BARBARA WALTERS, ABC NEWS

Well, Hugh, Princess Diana enjoyed the affection of many people in the world of show business. And her bond with Elton John was special.[(voice over) Elton John -- the flamboyant rock star. He has helped raise millions of dollars for causes like famine relief and the fight against AIDS. She was the shy Princess Diana, who could hardly have come from a more different world. But she, too, was a crusader, dedicated to easing people's suffering with her compassion and grace. And so, the princess and the rock star became devoted friends and enjoyed each other's company in good times and bad for almost two decades.]

How did you meet? How did you become so friendly?
ELTON JOHN, MUSICIAN
I was playing at Prince Andrew's birthday party at Windsor Castle, and this was when she was Lady Diana Spencer.
BARBARA WALTERS
Hmm, all that time ago.
ELTON JOHN
And -- yes. And I came down after getting changed. and they had a big dance band there. And there was nobody around except her, and she said, "Elton, it was really lovely. Thank you very much." And then, we did the Charleston together for about 10 minutes. Not that I've ever Charlestoned, but you know you don't turn that sort of thing down, do you?She was so funny. She was very charming and lovely -- very easy then. And she put me very much at ease. And then after that, she wrote me a lovely letter. She was a good letter writer, always -- and she was very quick. You know, you went -- you had a dinner with her, you went out to dinner with her. And voila, there was always a letter practically the next day. Quite
extraordinary.
BARBARA WALTERS
Hand - written?
ELTON JOHN
Hand - written, always hand - written. And beautifully hand - written, too. So she was remarkable. She was, you know, had a great attention to detail. There's always been a kindred spirit there.
BARBARA WALTERS
What do you think the kindred spirit was?
ELTON JOHN
A feeling of love for people, compassion, humor, sadness. She could connect with everybody. She made everyone feel special. And that, you know, the royal family has been kind of, through centuries and centuries, remained aloof from that. And they're brought up to -- in a different way from everybody else. And Diana broke the mold.
BARBARA WALTERS
[(voice over) But earlier this year, the two friends had a falling out. And it was not until Gianni Versace, their mutual friend, was brutally slain in July that they came together again. That reunion meant the world to Elton
John.]
At the funeral of Gianni Versace, Princess Diana sat next to you.
ELTON JOHN
Yes. She asked if she could sit next to me because she came on her own, which was a tremendous gesture for her to come. And I was -- it was a very emotional day for me, because Gianni and I were extremely close.As soon as I saw her, I breathed a sigh of relief, even though I was with David, who's my partner. And we were like, "Oh, God, thank God you'rehere," you know?When I started crying and she put her arm around me, and she was - that's exactly what she was like. She was such a caring -- she's a very calming person.
BARBARA WALTERS
And she comforted you.
ELTON JOHN
Yes. Friendship is -- is not just all about the good times. It's about -- we all fall out with each other sometimes. We all have disagreements. I thank God through one tragedy we came back together again.
BARBARA WALTERS
You probably would never have been able to forgive yourself if ...
ELTON JOHN
No.
BARBARA WALTERS
Elton, two of your closest friends died as a result of fame. Gianni Versace gunned down, Princess Diana an automobile crash. I mean, fame. What do you think about that?
ELTON JOHN
Well, I also lost John Lennon as well many years ago.
BARBARA WALTERS
John Lennon was gunned down.
ELTON JOHN
That's three of my friends in life have lost their lives to fame. Two of them murdered, one of them in a senseless car crash. You can't really blame it on fame. You can put it down to when it's your time to go, you have no alternative but to be called somewhere else.
BARBARA WALTERS
[(voice over) And now Elton John will be one of the guests at her memorial service tomorrow, where he has been given the rare honor of performing at Westminster Abbey.
Elton, you are going to sing at her funeral.
ELTON JOHN
Sarah, her sister, had asked if it was possible that I could sing. And I said I'll do anything you want. I was -- I'd been invited to the funeral anyway, which I considered an incredible honor, with David, to pay my last respects.And now, I've been asked to sing something at the funeral, which is - - is quite a daunting thing. But I want to -- I'm not scared about it. I really want to sing for her.
BARBARA WALTERS
It obviously has to be cleared with the Queen.
ELTON JOHN
Yes. And I think not only just the Queen. I mean, you have to go -- it's such a labyrinth -- sort of labyrinth of people you have to go through. There's the people, the courtiers of the palace. There's Westminster Abbey. There's -- you know, because it's a sacred place, you know. And people want it to be dignified, as I do. And they don't want it to be demeaned in any
way.
BARBARA WALTERS
What will you sing?
ELTON JOHN
In England, they've been showing montages of Princess Diana with Candle in the Wind ...

