Elton John

Elton John, born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947 in Pinner, Middlesex, England, is a British pop singer. pop singersongwriter and pianist. He became famous worldwide with hits such as “Your Song”, “Rocket Man” and “Candle in the Wind”. Elton John has sold over 300 million records, making him one of the most successful musicians of all time. In addition to his music career, he also wrote the soundtrack for the film “The Lion King”, for which he received an Oscar. The singer is known for his extravagant costumes and charitable activities in the fight against HIV/AIDS. His repertoire includes ballads, rock and rock ‘n’ roll tunes as well as gospel-like blues and boogie numbers. Elton John celebrated his first successes in the 1960s and achieved his breakthrough with the album “Elton John” and the single “Your Song” in 1970. He has received numerous awards, including two Oscars.

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Beginning of the career

Elton John was raised by his grandmother Ivy, as his father Stanley Dwight showed no interest in him and his mother Sheila had little time. It was through Ivy that Elton discovered his talent and love of music, especially playing the piano. As a teenager, he was inspired by various pianists and the dazzling fame of actress Mae West. At the age of eleven, he was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London and performed every Sunday in a pub, where he delighted his audience with popular songs.

In 1965, Elton John and his fellow students founded the band Bluesology, which later accompanied Long John Baldry. Inspired by the saxophonist Elton Dean and the singer John Baldry, he combined their first names to form his stage name Elton John, which he also had officially changed. From 1969 onwards, he worked closely with songwriter Bernie Taupin and signed a publishing contract with him at DJM Music. His first album “Empty Sky” was released in 1969, received positive reviews but sold poorly. Dick James, the music publisher, hired Gus Dudgeon as producer for Elton John’s next album.

Overall, Elton John is a talented musician who motivated himself in his childhood and youth to become a successful artist. His work was characterized by a close collaboration with Bernie Taupin, which led to many hits.

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The breakthrough and the 1970s

Elton John’s second album, recorded with a string orchestra, was a great success. His first single “Border Song” reached number 92 in the USA in 1970, but Elton John landed his first top ten hit in England and the USA with the second single “Your Song”.

Elton John performed in the USA for the first time in 1970 – at the legendary club The Troubadour in Los Angeles. Although his performances were initially rather poorly attended, he received numerous positive reviews from reporters who were among the guests. In the same year, John Reid became his lover and music manager. Although their love affair ended after five years, Reid remained Elton John’s manager until 1998.

With hits such as “Rocket Man”, “Crocodile Rock”, “Daniel”, “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)”, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, “Bennie and the Jets”, “Candle in the Wind” and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”, Elton John became one of the most successful pop stars of the 1970s. During this time, his band consisted of guitarist Davey Johnstone, bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson. The band sang backing vocals on many songs.

Elton John had two more number one hits in the USA with “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, a Beatles cover on which John Lennon played reggae guitar, and the song “Philadelphia Freedom”. In the film version of the Who’s rock opera “Tommy”, he played the Pinball Wizard and the Who’s song of the same name. Elton John also scored a disco hit in 1976 with “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”, sung as a duet with singer Kiki Dee.

From 1976, Elton John’s success faded with the rise of punk and disco music, particularly in the USA. The attempt to ride the wave with the disco album “Victim of Love” (1979) failed miserably. With the track “Mama Can’t Buy You Love” from the mini-album “The Thom Bell Sessions”, he managed another top ten hit in the USA in 1979. In the same year, he also became the first western pop musician on a concert tour in the former Soviet Union.

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The 1980s

Elton John was very successful in the 1980s and reached high chart positions with ballads such as Little Jeannie, Blue Eyes and I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues. He often took part in charity projects, for example with the charity single “That’s What Friends Are For” in aid of AIDS projects and performed at the Live Aid concert in London. Due to his drug use, he had to undergo throat surgery in 1987 and lost his falsetto, which forced him to relearn how to sing. Despite this, he had another hit in the USA in 1988 with the single I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That. In 1989, he achieved solo success with the album Sleeping with the Past and the single Sacrifice, his first number one hit without a duet in his British homeland. Due to his health, Elton John disappeared from the stage at the end of 1989 and underwent drug withdrawal in 1990, overcoming his 16-year addiction. He then withdrew from the public eye for almost two years and, apart from a single appearance with George Michael in 1991, made no further stage appearances. The duet Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me, which was recorded during this time, was even more successful than the first release in 1974.

