Joni Mitchell made a cover of Elton John’s I’m Still Standing when the iconic musician was honored with a Gershwin Award in Washington DC
The singer-songwriter, 80, was part of the festivities at DAR Constitution Hall on March 20, which aired Monday on PBS, performing her own version of John’s 1983 hit.
John, 77, and his longtime collaborator, lyricist Bernie Taupin, 73, received the 2024 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at the event.
The Fort Macleod, Canada, native was joined in her performance by Annie Lennox, 69, and Brandi Carlile, 42.
The Big Yellow Taxi singer, with the blessing of John and Taupin, changed some of the lyrics in her version of the hit, which was initially released on John’s 1983 album, Too Low for Zero.
Joni Mitchell, 80, performed a cover of Elton John’s I’m Still Standing as the iconic musician was honored with the Gershwin Award in Washington DC.
John, 77, and his longtime collaborator, lyricist Bernie Taupin, 73, received the 2024 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at the event.
By introducing the Grammy-winning artist, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997Carlile said the tune had special meaning for Mitchell.
“So much so that Elton and Bernie gave her the green light to change some of the lyrics to fit her, which, honestly, is the closest thing to Joni Mitchell I think I’ve ever heard in my life,” Carlile said.
John and Taupin were seen in the audience looking upbeat as they listened to Mitchell’s rendition of the ’80s anthem.
Mitchell was honored last year with the 2023 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress.
Mitchell’s “poetic lyrics and jazz-influenced arrangements helped define a generation of musicians,” said the Library of Congress he said, citing his hits like Both Sides Now, Help Me and Big Yellow Taxi “as well as a rich songbook of elegantly crafted works.”
Other artists who covered songs by John and Taupin as part of the March 20 event included Metallica, who performed Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding; and Charlie Puth, who sang Something About the Way You Look Tonight.
In addition to his collaboration with Mitchell, Lennox performed Border Song; and Carlile sang Madman Across the Water.
Rocket Man himself also performed, belting out Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting and Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters.
The Fort Macleod, Canada, native was joined in her performance by Annie Lennox, 69, and Brandi Carlile, 42.
The singer-songwriter was part of the festivities at DAR Constitution Hall on March 20 and aired Monday on PBS, performing her own version of John’s 1983 hit.
The Big Yellow Taxi singer, with the blessing of John and Taupin, changed some of the lyrics in her version of the hit, which was initially released on John’s 1983 album, Too Low for Zero.
Introducing the Grammy-winning artist, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, Carlile said the tune had special meaning for Mitchell.
John said of receiving the honors: “To be in a house alongside the great American composers, even to be on the same avenue is humbling, and one I am absolutely thrilled to accept.”
Rocket Man himself also performed, belting out Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting and Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters.
Maren Morris, Garth Brooks, Billy Porter and Jacob Lusk took the stage at the event, which also featured appearances from industry legends such as Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Carole King and Gloria and Emilio Estefan.
John reflected on his more than five-decade creative partnership with Taupin in a statement about the honors.
“I’ve been writing songs with Bernie for 56 years, and we never thought that one day this could be granted to us,” John said, according to Rolling Stone. “It is an incredible honor for two Britons to be recognized like this.
He continued: ‘I feel very honoured. “To be in a house alongside the great American composers, even to be on the same avenue, is humbling and I am absolutely delighted to accept it.”