Elton John "optimistic" about AIDS cure

(CBS) Elton John and his partner David Furnish were on hand at New York's Cipriani Wall Street for the Elton John AIDS Foundation benefit to honor those  taking part in the fight  to prevent  the spread of  AIDS.

The couple spoke with CBSNews.com on the red carpet for the event, and John said that he could never have imagined the impact the foundation would have in the fight against the disease when he first started this organization almost 20 years ago.

Pictures: Elton John Turns 60
Pictures: Their wedding day

"Things have changed for the better," John said. "When we first started, it was a very dire situation. People were dying very quick deaths. Very quick, painful deaths...We never envisioned we would get so far."

Furnish agreed, although he pointed that a lot of progress still has to be made towards prevention of future AIDS cases.

"A million people live in this country with HIV, but half of them don't know it," Furnish said.

And does the couple envision a cure for AIDS in their lifetimes? Find out by watching our interview with Furnish and John at the top of this story.