The performance was held in October 1975
This month marks a golden milestone in music history: the 50th anniversary of Elton John’s legendary back-to-back performances at Dodger Stadium, held on October 25 and 26, 1975. These shows stand among the most iconic live moments in rock and pop history, capturing Elton John on his meteoric rise to superstardom and cementing his place as one of the greatest entertainers of all time.
Declared “Elton John Week” in Los Angeles by then–Mayor Tom Bradley, the city rolled out the red carpet for the British superstar, who had just come off the record-breaking success of Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy—the first album ever to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 in its opening week. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the album spent its first seven weeks at No. 1 and sold an astonishing 1.4 million copies within just four days of release. At that moment, Elton was in the midst of a prolific run of unprecedented success, having fully crossed into the mainstream to become the biggest star on the planet—and his historic shows at Dodger Stadium were the ultimate proof of that.
Across two sold-out night’s drawing 110,000 fans, Elton became the first solo artist to perform at Dodger Stadium since The Beatles in 1966. Dressed in his now-iconic sequined Dodger uniform designed by Bob Mackie, he delivered an over three-hour, 30 song setlist of hits including “Bennie and the Jets,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” and “Your Song.” The shows also featured special guests Kiki Dee, who joined Elton on their smash duet “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” and tennis legend Billie Jean King, who helped lead the backing vocals on “Philadelphia Freedom,” a song Elton had written in her honor.
The concerts were more than just performances; they were a cultural event that captured the spirit of 1970s Los Angeles and the global reach of Elton’s stardom. The weekend was filled with energy, spectacle, and genuine emotion, as Elton played to the largest audiences of his career under the California sky.
These historic performances have since been immortalized through photographs, documentaries, and most recently, Elton’s Emmy award-winning Farewell from Dodger Stadium concert in 2022, which marked the end of his North American run on his record-breaking Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour. These final concert dates brought his remarkable journey full circle nearly five decades later.