And it seems to me you lived your life like a candle inthe wind.

... the song that Bernie Taupin and I wrote about Marilyn Monroe. So rather than sing that, which I felt was totally inappropriate because it's a song about Marilyn Monroe, I asked Bernie yesterday evening to write a brand new lyric about her.
BARBARA WALTERS
What's the first line?
ELTON JOHN
Good - bye, England's rose.
BARBARA WALTERS
And how does it end?
ELTON JOHN
Your candle burned out long before your legend ever will.So it's three verses about her, and it's a beautiful lyric.
BARBARA WALTERS
What an assignment for you, Elton.
ELTON JOHN
That's the toughest. I'm very much a sentimentalist. I cry very easily. And in a situation like that, where one is in a church and you have a choir and there's sacred music, which I find very beautiful. She kept her cool for me when I -- at Gianni's funeral, and she held her composure. I've got to do the same for her.
BARBARA WALTERS
Will you be playing the piano, or will you be singing with the choir?
ELTON JOHN
I'll be playing the piano, because I'm fortunate in that -- because everything has come together so quickly, there's not enough time to rehearse. So I'm going to go from the abbey, and I'm going to go into a studio and I'm going to record a piano and voice version of that song.And I'm going to put it on my new single, which is coming out in a couple -- two or three weeks. And I'm going to give all the money to start her foundation off.
BARBARA WALTERS
The Princess Diana Trust.
ELTON JOHN
Yes. Yes, she has been announced. So there's going to be a Princess Diana Trust, administered through Kensington Palace by her sister Sarah, to carry on the work through the charities that she was associated with.
BARBARA WALTERS
Since she had little pretension, it seems to me -- and you know her so much better -- that she kind of liked to, you know, strip people of their pretensions.
ELTON JOHN
Yes, and she teased people.
BARBARA WALTERS
Yes.
ELTON JOHN
She was a great teaser, too. And yes, she was -- she was great company. I mean, a great dinner guest, great company, great conversationalist. I've never known her to be unhappy, as far as when she talks to you. She's always one of these people that whenever you get off the phone or you see her in person, you always feel elated after you'd spoken to her.And she had the best sense of humor. I think that's what most people are saying now. What do you remember about Princess Diana? Her humor.
BARBARA WALTERS
It was kind of a wicked humor.
ELTON JOHN
It was very wicked. She had a very wicked giggle. She had a very wicked
sense of humor.
BARBARA WALTERS
You and Princess Diana loved to gossip, didn't you?
ELTON JOHN
Mm - hmm.
BARBARA WALTERS
Mm - hmm.
ELTON JOHN
Gossip and shop. But we never shopped together.
BARBARA WALTERS
Gossip and shop? (Laughter) And I'll bet it was fun.
ELTON JOHN
It was -- oh, and laugh. I mean, she was -- she loved to laugh. She was extreme -- she was a real tease. She loved to giggle. She loved to laugh. And we had many, many wonderful times together.

HUGH DOWNS
When we come back, Barbara will have more of Elton John's memories of his friend the princess. Their private conversations about Prince Charles and her own desperate search for happiness -- after this.

 

BARBARA WALTERS
[(voice over) As we noted, Princess Diana had a very special friendship with Elton John. They were both crusaders, raising vast amounts of money for charity. But they also liked to laugh together and to tease each other or share a juicy bit of gossip. And that wasn't all. There was something else the princess and the rock star had in common. Both were victims of their own celebrity.