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The 1990s

In 1992, Elton John performed at the tribute concert for Freddie Mercury and sang the song Bohemian Rhapsody together with Axl Rose. The comeback album The One was released in June of the same year and sold over 16 million copies worldwide. The One Tour that followed was also successful and on this tour John performed the Queen song The Show Must Go On as a tribute to his late friend Freddie Mercury. During the tour, he played 160 concerts in front of over 3.6 million people. John decided to donate the proceeds from the singles he sold in America to the AIDS Foundation he had founded. For the album Duets, released in 1994, John collaborated with many well-known artists, including George Michael, Leonard Cohen and Bonnie Raitt. In 1994, he composed the soundtrack for Disney’s The Lion King and won an Oscar for the song Can You Feel the Love Tonight. In the same year, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1997, he released a rewritten version of Candle in the Wind as a tribute to Princess Diana and performed it live at her funeral service. The single Something About the Way You Look Tonight, on whose B-side Candle in the Wind ’97 was featured, became the most successful single to date with 45 million copies sold.

The 2000s

Elton John sang with Alessandro Safina in the song “Your Song” in 2002. In the same year, he helped the boy band Blue cover his old hit “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word”, and together they reached number one in the UK. He was also featured on the chorus of the posthumously released 2Pac hit “Ghetto Gospel” and helped rapper Eminem with his drug rehab.

After a killing spree in Erfurt that left 17 people dead, Elton John gave a benefit concert in the Erfurt exhibition hall in June 2002 for the bereaved and those affected.

His 2004 album “Peachtree Road” received much praise from critics. In 2003, his single “Are You Ready for Love” reached number one in the UK charts. He was also nominated for the BFCA Award and the Golden Globe for the song “The Heart of Every Girl”.

In September 2006, the album “The Captain and the Kid” was released in collaboration with Bernie Taupin. He celebrated his 60th birthday on March 25, 2007 with a concert in New York’s Madison Square Garden. One day later, the compilation CD “Rocket Man – The Definitive Hits” went on sale.

Elton John founded a new music company called Rocket Music Entertainment Group in July 2011 to look after James Blunt, Lily Allen and Leon Russell, among others. In an interview with Music Week magazine, he revealed that he would begin recording a new album entitled “The Diving Board” in January 2012.

In the 2015 documentary “Elton John: A Singular Man”, Elton John explained that he loved electronic music and regularly studied the pop charts to keep up to date with what younger generations of musicians were doing and to learn musically as a result.

Awards and recognition

In 1995, Elton John was made a Commander (CBE) in the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. Later, on February 24, 1998, he was awarded the personal British peerage of Knight Bachelor and has been entitled to call himself “Sir” ever since. Sir Elton John received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Academy of Music in London in 2002 and was honored as a Disney Legend in 2006. He is also an honorary member of the English soccer club FC Watford. In 2013, he was the first artist to receive the Brits Icon Award. A stand at Watford Stadium was named after him in 2014. Finally, he was made a Knight of the French Legion of Honor by President Emmanuel Macron in 2019.

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Studio albums by Elton John

• 1969 Empty Sky
• 1970 Elton John
• 1970 Tumbleweed Connection
• 1971 Madman Across the Water
• 1972 Honky Château
• 1973 Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player
• 1973 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
• 1974 Caribou
• 1975 Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
• 1975 Rock of the Westies
• 1976 Blue Moves
• 1978 A Single Man
• 1979 Victim of Love
• 1980 21 at 33
• 1981 The Fox
• 1982 Jump Up!
• 1983 Too Low for Zero
• 1984 Breaking Hearts
• 1985 Ice on Fire
• 1986 Leather Jackets
• 1988 Reg Strikes Back
• 1989 Sleeping with the Past
• 1992 The One
• 1993 Duets
• 1995 Made in England
• 1997 The Big Picture
• 2001 Songs from the West Coast
• 2004 Peachtree Road
• 2006 The Captain & the Kid
• 2010 The Union
• 2013 The Diving Board
• 2016 Wonderful Crazy Night
• 2021 Regimental Sgt. Zippo
• 2021 The Lockdown Sessions