Patti LaBelle Used to Cook Meals for a Pre-Fame Elton John. This Is How He Paid Her Back, Years Later

Mar. 15, 2025

Patti LaBelle (left) and Elton John in 2002.Photo:Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Patti LaBellehas always paid it forward.On the Dec. 3 episode ofJulia Louis-Dreyfus’ podcastWiser Than Mefrom Lemonada Media, LaBelle opened up about her friendship withElton Johnand how she often ended up cooking for him pre-fame.Louis-Dreyfus, 63, asked LaBelle, 80, about some of her famous friends, includingPrince,Mick JaggerandNina Simone, and how the talented cook often made food for them.“I’ve cooked for so many,” the “On My Own” singer said, adding that she also made food for Richard Pryor. But with John, 77, their culinary bond goes back to before either of them was famous.Patti LaBelle in 2024.Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images“Elton John was my piano player back in the day,” the Grammy winner shared. “And so his band would come to my flat after the shows and we would play cards for money. And they lost every time.”“So I won all the pounds and sent them home with Tupperware with food every night we played because they couldn’t afford food,” she continued. At the time, John played with his band Bluesology, and he was still using his birth name, Reginald Dwight.LaBelle told Louis-Dreyfus that years later, “Reggie” called her. “He said, ‘I want you to come to my show tonight.’ I said, ‘A show, where?’ He said ‘At the Spectrum in Philadelphia,’ ” she remembered. “So I said, ‘Oh, who are you opening for?’ He said, ‘I’m Elton John now.’ I said, ‘You heifer!’ Oh, did I tell him some bad things! I said, ‘You made it before me, honey.’ ”“And it was just a beautiful, beautiful moment,” the “Lady Marmalade” singer said. Decades later, in the 2000s, John was doing hisRed Pianoresidency in Vegas and they sang a duet together. “And after this song was done, he had taken his rings off,” the singer said. “And I said, so here, ‘Here are your rings, Elton.’ And he said, ‘No. That’s for your Tupperware that you gave me back in the day.’ So he paid me with a beautiful ring.”Elton John in 2023.Theo Wargo/GettyLaBelle told Louis-Dreyfus she still has the ring to this day, though she “never” wears it because “it’s so manly.” LaBelle said she takes her Tupperware very seriously, adding, “I love my Tupperware,” so she was happy about the trade. Of John, she added, “He’s a good friend.”In addition to their early days playing together in the 1960s, LaBelle and John also took part in The Who’s 1989 tour of their rock operaTommy.Though LaBelle is lauded for her one-of-a-kind singing voice, she’s also widely known for her cooking skills, including her sweet potato pies, which went viral in 2015 when she began selling them at Walmart.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“Whenever I’d make pies at home, people would just go crazy and would ask for more. So I said, ‘I know this is right, and I think we better do something with this idea,' ”LaBelle told PEOPLE in 2017. “I expected them to do well because the taste is phenomenal, but I didn’t know that it would become what it is.”Back in May, LaBelle celebrated her 80th birthday at a star-studded party.She told PEOPLE of the bash, “Everybody in the industry that I know were here, and I had a lot of tears, but I had to keep on my lashes, so I couldn’t cry too much.”

Patti LaBellehas always paid it forward.

On the Dec. 3 episode ofJulia Louis-Dreyfus’ podcastWiser Than Mefrom Lemonada Media, LaBelle opened up about her friendship withElton Johnand how she often ended up cooking for him pre-fame.

Louis-Dreyfus, 63, asked LaBelle, 80, about some of her famous friends, includingPrince,Mick JaggerandNina Simone, and how the talented cook often made food for them.

“I’ve cooked for so many,” the “On My Own” singer said, adding that she also made food for Richard Pryor. But with John, 77, their culinary bond goes back to before either of them was famous.

Patti LaBelle in 2024.Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

“Elton John was my piano player back in the day,” the Grammy winner shared. “And so his band would come to my flat after the shows and we would play cards for money. And they lost every time.”

“So I won all the pounds and sent them home with Tupperware with food every night we played because they couldn’t afford food,” she continued. At the time, John played with his band Bluesology, and he was still using his birth name, Reginald Dwight.

LaBelle told Louis-Dreyfus that years later, “Reggie” called her. “He said, ‘I want you to come to my show tonight.’ I said, ‘A show, where?’ He said ‘At the Spectrum in Philadelphia,’ ” she remembered. “So I said, ‘Oh, who are you opening for?’ He said, ‘I’m Elton John now.’ I said, ‘You heifer!’ Oh, did I tell him some bad things! I said, ‘You made it before me, honey.’ ”

“And it was just a beautiful, beautiful moment,” the “Lady Marmalade” singer said. Decades later, in the 2000s, John was doing hisRed Pianoresidency in Vegas and they sang a duet together. “And after this song was done, he had taken his rings off,” the singer said. “And I said, so here, ‘Here are your rings, Elton.’ And he said, ‘No. That’s for your Tupperware that you gave me back in the day.’ So he paid me with a beautiful ring.”

Elton John in 2023.Theo Wargo/Getty

Theo Wargo/Getty

LaBelle told Louis-Dreyfus she still has the ring to this day, though she “never” wears it because “it’s so manly.” LaBelle said she takes her Tupperware very seriously, adding, “I love my Tupperware,” so she was happy about the trade. Of John, she added, “He’s a good friend.”

In addition to their early days playing together in the 1960s, LaBelle and John also took part in The Who’s 1989 tour of their rock operaTommy.

Though LaBelle is lauded for her one-of-a-kind singing voice, she’s also widely known for her cooking skills, including her sweet potato pies, which went viral in 2015 when she began selling them at Walmart.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“Whenever I’d make pies at home, people would just go crazy and would ask for more. So I said, ‘I know this is right, and I think we better do something with this idea,' ”LaBelle told PEOPLE in 2017. “I expected them to do well because the taste is phenomenal, but I didn’t know that it would become what it is.”

Back in May, LaBelle celebrated her 80th birthday at a star-studded party.She told PEOPLE of the bash, “Everybody in the industry that I know were here, and I had a lot of tears, but I had to keep on my lashes, so I couldn’t cry too much.”

source: people.com