Elton John Headlines Charity Concert Celebrating Life Of Teen
In order to celebrate the live of tragic AIDS victim Ryan White, Elton John will headline a charity concert at Butler University in Indiana.
Ryan got the disease from a contaminated blood transfusion in 1990 and he died at just 18-years-old. Elton held a bedside vigil for him in the last week of his life and even credited the teen for getting the singer back on track.
John said:
"Every time I stopped taking drugs, after a period of time I'd go back. It got worse and worse… What finally opened my eyes was Ryan White.
I read in a magazine that Ryan was not allowed to go to school because he had AIDS. Firebombs were being put in his family's letter box. I was enraged. I helped the White family move. I spent the last week of Ryan's life in 1990 with him in an Indianapolis hospital.
There was something wonderful in this family - they were losing their son, yet they were still able to forgive the hatred of others. I thought, 'Look at me. I have everything I want, and I complain about a hotel room because I don't like the wallpaper? What happened to me? I was a nice, decent boy, and now I'm a self-obsessed drug addict.' So I got sober."
All proceeds from the April 28th concert will be given to the Indianapolis Children's Museum and Elton John's AIDS foundation.
Amazing.
[Image via WENN.]
Tags: charity, hiv, ryan white
Quote Of The Day
Gerard Butler Starved Himself To Get Back In Shape!
I.Love.Elton. Listen up all you self-obsessed drug addicts.
Go Elton!
Ryan white was diagnosed with HIV in 1984. He did not contract the disease and die from it the same year. Please fix.
I read Ryan White's autobiography a few years ago. Inspiring and heartbreaking, to say the least.
Quite a person that Elton John. Bet he's so glad he woke up.
Ryan got the disease from a contaminated blood transfusion in 1990 and he died at just 18-years-old.
Wrong, Perez (or whoever's writing this). Ryan was a hemophiliac. He had dozens of blood transfusions throughout his childhood. HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH AIDS IN 1984, not 1990. He died in 1990. He had six years of people being ignorant toward him due to his disease. Get yourself some writing lessons, or at least do some research on the people you're writing about.
As for Elton, he is an amazing person. 20 years after Ryan's death, he still remembers him - most celebrities remember a "dead friend" for a couple of weeks, or as long as it gets them publicity, then they never mention them again. Elton is still in contact with Ryan's mother and sister.
Ryan White did not contract HIV in 1990. I know you aren't a journalist, Perez, but if you're going to write about a dead person, you can at least get your facts right. It takes less than 30 seconds to google someone.
That was the first real hard hit America took on the fight against aids and, the first time the epidemic was fully recognized for what it was. We are still battling this. Good for Elton all his hard work will pay off someday.
Elton is the man. I love this guy & his music.
CaCa take note. This man defines the term “Class act”.
Elton is fab. Makes me proud that he's British - even when he goes off on a rant he's fabulous.
After beeing sadly discriminated at his hometown he was helped by many celebrities. Elton sang at his funeral and the song Gone too soon was for him, as you can seen on the video. These were the times when acts of pure kindness towards a kid were did not raise eyebrows.
Peace
So many celebrities adopt a "Pet Sick Kid" or cause for publicity, but I always felt that Elton John's relationship with Ryan White was geniune. Now I understand why. Ryan White's friendship was a gift to Elton that changed his life.
You forgot to mention that Michael Jackson wrote and dedicated his song "Gone too Soon" for Ryan White! R.I.P Ryan and MJ =(
I love Elton! He is defntley Iconic for the work he does.
Speechless at Elton's comment. Not only did he have a painful epiphany, but he remembered it and shared it today.
And I remember the shameful treatment of Ryan White. People need to bulk up with compassion!
Awesome!!! Sir Elton is the best…I am glad he is finally happy in his life. He has given me so much pleasure with his music over the years. I am glad to know that he really cares about people and isn't so self absorbed like so may celebrities.
way 2 go elton. so many never snap out of that cycle- die self obsessed and addicted. btw, i am also old enuf 2 remember Ryan.
Elton is a saint
Ryan White was a beautiful soul that really touched me as a young child. I remember hearing his story, seeing his interviews, and sobbing when he died. He just seemed like such a sweetheart. May he rest in peace.
That is a very heart warming story. Elton John is an awesome person.
Yeah, you need to fix your timeline, "Perez". I met Ryan White in '89, and he was famous then for being a notable AIDS case. He died in '90, but was diagnosed with AIDS in '84 (since he was a hemophiliac and had several blood transfusions, there's no way to know exactly when he contracted the HIV virus). This is incorrect and therefore misleading; and the last thing we want is more misinformation about AIDS. Sloppy writing and editing is one thing when you're talking about Lindsay Lohan, but it's another when you're dealing with an important health issue.