cheeky sense of humor; as the song closes, Nixon informs the pair, “I gotta go/But you can stay.”

'The Union' (2010): “Gone to Shiloh”

It’s somewhat surprising that it took John until 2010 to collaborate with Leon Russell, given his professed love for the piano great. It’s just as surprising that this is the first time T Bone Burnett crossed paths with John, and this would be the first where the superstar Americana producer helmed a John album. “Gone to Shiloh” features guest singer Neil Young on a powerful narrative from the Civil War from Taupin’s pen. Young, Russell and John each take a verse and join together for some achingly gorgeous harmonies on the chorus. Burnett sets the table with a simple, almost historically accurate instrumentation anchored by the kind of booming bass drum beat that might have been pounded out by an infantrymen as the Union’s army marched toward their destiny.

'The Diving Board' (2013): “My Quicksand”

There’s something almost baroque about “My Quicksand,” especially in the tone and rhythm of its opening chords. There’s a melody for sure, a verse and a chorus, but the instrumentation is sparse, and it follows John’s vocal and piano — the arrangement is built around it. It feels like a piano ballad, haunting and elusive. Then the instrumental bridge opens up into a smoky jazz improv, with a classical music quote in a minor key that John inverts into a major lift. “My Quicksand” is low-key brilliance from a confident, expert artist at the height of his powers, and if there’s no radio station that would play it these days, then that’s our loss.

'Wonderful Crazy Night' (2016), “Blue Wonderful”

A couple years after the release of 'Wonderful Crazy Night,' John announced a retirement from touring, and his recorded output has slowed quite a bit since earlier decades. Even the presence of T Bone Burnett behind the boards can’t elevate these flimsy songs here. If you have to pick one, “Blue Wonderful” is a lighthearted rocker with decent riffs.

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