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Elton John delivered a moving performance at the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony at the Peacock TheaterIt’s Beach Boys classic “God Only Knows” as a tribute to Brian Wilson, who died in June. Before singing the song, John shared some memories of Wilson and the first time they met in Los Angeles.
“We were terrified because he was my idol. He was the one who influenced me the most in songwriting – especially on the piano. It was a night we will never forget,” said John.
“Meeting a true genius doesn’t happen often.”
Elton John’s emotional tribute
John recalled how admiration grew into a friendship that lasted for decades. “We supported each other on our albums. We loved each other,” he said. “I can’t think of anyone I would rather pay tribute to than Brian Wilson and his family with this incredible song.” After Wilson’s death, Elton John expressed his sadness on social media and described the Beach Boys co-founder as the artist who had the “biggest influence on my songwriting ever.”
“Brian Wilson has always been incredibly kind to me from the day I met him,” John wrote alongside a photo together in a studio. “He sang ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’ at a tribute concert in 2003 – that was an extraordinary moment. I played on his solo records, he sang on my album The Union and even performed for my AIDS Foundation.”
Rock Hall 2025: Homage to deceased music greats
In addition to Brian Wilson, this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame gala also remembered other late music legends. The event began with an energetic tribute to Sly Stone, where Stevie Wonder, Flea, Questlove, Leon Thomas, Jennifer Hudson, Beck and Maxwell performed a medley of classics such as “Dance to the Music”, “Everyday People”, “Thank You” and “I Want to Take You Higher” – accompanied by colorful projections of the soul pioneer.
Both Stone and Wilson were included in the show’s In Memoriam segment, which also honored Ozzy Osbourne, Roy Ayers and Marianne Faithfull. In a work full of milestones, “God Only Knows” is considered Wilson’s most distinctive song. It reached number 11 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, making it the Beach Boys’ highest-ranking song.