Elton John Turns 70: Inside His Star-Studded Birthday Bash

Elton John celebrated his 70th birthday with a star-studded bash that gave back. Sir Elton, who was born March 25, 1947, celebrated his milestone birthday with a huge Hollywood benefit that included celeb pals like Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder, according to E! News.

Gaga accompanied Wonder on his signature 1980 “Happy Birthday” song, while the “Born this Way” singer also performed some of her own hits. In addition, rocker Ryan Adams was on hand to perform Elton John’s 1972 hit “Rocket Man.”

Other celeb guests at the A-list extravaganza included Katy Perry, Heidi Klum, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, Rob Lowe, and Neil Patrick Harris, while Prince Harry made a video cameo to wish his late mother’s longtime friend a happy birthday. Elton John famously paid tribute to Princess Diana after her death in 1997 with a remake of his hit single “Candle in the Wind” dedicated to her. Ellen DeGeneres, David Beckham, and U2 frontman also recorded videos for the birthday boy.

In addition to celebrating Sir Elton’s Big 7-0, the party marked John’s 50-year songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin. John and Taupin have collaborated on some of the singer’s biggest hits, including “Bennie and the Jets,” “Crocodile Rock,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and both versions of “Candle in the Wind.”

Funds raised at the bash went to the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the UCLA Hammer Museum.

Elton John, who shares two sons, Elijah, 4, and Zachary, 6, with husband David Furnish, had a private celebration with his family before the star-studded gala. Elton posted a photo on Instagram which showed him with his two young sons as they eyed a chocolate birthday cake. Elton captioned the photo with “Birthday bliss.”

Elton also posted a photo of himself holding a supersized birthday card he received from his fans.

“A huge thank-you to all my Facebook friends for the fabulous birthday card signed by all of you! ” John wrote.

Elton John recently said 2017 is a great year with two big milestones to mark. In an interview with Beats 1’s Zane Lowe, John talked about the celebration, revealing most of the details were kept secret from him.

“I just know that it’s a celebration of my 70th and the 50 years of partnership with Bernie and myself,” Elton told Lowe, according to People. “It’s a great year this year, it’s the 25th anniversary of the AIDS foundation, 50 years of Bernie and me, and 70 years of me. It’s nice to celebrate things. Life is fabulous.”

John also revealed that while the number 70 used to sound old, he no longer feels that way.

“Some people don’t like birthdays, they don’t like celebrating, they don’t want to know about them, and I’ve always enjoyed my birthday,” Elton said.

“Seventy sounds so archaic, doesn’t it? When I was growing up, 70 sounded like the end of the world. But things have changed —you’re only as old as you feel inside.”

Elton John admitted that while age has taken its toll in subtle ways as far as his physical strength, inside he still feels like a superstar.

“I feel great,” John said.

At age 70, Elton John seemingly has no plans to retire. While John’s writing partner, Taupin says he would never want to live Elton’s busy life, he has said he plans to continue working with the Rocket Man for as long as he wants to remain partners.

“I mean, as long as he wants to make records, I’ll be happy to do it,” Taupin told Rolling Stone in 2015. “What kind of records they’ll be, I have no idea. Whether there will be anyone to listen or most of our fans have passed away… No, no. As long as they don’t pass away, we won’t pass away. They’ll stick in for the long haul with us.”

Take a look at the video below for more on Elton John’s 70th birthday.

[Featured Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for EJAF]