ABC/Randy Holmes
Sure, Elton John has won countless awards and scored dozens of memorable hits. But his pal Ed Sheeran says there’s one thing in particular that Elton did in his career that makes him green with envy.
In a clip from the documentary Elton John: The Nation’s Favorite Song, premiering Saturday on REELZ, Ed says, “That’s one thing I’m, like, eternally jealous of Elton [for]. Despite all the other accolades and all the other songs, he wrote The Lion King. That’s the coolest thing.”
In the preview clip, Elton recalls how he got involved with the Disney film, which led to an Oscar and, eventually, a Tony-winning musical.
“Tim Rice called me one day,” Elton says, referring to the award-winning lyricist of shows like Evita. “And he said, ‘Disney are doing their first original animation movie…They want me to write the lyrics and they asked me who I wanted to do [the music], and I said, “I would love Elton to do it.” And they said, ‘You’ll never get him.'”‘
“Well of course, I was fascinated,” Elton remembers. “And I said, ‘Absolutely, I’ll do that!'”
In the clip, Elton’s guitarist Davey Johnstone recalls that Elton started writing the music for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” as he was preparing a sandwich.
Notes Davey, “I’d got a baguette, cut it in half, and by the time I’d finished making the chicken sandwich, before I’d even eaten it, he’d finished the song!”
Elton John: The Nation’s Favorite Song premieres Saturday at 8 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT on REELZ.
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