Thought this was a joke when I first heard this story this morning, but it turns out to be totally true, complete with quotes and everything. Sir Elton John is singing on the title track to Alice in Chains’ new album Black Gives Way to Blue; a song dedicated to the late Layne Staley, Rolling Stone reports.
Jerry Cantrell emailed John on a whim without expecting a reply, much less an enthusiastic offer acceptance, but they heard back from the knighted music legend right away. “It was a great recording session with Alice in Chains for a beautiful song,” John said in a statement.
“Elton John is a huge influence on me as a songwriter and having him on that song is an amazing honor for us,” Cantrell told RS, adding later, “Walking into a studio and seeing the sheet music for that song on Elton’s piano made it meaningful on so many different levels.”
Black Gives Way to Blue is due out next month and though I’ve never been a huge AIC fan, I can’t wait to hear this epic track.