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Sir Elton Hercules John, Knight Commander of the
Order of the British Empire|CBE (born March 25,
1947) is one of the most successful solo artists
in music history. He has created a long string of
hit records and musical projects over a career
that is well into its fourth decade.  His
flamboyant fashion sense, on-stage showmanship,
and  public struggles with his private life have
combined with his talent to make him a legend.

John completely dominated the rock world in the
'70s, as evident by his seven consecutive albums
that topped the US album charts.: Honky Château
(1972, #1 for five weeks), Don't Shoot Me I'm Only
the Piano Player (1973, #1 for two weeks), Goodbye
Yellow Brick Road (1973, #1 for eight weeks),
Caribou (album)|Caribou (1974, #1 for four weeks),
Elton John's Greatest Hits (1974, #1 for ten
weeks), Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt
Cowboy (1975, #1 for seven weeks) and Rock of the
Westies (1975, #1 for three weeks), and 15 hit
singles, including twelve that went to #1
("Crocodile Rock," "Bennie and the Jets," "Lucy in
the Sky With Diamonds," "Philadelphia Freedom,"
"Island Girl," "Don’t Go Breaking My Heart") and
three that reached #2 ("Daniel," "Goodbye Yellow
Brick Road," "Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me"),
during that period.



==Biography==
=== Early life and career ===
Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in
Pinner, Middlesex, England, the son of Royal Air
Force squadron leader, Stanley Dwight, and his
wife, Sheila Dwight. Reginald was raised primarily
by his mother, grandmother and aunt, and saw
little of his father during his childhood. Stanley
and Sheila divorced in 1962, when Reginald was 14.
 
Reginald began playing piano when he was four.
Somewhat of a child prodigy, he was able to play
on piano any melody he heard on radio or
phonograph. At age 11, he won a scholarship to the
Royal Academy of Music. He previously attended
Pinner County Grammar School. He stayed at the
Academy for six years, leaving before graduation
to start a musical career.

In 1960, Reginald and some of his friends, while
still in school, formed a band called the
Corvettes, which evolved into Bluesology. By the
mid-1960s, Bluesology was backing touring American
soul and R&B musicians like the Isley Brothers,
Major Lance, Doris Troy, and Patti LaBelle and the
Bluebelles. In 1966, two years after Reginald left
school, the band became musician Long John
Baldry's supporting band and began touring
cabarets with him throughout England. When
Baldry's control over the band greatly increased,
Reginald left and started looking for other bands
to join. After failing lead vocalist auditions for
both King Crimson and Gentle Giant, Reginald
answered an advertisement by Liberty Records.
There he was given a stack of lyrics by lyricist
Bernie Taupin. Reginald then wrote music for the
lyrics, and got in touch with Bernie through the
mail. Thus began a partnership that continues to
this day. When they met six months later, Reginald
had changed his name to Elton John, by deed poll,
in homage to Bluesology saxophonist Elton
Dean|Elton Dean and Long John Baldry|Long John
Baldry.

Elton and Bernie, now working together, joined
Dick James's DJM Records as staff songwriters in
1968, and over the next two years, wrote songs for
pop singers like Roger Cook and Lulu
(singer)|Lulu, while also recording their own
songs. In June 1969, Elton released his first
album Empty Sky for DJM, without any success.

===1970s success===

Elton's Elton John (album)|self-titled second
album was released in the summer of 1970, and
started to sell well in the U.S., where it was
released on the Music Corporation of America|MCA's
Uni subsidiary. "Your Song", a single from the
album, helped the album greatly by reaching the
Top Ten on the Billboard Hot 100, and it reached
the Top Ten on the Billboard 200. Elton performed
his first American concert at the Troubadour
(nightclub)|Troubadour in Los Angeles, California,
around that time, and got mostly positive reviews.

Elton John was followed quickly with the concept
album Tumbleweed Connection in February 1971. It
reached the Top Ten on the Billboard 200 like its
predecessor, and got heavy airplay on
album-oriented radio stations in the U.S., which
most likely played a part in its success.
Tumbleweed Connection was followed by the live
album 11-17-70, an ambitious and largely
underrated album showcasing Elton's considerable
talent as a rock pianist, with great interaction
between Elton and bassist Dee Murray. Extended
versions of his early compositions clearly
illustrate the gospel and boogie-woogie influences
on Elton's piano playing, as the lead instrument
in a successful, yet unusual (for Rock) trio
format. The live album was followed by the
soundtrack to the obscure film Friends and the
album Madman Across the Water, both that same
year. Madman Across the Water reached the Top Ten,
and produced the hit “Levon” while the
soundtrack album produced the hit "Friends". In
1972, Elton released Honky Chateau, which became
his first American number one album, spending five
weeks at the top of the charts, and spawned the
hit singles "Rocket Man (song)|Rocket Man (I Think
It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)" and "Honky
Cat."