ELTON JOHN
I think because of what I do, she could talk to me about, you know, the pressures that were on her, which were enormous. She was followed everywhere she went. And I don't know how you could live in that sort of goldfish bowl.And I'm certain she was -- I mean, one thing about her, she wasn't a saint. She was a human being. You know, she had her, I'm sure, her periods of quite, you know, desolate behavior and desolate feelings because if you go -- any place you go, there's somebody following you with a camera. And you know, that's very hard to put up with. People say, "Oh well, that's part and parcel." Let them try it.
BARBARA WALTERS
You've had the paparazzi all over you.
ELTON JOHN
Yes, but that's hardly the same as Princess Diana. This was one of the most famous people in the world. I mean, you have the Pope, Mother Teresa and Princess Diana.
BARBARA WALTERS
What do you think about the paparazzi? Are they, in part, to blame for this tragedy?
ELTON JOHN
Of course they are.
BARBARA WALTERS
They are.
ELTON JOHN
Of course they are.
BARBARA WALTERS
What can be done about it? Any solutions?
ELTON JOHN
The actual responsibility lies with the editors and the owners of the
newspapers.
BARBARA WALTERS
Because the public isn't saying please take a picture in the bedroom. Please take a picture in the car.
ELTON JOHN
No. I think some of these things that they publish and some of the photographs that they pay for are disgraceful.
BARBARA WALTERS
Do you know Prince Charles?
ELTON JOHN
Yes.
BARBARA WALTERS
Did Princess Diana ever discuss him?
ELTON JOHN
Yes, very fondly, actually.
BARBARA WALTERS
Really?
ELTON JOHN
Yes.
BARBARA WALTERS
At what occasions did she discuss him fondly?
ELTON JOHN
She said, "I saw my husband today. His car had broken down" ... (Laughter)
BARBARA WALTERS
This was after the divorce?
ELTON JOHN
During the ...
BARBARA WALTERS
During -- so she was delighted that the car broke down.
ELTON JOHN
She was giggling. She said, "I saw my husband today. His car had broken down." And she was giggling away.
BARBARA WALTERS
Do you think it was just two people who should never have married?
ELTON JOHN
Probably.
BARBARA WALTERS
Uh - huh.
ELTON JOHN
But you know, they produced two wonderful children. So what can you say?
BARBARA WALTERS
Tell me about Princess Diana's two sons. I mean, they're on everyone's minds now. And you've met these boys.
ELTON JOHN
Very briefly over lunch. And both of them love sport. Both of them love pop music. Just two very loving sons. I mean, adored by her and obviously adored her, too.That's going to be the heartbreak on Saturday, to -- if, as it is muted that Prince William will walk after the coffin on the route, that will probably be one of the most moving images of the 20th century.
BARBARA WALTERS
When you look back, was there one particular time when you and Princess Diana just -- just had a ball together?
ELTON JOHN
I had a dinner at my house at Windsor, and we invited about 30 people, some film stars. And Princess Diana was the guest of honor. And we had -- there was one special film star that she was very excited to see and spent the whole evening talking to cross - legged on the floor, with those ...
BARBARA WALTERS
Who, who, who?
ELTON JOHN
Richard Gere. (Laughter)
BARBARA WALTERS
I remember reading about that.
ELTON JOHN
Yes. And the most incredible thing about Diana was she talked through her eyes. They're the most expressive eyes that you could possibly have imagined. And I just remember seeing her sitting on the floor looking up at
him in complete awe.
BARBARA WALTERS
Now she is frozen in time ...
ELTON JOHN
Now.
BARBARA WALTERS
... forever, at the height of her beauty. How will you remember Princess Diana?
ELTON JOHN
Well, I think of her as someone who was desperately searching for love and happiness within herself and in her personal life. And was giving everything to others and maybe hadn't been given enough love on her own.And now she's dead, she would have, I mean, no idea how much people loved her. It's a shame that she couldn't have known that in her lifetime. Hopefully, people will carry on and remember what she stood for and remember that she was compassionate and kind. And there's not enough of that in this world.
BARBARA WALTERS
You have the song that you wrote called Your Song.
ELTON JOHN
Yes. The last line of that song, "Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen."

(singing) Yours are the sweetest eyes I'veever seen.

She had the most sweetest and the most beautiful eyes.

(singing) I hope you don't mind. I hope you don't mind that I putdown in words how wonderful life is while you're in the world.
BARBARA WALTERS
You will miss her.
ELTON JOHN
Oh, absolutely. She's irreplaceable. Irreplaceable. Totally irreplaceable.

(singing) How wonderful life is while you're in the world.

 

HUGH DOWNS
Well, you can hear Elton John singing his song for Diana at Westminster Abbey tomorrow morning during our ABC News coverage, which begins at 2:00 am Eastern time. And Barbara, you and Peter Jennings are going to be on hand at 5:00 Eastern time.
BARBARA WALTERS
Well, we are going to be covering the entire funeral and on through the day until the burial of Princess Diana. The entire royal family will be here at Westminster Abbey tomorrow. Princess Diana's brother and sisters will read at the service, as will Prime Minister -- Britain's Prime Minister Blair.This is not a state funeral. There has never been one like this before. Princess Diana's favorite hymns will be sung. And we feel that this is going to be a very emotional and very personal service.

 

The interview was broadcast on September 5 1997.