Elton John performs on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)2025-01-10T15:36:47Z NEW YORK (AP) Capturing Sir Elton Johns 50-year career is a herculean task. Good thing his husband, David Furnish, and filmmaker R.J. Cutler were up for the challenge.Elton John: Never Too Late, one of The Associated Press picks for the best music documentaries of 2024, was inspired by Johns final U.S. tour in 2022 but quickly became a celebration of his life and work. It is filled with insight into his music, relationships including a fiery friendship with John Lennon troublesome childhood and struggles with addiction. It is bookended by myth-making performances at Los Angeles Dodger Stadium in 1975 and 2022. For fans and even John himself it is revelatory viewing.I was struck by how good the music was in those first five years, because I very rarely listened to my music. I was very proud of that, John told the AP this week. And also, it brought back the incredible struggle that I had with success, having no foundation underneath it. I turned to alcohol, drugs and then had redemption by getting sober. Elton John at Madison Square Garden on Aug. 10, 1976. (AP Photo, File) Elton John at Madison Square Garden on Aug. 10, 1976. (AP Photo, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More John and Bernie Taupin on March 5, 1973. (AP Photo/John Glanvill, File) John and Bernie Taupin on March 5, 1973. (AP Photo/John Glanvill, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Success and satisfaction are not one in the same, a fact thats quickly established in the film. John had fame but hungered for connection. Having a family changed him. The greatest things in my life are my two kids and David. And the music comes secondary to them, he says. The title Never Too Late sums it up for everybody, not just me. You can change things. Its never too late to change anything. Thank God I did. Because when I got sober, my whole life completely changed. Hes now been sober for 34 years. Its been glorious compared to what it was for about 10 years, 15 years, he says of his past struggles with drug and alcohol addiction. You know, I was still playing and touring while I was doing drugs. I never stopped. Because music kept me alive. Music kept me alive. It nearly killed me, but it saved me, if you get what I mean. I am just so proud because now I have a family. He views Never Too Late as not only a celebration of that journey, but an effective piece of advocacy, as he describes it. You can have children, and you can be gay, and you can have a happy family. I couldnt be happier.Never Too Late is also the title of an uplifting theme song written by Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, John and his longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin, currently shortlisted for the 2025 Oscars. Carlile was the catalyst; she paid John and Furnish a visit to their home in France, saw a rough cut of the documentary and felt moved to write a song. John attends the Broadway opening night of Tammy Faye on Nov. 14, 2024. (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP, File) John attends the Broadway opening night of Tammy Faye on Nov. 14, 2024. (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More This song was about my life, and I found it very easy to write to, he said of the collaboration. And its message is simple: Ive been through hell, John says. And I still come out fighting the other side. So, you know, its very true to what I am.And while his days of touring are behind him, the song Never Too Late is part of a new era, as John explains it. Fans can expect new music in the future. There will be a new album sooner or later, he said. Im dying to record new stuff. A project like Never Too Late allows for reflection. When asked what John hopes his legacy becomes 50, 100 years from now, he says simply: I just want, on my tombstone to say, He was a great dad. Thats what I want. The musical legacy will speak for itself. But from a human point of view, He was a great dad and a great husband.Last month, John revealed he had lost some vision after contracting an infection. The eyesight is a problem. But were looking into treatment for it. Im a huge optimist. I basically lost the eyesight in my right eye for the time being. My left eye is not the greatest, he says. Hes been adjusting to the condition for six months. Ive had, since this happened, such an empathy for sight- impaired people and blind people... When you see so many other people who just cant see at all Im very blessed.Johns positivity is felt throughout Never Too Late. Hes uninterested in looking backwards; in the same way his record-breaking accomplishments are celebrated on film, so too are contemporary moments that spotlight his enthusiasm for his family and younger talent. For me, its all about whats going to happen in the future, not whats happened in the past, he says. With this documentary, we leave certain time behind. And now its all about starting again.Elton John: Never Too Late is available to stream now on Disney+. MARIA SHERMAN Maria Sherman is the music reporter at The Associated Press. She is based in New York City. twitter instagram mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site