Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Elton John did 10 interviews with esteemed British journalist David Frost over the course of several decades. "David Frost Vs Elton John," airing May 25, is the fifth episode of the six-part MSNBC documentary seriesDavid Frost Vs. During his series of intimate chats with Frost, who died in 2013, John discussed his music, his career and his relationships. "Sad songs say so much,"Elton Johnsang on a 1984 Top 5 single, one of his biggest hits of the '80s. And throughout his nearly six-decade career, sad songs have remained a cornerstone of his repertoire, from "Daniel" to "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" to "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" to "Candle in the Wind 1997," a tribute to the lateDiana, Princess of Wales. In "David Frost Vs Elton John," part 5 of MSNBC's sex-episode series David Frost Vs, John expounds on what made one of his saddest songs say as much as it did. The episode covers the 10 interviews John did over the course of decades with the esteemed British journalist he came to consider a good friend. Robin Platzer/Getty Their first interview took place in 1975, and in a vintage clip from it that's shown in the episode, Frost asks John a pointed question about his body of work, which was largely composed by John and his longtime lyricistBernie Taupin. (John, 78, in a current-day interview, says he looked "a bit timid" during his first sit-down with Frost but compliments his own Tommy Nutter suit.) "What's the most emotional song you've ever done — the most meaningful, emotional song?" Frost asks. "There are two very emotional songs," John, who was 27 at the time, replies. "They are also two very autobiographical songs. One's called 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight.' " So how exactly did someone save his life? "Well, I was living with a lady for about six months who didn't really like my music," John says. "I really liked her, but she didn't like my music and kept telling me that I was rubbish and I'd never make it. And she was always saying, 'You'd be better off being a bank manager or something like that.' And I was due to marry her. I got the cake and everything and the flat and the furniture." PA Images via Getty One evening, John met up at a nightclub with the legendary English musician Long John Baldry, with whom he was working at the time and who inadvertently saved his life. He said, 'You're mad to get married, because she doesn't appreciate your music,' " John recalls. "And he knew I was totally wrapped up in music. So I went home and said, 'That's it. It's off.' And that more or less saved my life because if I'd have got married at that particular point in time, I think it would have been goodbye, Elton John." Getty Images/Bob Riha, Jr. Thankfully for all us, John lived to sing more sad songs, but true companionship continued to elude him. In the episode, "To Sir with Love" singer Lulu, a longtime friend of John, comments on the loneliness of being at the top, as John was for most of the '70s. Then in a 1978 interview with Frost, John himself elaborates on his struggles with loneliness. "I've got loads of close friends, fantastic friends," he says in the vintage clip. "And yet, I've got no-one close to me.... There's no-one close to me at all. I think about it sometimes in my 36-room house when I'm sitting there all alone. And it all seems so futile." John, who said he was bisexual in the late '70s, would go on to briefly marry a woman, Renate Blauel, in the '80s, before coming out as gay. In 1993, he embarked on a romantic relationship with Canadian filmmaker David Furnish. The two married in 2104 and share sons Zachary, 14, and Elijah, 12. Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Furnishtold PEOPLE in 2024that he and John "never go to bed on an argument." "We always make sure that before we turn in at night, if there's any kind of hostility in the air or, 'I'm not speaking to you. Really pissed me off,' we don't go to sleep on it," he said. "We don't carry it over the next day." "I just think that's all about respecting the relationship," he added. "David Frost Vs Elton John," from theDavid Frost Vsseries, premieres May 25 on MSNBC. Read the original article onPeople
