Some top entertainers shy away from the publicity they had so eagerly sought while they were still climbing the ladder. Not so Elton John. Showing Correspondent David DeVoss about the rock star's suburban London home, John's mother gestured to a wall hung with masterpieces. Between a Picasso painting and several Rembrandt etchings was a novelty mirror carrying the slash TIME Man of the Year. Said she: "You can see the story means a lot to him."

It was the third and most difficult music cover story for which DeVoss has done the major interviews. "Merle Haggard was as straightforward as his country origins, and Joni Mitchell's life is chronicled in her song lyrics. But Elton John is completely different from his image," explains DeVoss, who during four days in London accompanied the pop star on a round of shopping, dinners and post-midnight gambling, where John never bet less than -L-100. Cruising around the city in his Rolls-Royce, Elton would spot people connected with his career and stop to say hello while DeVoss garnered quotes. Among the friends they encountered: Harry Nilsson, Ringo Starr, Paul and Linda McCartney.

In New York, the story was edited by Martha Duffy, written by TIME Contributor Richard Schickel, and researched by Nancy Newman. The author also of TIME'S recent cover story on Cher, Schickel has been getting some help at home. His daughter Jessica, 7, was one of Cher's fans, and his daughter Erika, 11, knew all about John. Says Erika, whose favorites are Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Bennie and the Jets: "For a hippie, he's pretty good."

Two TIME cover stories have collected multiple awards this year. Peter Stoler's "Exploring the Frontiers of the Mind," published Jan. 14, 1974, has won three: the National Association of Science Writers' Science-in-Society Award, the American Medical Association's magazine journalism award and a Special Achievement Plaque from the Deadline Club of Sigma Delta Chi. TIME'S Man of the Year cover on King Faisal has been recognized twice. For writing it, Senior Editor Marshall Loeb won the Loeb Award for business journalism (named for Financier Gerald Loeb, no kin to Marshall) and last week the John Hancock Award for business writing. In addition, the American Bar Association has given TIME a Certificate of Merit for its coverage of the final year of the Watergate affair. Singled out for special recognition were Senior Writer Ed Magnuson, Associate Editor Jose Ferrer III and Staff Writer Donald Morrison.

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