In 1973, Elton started his own label, Rocket
Records. That year, Elton released the pop album
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player which
produced the hits "Crocodile Rock" and "Daniel",
and the more thoughtful, album-oriented double
album|double LP Goodbye Yellow Brick Road which
gained instant critical acclaim. The Album topped
the charts and by many including himself, is
considered the best Elton John album. It contains
the number 1 hit "Bennie and the Jets", along with
the popular title song, "Candle in the Wind"
(which went on to become the best selling song of
all time), and the FM radio favourite "Saturday
Night's Alright (for Fighting). It also contained
gems such as the track "Funeral For A Friend/Love
Lies Bleeding" and "Grey Seal".


In 1974, Elton engaged in a noted collaboration
with John Lennon, resulting in Elton covering The
Beatles's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", Elton
being featured on Lennon's "Whatever Gets You
Through the Night", and a surprise joint concert
performance of these two No. 1 hits along with the
Beatles classic "I Saw Her Standing There". Elton
got Lennon to perform these songs at Madison
Square Garden in what would be his last public
performance. The concert was recorded and released
two years later with another live concert
recording on the album "Here & There". That year,
he also became director of a professional soccer
team, the Watford F.C.|Watford Football Club, and
released the albums Caribou (album)|Caribou  and
Elton John's Greatest Hits, both #1 hits, like
their predecessors. Caribou was widely considered
a lesser quality album but demonstrated John's
rocking ability with "The Bitch Is Back" and his
versatility in orchestral songs with "Don't Let
The Sun Go Down On Me". Also in 1974, Elton John
was asked to play a character called the "Pinball
Wizard" and perform a song of the same name by the
British band the Who for their rock opera "Tommy".
Drawing on power chords, Elton's version was
recorded and used for the movie release in 1975
and the single came out in 1976. The song charted
#7 in England.   

With the release of the 1975 autobiographical
album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
Elton John revealed his previously ambiguous
personality. In the album, Taupin and John
describe their early days as struggling
songwriters and musicians in London and its
environs.  The lyrics and accompanying photo
booklet are infused with a specific sense of place
and time that would otherwise be rare in John's
music.  "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" was the
hit single from this album and captured an early
turning point in John's life. His next album, the
rock-oriented Rock of the Westies entered the
Billboard 200 chart at #1, a previously unattained
feat.

Elton, in a way, owes his success at that time to
his concert performances. His flamboyant stage
wardrobe that included ostrich feathers, $5,000
spectacles that spelled his name in lights, a
Statue of Liberty costume and more, and his
dressing up like Donald Duck or Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart among others at his concerts made them a
success and created interest for his music.

Elton's career slowed down somewhat after 1976.
That year he stated in a interview with Rolling
Stone that he was bisexual, which caused a drop in
record sales the following years. The decline in
his record sales was also probably due to his
exhaustion. He cut his performance schedule after
that year, and retired from live performances in
1977 and started recording only one album per
year.

=== 1980s onwards ===
His biggest 1980s hits included, among others, "I
Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues", "I'm
Still Standing", "Nikita" and a 1986 live
recording of "Candle in the Wind" which he
recorded with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
The song, which was a tribute to Marilyn Monroe,
was originally recorded in 1973 on his Goodbye
Yellow Brick Road album.

Elton John underwent throat surgery to remove
potentially-cancerous nodules from his vocal
chords in January 1987 whilst on tour, a necessity
he originally said was due to an infection, but
later said was the result of excessive drug abuse.
The problems with his voice can clearly be heard
in his raspy singing on the Live In Australia
album (released 1987). He made a full recovery but
continued to engage in drugs for a few years yet.
The surgery in 1987 also had a dramatic affect on
John's voice, and he found that he could no longer
sing in falsetto as well as he previously could
and that he now sang in a lower range.

The change in Elton John's voice has been one that
he has largely played down, with Elton commenting
fifteen years after the surgery that he was
"singing better than ever." The use of studio
effects were evidently added to his voice on his
first UK #1 Hit 'Sacrifice' (1990). The release of
'Songs From The West Coast', his 2001 album showed
very clearly how different his voice is to his
prime. It is a matter of opinion which singing
style is better but few would deny that Elton John
remains an excellent and operatic singer.

In 1997, he updated the lyrics of "Candle in the
Wind" for a special version mourning the death of
Diana, Princess of Wales, and this became the
fastest selling single of all time, eventually
going on to sell over 30 million copies worldwide.

In 1992 he performed "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "The
Show Must Go On" with Queen (band)|Queen at the
Freddie Mercury Tribute concert, an AIDS charity
event held at Wembley Stadium, London.

