Photo: Penny LancasterRod Stewart and Elton John have been friends for decades, and part of their friendship has involved pulling pranks on each other.  Now, Stewart has revealed his latest prank, involving John's upcoming dates at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Elton is due to start his next run of shows at Caesars this Friday, October 26.  Rod, of course, performs his Las Vegas show in the same venue, so after his shows were done, he decided to have some fun with something someone in the audience left behind.  As he tells the U.K. paper The Sun, "Someone had a banner in the crowd that said, 'We love Rod. Stay Forever Young.'  One of my road crew went and stuffed it in some of [Elton's] equipment, so someone will find it."

Meanwhile, in other Stewart news, RollingStone.com has premiered the singer's rendition of "Silent Night," which will appear on his first-ever holiday album, Merry Christmas, Baby.  The track begins simply, with Rod's vocals accompanied by tasteful acoustic guitar.  As the song proceeds, some lush orchestration, a children's chorale group and a full choir are added to the mix.

Merry Christmas, Baby, will be released this Tuesday, October 30.  A special "fan pack" edition of the album currently is available at Stewart's recently launched official online store, which includes five limited-edition holiday greeting cards.

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