Elton John accepted the 15th Glenn Gould Prize at a gala in Toronto on Saturday, then gave the $100,000 award straight back to the foundation. The 79-year-old singer drew a standing-room atmosphere at the Theatre at Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto, where a 3,500-member crowd watched Canadian artists turn his own catalog into the night’s soundtrack.
John was hosted by Toronto-born Will & Grace actor Eric McCormack and thanked the audience for what he called a concert full of Canadian artists he knew. “It’s so nice to be in Canada and have a concert full of Canadian artists who I know of,” he said, adding that it was “nice to be in a country that has common sense.” He also said, “Canada is part of my life and is embedded in my soul,” and, drawing a sharper line, “It’s not the 51st state.”
The prize is named after Canadian pianist Glenn Gould and is awarded every two years for lifetime artistic and humanitarian contributions. The honour has been described as the “Nobel Prize of the Arts” by Philip Glass, and Saturday’s gala lived up to that billing with a lineup that leaned heavily on John’s songs. Diana Krall covered “Your Song,” Sarah McLachlan performed “Tiny Dancer,” Saya Gray played a bass solo on “Honky Cat,” and Jeremy Dutcher sang “I’m Still Standing,” prompting John to rise and applaud.
John said the recognition was a “humbling experience” and told the crowd that “Music is my soul, my driving force. It is everything and has been everything to me for my whole life.” He then joked, while holding the gold statuette, “Years ago, I’d be doing cocaine off of that, I tell you,” before adding, “Shocking!”
The night ended with a finale performance of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” the 1973 hit with words written by Bernie Taupin. The close was both celebratory and pointed: John was not just being honored by Canada’s arts community, he was being folded into it, publicly and on his own terms.
That fit the room. Ontario Lieutenant-Governor Edith Dumont attended, along with former New Brunswick premier and past ambassador to the United States Frank McKenna, producer Bob Ezrin, British High Commissioner to Canada Rob Tinline, photographer Edward Burtynsky, musician Loreena McKennitt, film producer Martin Katz, former prime minister Kim Campbell and Marc Miller, who attended as Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture.
John’s connection to Toronto also has a personal edge. He married Torontonian David Furnish in 2014, and the couple have two children. On Saturday, the prize went to him, the money went back, and the message from the stage was clear: the tribute was meant as a celebration, not a transaction.
