British pop legend Elton John rocked the White House, playing for President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden in a South Lawn performance the White House said would 'celebrate the unifying and healing power of music.'
President Joe Biden presents Elton John with the National Humanities Medal after a concert on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. In his 2017 memoir, "Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose," Biden recounted visiting his son Beau in the hospital one night shortly before Beau died of brain cancer. John had been at the White House earlier that day, Biden wrote.
When he reached Beau's bedside that night, Biden said, he sang "Crocodile Rock" to Beau -- just as he had to Beau and his other son, Hunter, many years before, after Biden's wife and daughter were killed in a car accident. "The words came back like it was yesterday, but after the first few lines I started to get emotional and wasn't sure if I could go on," Biden wrote. "Beau didn't open his eyes, but I could see through my own tears that he was smiling. So I gathered myself and kept at it, for as much of the song as I could remember."
In addition to his music, John has also been lauded for his work as an AIDS activist, having testified numerous times on Capitol Hill in support of AIDS funding. To date, according to its website, the Elton John AIDS foundation has raised over $600 million since its inception in 1992. David Furnish, husband of Elton John, left, Elton John, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden pose for a photo after Biden presented Elton John with a National Humanities Medal after a concert on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022.
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