Elton John believes that contemporary hits that feature numerous writers are "not real songs."
In an interview with BBC Radio 6 Music, the 73-year-old musician told interviewer Matt Everitt of his approval of Father John Misty, who, he said, "reminds me a little bit of me the way he writes songs,"
Elton also acknowledged a little-known American musician named Conan Gray. "(He) has a song called Heather and he's about 22, he's from America and he's the only person in the [streaming charts] to actually write the song without anybody else.
"Everybody else there's four or five writers on (a release). You look at most of the records in the charts - they're not real songs. They're bits and pieces and it's nice to hear someone write a proper song.
"I like people who write songs," the iconic rocker told BBC Radio 6. "And there's plenty of people that do, but a lot of them don't get played on the radio because they're too sophisticated. We get songs made by a computer all the time and I'm not interested in that."
The Rocket Man hit maker also said that it was his heartfelt wish that independent music venues should survive amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with special mention for Los Angeles' Troubadour, where he played his first U.S. show in 1970.
"If venues like that disappear then it's really grim stuff because they are so important for new people to go [to] and I've seen so many new acts there that have come from Britain," he said. "If you can't play well at the Troubadour, you can't play well anywhere."
The musician is anxious to be back with his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.
"Oh, of course, I'm going straight out there again," he enthused. "When and where, I don't know. I mean know where – but I don't know when. I’ll definitely be out there, yes. We were halfway through the tour and then you know, that was it and we're on a hiatus. It's like marking time but we're no different to anybody else."
