With the exception of a few special events, John had avoided performing on stage since the Beatles decided to become a studio band in 1966.
In the summer of 1974, John asked Elton to contribute vocal harmonies on his new song ‘Whatever Gets You Thru The Night’. Elton did so and also ended up playing piano on the recording.
“If this track goes to Number One, will you join me on stage at my Madison Square Garden concert?” Elton asked.
“I did not expect it to get to Number One at all,” John explained years later.
“I didn’t think it had a chance in hell. I said, ‘Sure, sure, sure I will.’”
“It was the first Number One I had actually. ‘Imagine’ wasn’t Number One, ‘Instant Karma’ wasn’t Number One — which I think are better records than ‘Whatever Gets You Thru The Night.’ The words are pretty good.”
John and Elton performed three songs together at MSG: ‘Whatever Gets You thru The Night’, ‘Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds’ and ‘I Saw Her Standing There’.
