Rocket Man and Side Man

From the desk of Ned P. Rauch:

How's this for an interesting collaboration: Elton John and Leon Russell. Strange but true. I talked to a guy who's up on this kind of stuff the other day and he said Elton and Leon are planning to put out an album. T-Bone Burnett is producing.

Turns out these guys have long admired each other. A little digging unearthed a story about Elton calling Leon "my idol" way back in the early 1970s. More recently, Elton visited Elvis Costello's show, "Specatcle," and talked about hoe much he digs Leon.

So for all you Saranac Lakers, you may think twice before ignoring Leon's latest jaunt through town. He may have seemed washed up the last time he came through, but in a year or two, I suspect he'll be choosing (rightly or wrongly) bigger venues.