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Elton John to Philly: ‘Thank you for all the wonderful music you’ve given the world over so many years’

The piano man born Reginald Dwight kicks off a two night stand at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday.

Elton John performs in concert during his "Wonderful Crazy Night Tour" at The Giant Center on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Hershey, Pa. (Photo by Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP)
Elton John performs in concert during his "Wonderful Crazy Night Tour" at The Giant Center on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Hershey, Pa. (Photo by Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP)Read moreOwen Sweeney

Elton John kicks off his three-year Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour next week, starting with a show in Allentown on Sunday and then playing the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday and Wednesday.

And already, the British piano man is in a Philly state of mind. John has recently used his Rocket Hour show on Apple Beats 1 radio to sing the praises of 215 piano-pounder Adam Weiner and his raucous rock-and-roll band Low Cut Connie, and this week he goes full Philly.

When not paying tribute to Aretha Franklin, he's expounding on the virtues of Philadelphia soul, and spinning many of his favorite TSOP sides.

On Rocket Hour, presented at noon on Saturday for Apple Music subscribers and available for free live streaming at apple.co/B1_EltonLive, he talks about playing the old original Electric Factory when he was on his way up as an artist, and how much Phillly music has meant to him over the year.

Here's a transcript from the show:

Philadelphia has always been a fantastic place for me to play. First time I played there was 1970 when I played the Electric Factory, and I remember at the grand piano — it wasn't a grand piano — it was a grand, but it was a small baby grand, and it had two legs at the front, and no legs at the bottom, so we had prop it up with orange boxes. That night, before I played, into my dressing room walked The Band and they'd come down to see me play and of course, they were my heroes.
It was just one of the most astonishing nights of my career and one that I will never forget. The show that night was terrific and I've always had a love affair with Philadelphia because there are certain cities that you love to play and there's something about Philadelphia and the music that's come out of Philadelphia over the years that I've always aspired to. When I made and wrote the song, "Philadelphia Freedom," I wrote it for Billie Jean King and the Philadelphia Freedoms tennis team. But also, I wanted to make the song sound like what was going on with Philadelphia music at that time with Gamble & Huff and the Philadelphia International label, Thom Bell, and Gene Page, the arranger. We wrote "Philadelphia Freedom" as a tribute to the music that sounded so Philadelphia, like Philadelphia. The O'Jays and the Three Degrees and MFSB, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. It was just such great stuff.
We’re going to pay tribute to the O’Jays because they were one of the best soul groups of all time. This track actually was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016, but it came out in 1973. We’ve played it before, but we’re playing again. Philadelphia, thank you for all the wonderful music you’ve given the world over so many years.

Tickets for the Wells Fargo show are available here.