I have never seen the movie “The Bucket List,” nor have I officially made out a bucket list.

But, next week, I will be heading down to New Orleans to Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road concert, and if I did have a bucket list, watching this artist perform live would be on it.

Hubby bought the tickets for us months ago as my anniversary gift.

Needless to say, the children grumbled a bit that they weren’t invited to come along, but since nobody had secured a winning lottery ticket, two tickets to the concert was the limit.

As a teen, I loved listening to Sir Elton’s songs, and because he has been around so long, five-decades, many of his songs take me back to younger days of my life.

For instance, every time “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me,” is played, I am snatched back to a summer band camp I attended at the University of Southern Mississippi prior to becoming a freshman in the Warren Central High School Big Blue Band. My roommate at the camp, Juana Moore and I woke to this song every morning.

Then there is Sir Elton’s 1970 release of “Your Song” that will always be near to my heart. During a Crawford Street United Methodist Church youth choir trip in the summer before my junior year in high school, my good friends Larry and Cathy Cave and I joked about Sir Elton singing the line in the fifth verse, “You see I’ve forgotten it they’re green or they’re blue.”

I was trying to get over the loss of a boyfriend, and at the time he was dating a girl whose last name was Green!

And then of course there is “Tiny Dancer.”  As a little girl, I had always dreamed of becoming a prima ballerina, and since all three of my daughters danced, this song has been one of my favorites for years.

Sir Elton John is one of the most iconic musical artists.

In his earlier years his wardrobe was flamboyant, and he was an extravagant shopper. In a TV interview I watched Sir Elton give a peek inside his home and closet. I can’t even remember how many pairs of eyeglasses he said he owned at the time, hundreds!

Sir Elton’s life style changed, however, after hearing about a teenager named Ryan White who had contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion in the 1980s.

According to novusdetos.com Sir Elton stepped-in and helped the Whites after learning how White and his family were ostracized. He moved them to a new and safer location, and after Ryan White died in 1990, the website states that Sir Elton decided it was time he took a closer look at his own life.

For many years, Sir Elton had abused drugs and alcohol.

But according to the website, after the death of Ryan White, Sir Elton said, “It got me to realize how out of whack my life was, because I was just in and out of a drug-fueled haze in the ‘80s. I did nothing to help people with AIDS. I was a gay man who really sat on the sidelines.”

And as of the interview that was posted on novusdetos.com in November 2016, Sir Elton was 26 years sober.

Through the years, Sir Elton’s musical accomplishments include 38 gold and 31 platinum or multi-platinum albums. He received Tony Awards for Musical Theater songs he composed for “The Lion King” and “Aida.”

But in addition to all of his musical accomplishment, Sir Elton has also devoted his efforts toward a variety of charities including his own Elton John AIDS Foundation, which has raised more than $300 million. Additionally, he contributes to 23 other charities.

So I guess, for me, not only am I a fan of his music, I am also in awe of how he has turned his life around and chosen to give back to so many.

So the countdown is on. In less than a week, I will be sitting in the Smoothie King Center, staring star-struck and enjoying listening to one of the greatest musicians of all times.

Terri Cowart Frazier is a staff writer at The Vicksburg Post. Readers are invited to submit their opinions for publication.