One of the most iconic moments in the history of concerts in Colorado happened on this day (July 20th) back in 1975 as the Rolling Stones played the Colorado State University football stadium, Hughes Stadium. They were also joined by an unannounced guest.
40,000 fans packed the stadium and I-25 was backed up for miles in Northern Colorado to see the Stones, but fans were treated to a cameo from Elton John as well... And that's where things got weird!
Elton was in town, and since he is Elton John, the Rolling Stones asked him to join them on stage for one song. According to an excerpt from his autobiography, here's what happened once he got onstage;
"Cocaine gave me too much confidence for my own good. If I hadn’t been coked out of my head when the Rolling Stones turned up in Colorado and asked me to come onstage with them, I might have just performed 'Honky Tonk Women,' waved to the crowd and made my exit. Instead, I decided it was going so well, I’d stay on and jam along to the rest of their set, without first taking the precaution of asking the Stones if they wanted an auxiliary keyboard player."
"For a while, I thought Keith Richards kept staring at me because he was awestruck by the brilliance of my improvised contributions to their oeuvre. After a few songs, it finally penetrated my brain that the expression on his face wasn’t really suggestive of profound musical appreciation. I quickly scuttled off, noting as I went that Keith was still staring at me in a manner that suggested we’d be discussing this later, and decided it might be best if I didn’t hang around for the after-show party."