Elton John has done a lot and he's seen a lot and the vocalist says he considers himself lucky to have emerged from a very destructive period in his life relatively unscathed.

Gigwise reports that the vocalist, who is promoting his new book 'Love Is the Cure,' dropped by NBC's Today Show to discuss one of the central themes of the book - his emergence from a destructive path to become a leading AIDS activist.

John explained that the early '80s were a particularly bad period for him where he was addicted to alcohol and drugs. He explained, "I wasted such a big part of my life, when this epidemic was beginning to happen in the early '80s. And I was a drug addict and self-absorbed. I was consumed by cocaine, booze, and who knows what else. I apparently never got the memo that the 'Me' generation had ended."

The singer says he started noticing more and more friends dying around him, but that still didn't stop him continuing the life he had. He adds, "[That's] the terrible thing about addiction. It's that - you know, it's that bad of a disease."

John says he feels very fortunate that with all his excesses and the people that he lost to AIDS and addiction along the way, that he somehow survived. He added, "When you take a drug and you take a drink and you mix those two together, you think you're invincible. I came out of this HIV-negative. I was the luckiest man in the world."

The interview with Matt Lauer on the Today Show is expected to air in two parts this Tuesday and Wednesday (July 17 & 18).

More From Ultimate Classic Rock