He continues to release new material to commercial
success, and tours extensively, despite being
fitted with a artificial pacemaker|pacemaker in
July 1999.  His face-to-face tours with fellow
pianist Billy Joel have been a fan favourite
throughout the world since the mid-1990s. Elton
also has a multi-year contract to perform at
Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. The show, entitled
The Red Piano, is a multimedia concert featuring
massive props and video montages created by David
LaChappelle.

He achieved yet another #1 single in the UK, being
featured on 2Pac's posthumous song "Ghetto Gospel"
in 2005, from the rapper's album, Loyal to the
Game. The song sampled "Indian Sunset" from John's
1971 album, Madman Across the Water.

In July of 2005, Madame Tussauds made a 227 lb.
statue of Elton John, to his measurements.  It
took more than 1,000 hours to complete. It is
currently rumoured that John is planning a
two-year world tour, which will enable him to
reach places he has never performed at previously.

== Personal life ==
John has had a complicated personal history.
Coming out first as bisexuality|bisexual in 1976,
he married (1984) and quickly divorced (1988)
Renate Blauel. He subsequently stated that he was
gay and has lived with his partner David Furnish
for a number of years. He plans to marry Furnish
after the British civil partnership law comes into
effect in December 2005. He has occasionally
battled addictions to cocaine and financial
difficulties caused by his profligate spending.


In 1976 Elton John became involved in Watford
F.C.|Watford Football Club and fulfilled a
childhood dream by becoming chairman and director.
He resigned in 2002 when the club needed a
full-time chairman. He remains lifelong president.

John has long been associated with AIDS charities
after the death of his friends Ryan White and
Freddie Mercury, raising large amounts of money
and using his public profile to raise awareness of
the disease.  For example, in 1986 he joined with
Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder
to record the single "That's What Friends Are
For", with all profits being donated to the
American Foundation for AIDS Research.  The song
won Grammy awards for "Song of the Year" and for
"Best Pop Performance, by a Duo or Group".

John founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in
1992 as a charity to fund programmes for HIV/AIDS
prevention, for the elimination of prejudice and
discrimination against HIV/AIDS-affected
individuals, and for providing services to people
living with or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. 

Aside from his main home in Windsor, England, John
splits his time in his various residences in
Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Nice, France; London,
England; and Venice, Italy. 

He is a noted art collector, and is believed to
have one of the largest private photography
collections in the world.

==Film work==

He has also done work both for and in films. In
1971, he wrote the soundtrack for the movie
Friends. In 1975, he appeared as the Pinball
Wizard in the movie version of the rock opera
Tommy. In 1994, along with Tim Rice, he wrote the
soundtrack for the The Walt Disney Company|Disney
animated film The Lion King (John and Rice
subsequently won a Best Original Song Oscar for
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight"). Rice was
reportedly stunned by the rapidity with which John
was able to set his words to music. Five years
later, John wrote the score for The Muse, and a
year later composed songs for another animated
film, DreamWorks' The Road to El Dorado.  In 2001,
his 1970s hit, "Tiny Dancer" was featured on the
Almost Famous soundtrack, and his most recent
movie song was "The Heart of Every Girl" (the end
title song from 2003's Mona Lisa Smile).

==Musicals==
In addition to an apdatation of "The Lion King"
for Broadway, John has also composed music for a
Disney production of "Aida" with lyricist Tim
Rice, a West End production of "Billy Elliot" with
Lee Hall, and "The Vampire Lestat" with Bernie
Taupin, based on the Anne Rice vampire novels.

== Musical style ==
In the 1970s, Elton John's sound was immediately
set apart from others by being piano-based in a
rock world dominated by guitars. Another early
characteristic was a set of dynamic string
instrument|string arrangements by Paul Buckmaster.
Coupled with Taupin's often opaque but emotionally
resonant lyrics, the results were unique for their
time.  Songs in this style included "Sixty Years
On", "Burn Down the Mission", "Take Me to the
Pilot", "Tiny Dancer", "Levon", and "Madman Across
the Water".

"Your Song", one of his earliest and most popular
hits, incorporates some other features found in
many of his songs:
* It is in binary form, with the verse repeated
before the chorus begins;
* The piano accompaniment is prominent, though the
song also features an orchestra;
* It uses a slowly-building crescendo that brings
the song to a tutti climax. Other songs that
follow this pattern include "Don't Let the Sun Go
Down On Me" and "Rocket Man".

John also has a distinctive vocal style. In
particular, his phrasing is often a bit metronomic
and sometimes has a curiously off-kilter, "rushed"
quality especially at the end of lines (example:
the phrase "like a puppy child" in the song
Amoreena). He also, at least in his classic period
in the '70s, would sometimes sweep up from his
normal tenor into a Four Seasons-like falsetto.

