Elton John has revealed the touching way in which he would like to be remembered once he dies.
After being named as TIME’s Icon of the Year, the 77-year-old opened up about fatherhood and how being a dad is the most important role in his life.
Speaking to the outlet with his husband David Furnish, he said: “On my gravestone, all I want it to say is, ‘He was a great dad’.
Elton and David have now been together for over three decades and share their two kids together, Zachary, 13 and Elijah, 11.
The RocketMan musician has voiced similar sentiments in the past when he appeared on Good Morning America for a recent interview with Robin Roberts which aired on December 11, People reports.
He said: “My music speaks for itself. My legacy is that I was a great husband and an even better father… The music, the career is fantastic.
“It’s been mind-blowing, groundbreaking. But the most important thing to me in my life is making sure my children are happy, they have a wonderful life and that I was good to them. That’s all that counts.”
Elton had a very strained relationship with his own father, Stanley Dwight, which is depicted in his film RocketMan.
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HIs dad was very disinterested in his son’s musical talents and never once expressed pride in his success or attended any of his shows. Stanley died from heart disease in 1991.
Writing in his autobiography, Me, Elton admitted that he spent his whole career “trying to show my father what I’m made of”.
He later told the BBC: “It’s crazy, but I just wanted his approval. “I’m still trying to prove to him that what I do is fine – and he’s been dead for almost 30 years.”
Elton later went on to become a father to his own two sons which he has described as “the greatest thing I’ve ever done.”
Speaking about becoming a father later in life while appearing on Radio Andy to promote Tammy Fayre on Broadway in an interview last month, the singer said: “For me personally, I’ve had an amazing life, great career, incredible achievements, music, blah, blah, blah, but I would say that our sons, and David, are the most important things to me.”
However, Elton is also aware he is older than most parents with young children are. In the new documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late, based on his life, the music icon revealed that his two children express fears about his death.
Speaking in the film, he said: “They think about my mortality. They worry about my mortality”.
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