Sixteen years ago, DEF LEPPARD teamed up with a teenage Taylor Swift for an episode of CMT‘s “Crossroads”. At the time, Taylor was a country music superstar whose songs were just starting to become pop hits.
In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, DEF LEPPARD frontman Joe Elliott reminisced about working with the then-18-year-old star.
Asked if he could see back in 2008 where Taylor was headed, Joe said:
“I don’t think anybody could. You look at it now and it kind of makes sense. But if you think back to 2008, there was no such thing as what she’s accomplished. I know anybody that was there when THE BEATLES and THE [ROLLING] STONES came over will go, ‘Wait a minute…’ But for people born this century or in the ’90s, this is a phenomenon that’s never been seen before — technically bigger than THE BEATLES and THE STONES combined, at least commercially. It’s insanity, the amount of tickets she sells. But I always knew she’d be big. And for all the hardships she’s gone though — the people who’ve tried to trip her up over the years at certain parts of her career — she’s just dusted herself down. She’s a fantastic role model for a generation of kids.”
Elliott was wearing a black Taylor Swift T-shirt at the time of the Los Angeles Times interview, a souvenir from the “Eras” tour date in Dublin where he introduced his eight-year-old daughter to the pop megastar. “It was a very magical moment,” Elliott said, “and I will be forever be grateful to Taylor for making Daddy look cool for a couple of days.”