IN THE LATE 1960s, Davey Johnstone was a 17-year-old folk-based guitarist when he left his hometown of Edinburgh to try his hand at the London rock and roll session scene. What he lacked in experience, he made up for in confidence and tenacity. “I was entering a whole new world, but I was convinced that I belonged there,” he says. “If I walked into a recording studio and somebody asked me if I could play something, I immediately said, ‘Of course I can.’ I didn’t say no to anything.”
Give the man his due: The 72-year-old guitarist knows a thing or two about getting — and keeping — a gig. Last year, he wrapped Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, bringing an end to his tenure in the singer’s band that lasted more than half a century. “None of it would have happened if I doubted myself,” Johnstone, I immediately started hitting him with ideas. Elton saw my willingness to put myself out there. He saw that I wanted to be a part of what he was doing. Another guy my age might have been too timid to say anything, but that person wouldn’t have gotten the gig.
