Elton John delivered a lovely tribute performance in honor of the late Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson during the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony.
John spoke before the performance, recalling, “In 1970 when I first came to Los Angeles, Danny Hutton from Three Dog Night took me and Bernie Taupin around to meet Brian Wilson — and I was scared shitless. Because he was my idol, my biggest influence when it came to writing songs on the piano.”
Unfortunately, Elton didn’t play piano during the tribute, but he did sing “God Only Knows.” Behind him was a band that featured Don Was on standup bass and one of the greatest drummers of all time Kenny Aronoff.
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Wilson passed away on June 11th, 2025, at the age of 82. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Beach Boys in 1988.
John also previously paid tribute to Wilson in the immediate aftermath of hisDon passing, writing in a post to Instagram, Brian “Wilson was always so kind to me from the day I met him. He sang ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’ at a tribute concert in 2003, and it was an extraordinary moment for me. I played on his solo records, he sang on my album, The Union, and even performed for my AIDS Foundation.”
“I grew to love him as a person, and for me, he was the biggest influence on my songwriting ever; he was a musical genius and revolutionary,” John added. “He changed the goalposts when it came to writing songs and shaped music forever. A true giant.”