Rockhurst Auctions is proud to present offerings from The Tom Fontaine Elton John Collection in our July 9, 2020 Rock & Roll and Entertainment Auction. The 50+ offerings, lots 229-281 feature an incredible array of Elton John stage-used equipment, stage-used clothing, personal wardrobe clothing, autographs and other memorabilia from the career of Elton John assembled by advanced collector Tom Fontaine over nearly 50 years. The variety speaks to Tom's thoroughness as a collector and doggedness as a collectibles researcher, as each piece was curated for very specific reasons related to Elton John's career and music.
ELTON JOHN: Captain Fantastic
By Tom Fontaine
In the summer of 1972, I heard a song that absolutely blew me away, called "Crocodile Rock." At the time, I did not know who the artist was. His earlier works for some reason had escaped me. The artist’s name was Elton John. Once I found out who he was, I started looking into his previous music.
The first album I purchased was Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player because it had "Crocodile Rock" on it. I played the album at least three times when I purchased it. The album also included "Daniel" which really took me aback, because his voice sounded so different from "Crocodile Rock." I knew this was an artist that would go down in music history. From then on, I would anticipate each new release from him.
On Christmas Day 1973, one of the best presents I received was the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road double album set. I played the records over and over the rest of the day.
In 1974, the collector in me wanted to know more about Elton. So like I did with The Beatles and The Monkees, I started going to the drugstores to see if I could find any magazines, memorabilia, etc. on Elton. I did find a magazine article about his life and also an entry blank to join his fan club. I joined and after hearing about his life, etc., I went ahead and purchased his previous albums: Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection, Madman Across the Water, and Honkey Château that featured "Rocket Man." I had become a true Elton John fan.
Moving forward, the next thing I wanted to do was see Elton John in concert. I found out he had played in Bloomington, Indiana, at Indiana University in 1971, so I figured he would come to Indianapolis one day. In 1975, Elton John was the first artist to have back-to-back albums debut at number one, Captain Fantastic and Rock of the Westies. He even got his star on the "Hollywood Walk of Fame" in that same year of 1975.
Elton John was in the news and on popular programs. He was the first white artist to appear on Soul Train. He performed “Philadelphia Freedom” and “Bennie and the Jets." He also appeared on The Cher Show pilot and performed his current single “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” the Lennon and McCartney composition. As you see, I was following what was going on with this incredible talent.
Then the day I was waiting for happened. I open the newspaper to read that Elton John was coming to Indianapolis on July 21, 1976, at Market Square Arena. Tickets were going to go on sale that Saturday. Like me, other people were waiting in line to buy the tickets. Actually, a couple hundred showed up at the Glendale Mall in Indianapolis. Once the ticket office opened, I ran up the down escalator so I could be first in line. I know that was a little crazy, but it’s what I did. Then I found out it was Festival seating, not assigned, but I was still happy I did it. I had tickets to see Elton John.
When the day of the concert finally arrived, and he performed all of his hits, including new ones from his upcoming album, I could tell the crowd was completely hypnotized. He was truly Captain Fantastic. The next day I looked in the newspaper to see if there was a write up for the concert and the caption read: "Earthquake Elton rocks 19,000 at MSA." As I got older I was able to see Elton John several times in concert, but I will never forget that first time.
The next part of my journey was to collect anything on Elton John, and you will see that’s just what I did. It started with autographs and has proceeded to personally owned items including his piano and his glasses.
I have a couple more memories that I would like to share about Elton. In 1988 there was a child named Ryan White who was diagnosed with the AIDS virus after receiving blood transfusions to treat hemophilia. Ryan had to travel to another city in Indiana to attend school because the townspeople where he lived were afraid that Ryan was contagious. At that time, much of the mainstream population had not been fully educated about how the AIDS virus could be contracted. Ryan and his family were shunned in their own community. Elton found out about Ryan’s story and befriended him and his entire family. When Elton performed in Los Angeles in 1988, Ryan and his family were Elton’s special guests. During the concert, Elton had Ryan come on stage with him and sit next to him at the piano. It was a memorable night for the White family.
Unfortunately Ryan White’s sickness worsened, and in 1990 he had to be admitted to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, Indiana. Many people might not know that Elton John was with Ryan and his family during the entire week that Ryan died, with no publicity whatsoever. He was there for his friend and to support the family.
That weekend, Elton performed at a Farm Aid concert in the Hoosier Dome. He looked exhausted but wanted to perform a tribute song for Ryan, "Candle in the Wind." Ryan lost his battle the next day. Elton performed "Skyline Pigeon" ironically from the Don’t Shoot Me album at his funeral. Several celebrities attended the funeral, but it was Elton who was there the entire time during Ryan’s final week. Elton even distributed toys to the other children at Riley Hospital.
Once I found out about all of this, the first thing I did was to write Elton John and let him know that I thought what he did for the White family and his touching tribute song showed that he was a true class act. I had the sheet music for “Skyline Pigeon” in my collection so with the letter, I politely asked if he would sign it to me. I had no idea if I would get a response, but it did not matter because I wanted to express my feelings about what he had done. A couple of months later, the sheet music arrived in the mail and it was signed: “To Tom with love Elton John”. Needless to say I was thrilled.
Later on he found out that I was the owner of his original upright composition piano and that it was at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. When I was in Las Vegas during his "Red Piano" concerts a few years ago, I went to the gift shop, and I decided to take a chance and send him a note to say “Hi”. The collector in me asked the shop manager if my note could get to Elton, and she said the best she could do was give it to his management. The item I wanted him to sign was my "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" picture sleeve. It is one of my favorites. A few months passed by and one day at the mailbox I saw my own familiar handwriting on an envelope. Could it be? I opened the envelope and there was the sleeve signed: “To Tom with love Elton John”. It is pretty cool to have a connection like that over the years with one of your favorite music idols. All of the items I have received from Elton remain with me.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this great Elton John collection. I know I have!