Elton John performed an emotional rendition of the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” as part of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s tribute to Brian Wilson, who died in June.
Before he started the song, John stepped onstage and shared a few memories with Wilson over the years, recounting the first time they met in Los Angeles. “We were scared shitless because he was my idol. He was the one that influenced me more than anybody else when it came to writing songs on the piano. It was an evening we would never forget,” he said. “Meeting someone who was a true genius doesn’t happen very often.”
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He noted how he and Wilson became friends who sat in on each other’s records through the years. “We loved each other,” he says. “I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather pay tribute than Brian Wilson and his family with this incredible song.”
John took to social media after Wilson’s death to remember the man he said had the “biggest influence of my songwriting ever.”
“Brian Wilson was always so kind to me from the day I met him,” John explained in caption to a photo of the pair in a room flush with studio equipment. “He sang ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’ at a tribute concert in 2003, and it was an extraordinary moment for me. played on his solo records, he sang on my album, The Union, and even performed for my AIDS Foundation.”
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This year’s Rock Hall honored other music greats that the world lost recently: The event kicked off with a star-studded tribute to Sly Stone that included Stevie Wonder, Flea, Questlove, Leon Thomas, Jennifer Hudson, Beck, and Maxwell. The artists launched into a high-powered medley that included “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People,” “Thank You,” and “I Want To Take You Higher,” all while images of the soul legend blared in the background in bright, vibrant colors. Stone and Wilson were also included in the telecast’s In Memoriam, which also honored Ozzy Osborne, Roy Ayers, and Marianne Faithfull, among others.
In a catalog full of essential tracks, “God Only Knows” was perhaps Wilson’s signature song, placing Number 11 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the highest-ranking Beach Boys track.
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