MUST-SEE TV: ELTON, BERNIE AND KEN

Monday night (4/8), PBS will air Elton John & Bernie Taupin: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, a two-hour special saluting the songwriting duo, who’ve been friends and collaborators since 1967 and are still going strong. On the show, produced by music-TV legend Ken Ehrlich, artists from across the musical spectrum honor Elton and Bernie’s intertwined artistry.

Among those performing John-Taupin classics are Joni Mitchell—who approaches “I’m Still Standing” as a jazz-inflected ballad of resilience—Garth Brooks, Brandi Carlile, Annie Lennox, Metallica, Maren Morris, Charlie Puth and Jacob Lusk of Gabriels, while Carole King and Paul McCartney offer taped tributes to their peers. Billy Porter hosts and blazes through “The Bitch Is Back.”

Metallica may seem to be an unlikely choice for this gathering, but the veteran metal band’s ferocious yet knowing performance of “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” turns out to be one of the evening’s high points.

Following a rousing “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” from Elton and the band, the piano man closes the show with an intimate solo rendition of "Your Song" with Bernie sitting next to him.

“It’s really a love song between the two of them, with Elton returning the lyric to his friend, who wrote those words so many years ago,” Ehrlich says. “Though the shots include David Furnish and Bernie’s wife, Heather, at times during the song, it’s obvious that Elton is performing it for Bernie, and Bernie is returning the love in his own way to his friend. I don’t think I’ve ever been privileged to create a moment like this between two members of a writing team before, and it gives me chills each time I watch it.

“Even at this point in my life, that performance will be up there in the top 10 for me, along with Metallica doing ‘Funeral for a Friend’ and ‘Love Lies Bleeding.’

“It’s got a little bit of everything I’ve tried to do over the past 50 years in television—great performances, a bit of history and education, but most of all, thanks to the lives of the two people it deals with, a lot of heart,” Ehrlich tells us. “If, in fact, this were my last show—and I certainly hope it isn’t—I’d be okay to live with it as my legacy.”

The premiere is up against the NCAA Championship Game and the solar eclipse for eyeballs. But never fear, it’ll be available on demand after that.