== Quotations ==

*"I've always had a body-image problem. No
self-esteem. And that will never leave me."

*"There’s nothing wrong with going to bed with
someone of your own sex.  I just think people
should be very free with sex…They should draw
the line at goats." (Rolling Stone, October 7,
1976, p. 17)

== Discography ==

Studio Albums
*1969 Empty Sky; #6 US (1975 release) 
*1970 Elton John; #11 UK, #4 US 
*1971 Tumbleweed Connection; #6 UK, #5 US 
*1971 Madman Across the Water; #8 US 
*1972 Honky Château; #2 UK, #1 US 
*1973 Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player; #1
UK, #1 US 
*1973 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; #1 UK, #1 US 
*1974 Caribou; #1 UK, #1 US 
*1975 Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy;
#2 UK, #1 US 
*1975 Rock of the Westies; #5 UK, #1 US 
*1976 Blue Moves; #3 UK, #3 US 
*1978 A Single Man; #8 UK, #15 US 
*1979 Victim of Love; #35 US 
*1980 21 at 33; #12 UK, #13 US 
*1981 The Fox; #12 UK, #21 US 
*1982 Jump Up!; #13 UK, #17 US 
*1983 Too Low for Zero; #7 UK, #25 US 
*1984 Breaking Hearts; #2 UK, #20 US 
*1985 Ice on Fire; #3 UK, #48 US 
*1986 Leather Jackets; #24 UK, #91 US 
*1988 Reg Strikes Back; #18 UK, #16 US 
*1989 Sleeping With the Past; #1 UK, #23 US 
*1992 The One; #2 UK, #8 US 
*1995 Made in England; #3 UK, #13 US 
*1997 The Big Picture; #3 UK, #9 US 
*2001 Songs from the West Coast; #2 UK, #15 US 
*2004 Peachtree Road; #21 UK, #17 US 
Live Albums
*1971 11-17-70 live; #20 UK, #11 US 
*1976 Here and There (live); #6 UK, #4 US 
*1987 Live in Australia; #24 US 
*2000 One Night Only (live); #7 UK, #65 US 
*2002 Live at the Ritz 
Soundtracks
*1970 The Games soundtrack 
*1971 Friends soundtrack; #36 US 
*1994 The Lion King soundtrack; #4 UK 
*1999 The Muse 
*1999 Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida; #29 UK, #41
US 
*2000 The Road To El Dorado soundtrack; #63 US 
Compilations
*1974 Elton John's Greatest Hits; #1 UK, #1 US 
*1977 Elton John's Greatest Hits - Volume II; #6
UK, #21 US 
*1979 The Complete Thom Bell Sessions; #51 US 
*1980 The Very Best of Elton John; #24 UK 
*1982 Love Songs; #39 UK 
*1987 Greatest Hits Vol. 3 (1979-1987); #84 US 
*1990 The Very Best of Elton John; #1 UK 
*1990 To Be Continued... (box set); #82 US 
*1993 Duets; #5 UK, #25 US 
*1995 Love Songs; #4 UK, #24 US 
*2002 The Greatest Hits 1970-2002; #3 UK, #12 US 
 
For a more albums and info, see Elton John
discography.

==See also==
* List of best selling music artists
*List of number-one hits (United States)
*List of artists who reached number one on the Hot
100 (US)
*List of number-one dance hits (United States)
*List of artists who reached number one on the US
Dance chart

==Band==
===Current Members===
* Elton John - piano, lead vocals
* Guy Babylon - keyboards
* Bob Birch - bass guitar, vocals
* Davey Johnstone - guitar, musical director,
vocals
* John Mahon - percussion instrument|percussion,
vocals
* Nigel Olsson - drums, percussion
instrument|percussion, vocals

===Previous band members===
* Curt Bisquera - drums
* Jack Bruno - touring drums
* Ray Cooper - percussion instrument|percussion
* John Jorgenson - guitar, saxophone, mandolin,
pedal steel, vocals
* Jody Linscott - percussion instrument|percussion
* Jonathan Moffett - drums
* Charlie Morgan - drums
* Dee Murray - bass guitar, vocals
* James Newton Howard - Conducting|conductor
* Pino Palladino - bass guitar
* Kenny Passarelli - bass guitar, vocals
* David Patton - bass guitar, vocals
* Roger Pope - drums
* Caleb Quaye - guitar
* Tim Renwick - guitar, vocals
* Ken Stacey - additional guitar, vocals
* Mark Taylor - keyboards
* Billy Trudel - vocals
* Romeo Williams- bass guitar, vocals
* Ritchie Zito - drums

== External links ==

* http://www.eltonjohn.com Elton John's official
website
* http://www.eltonography.com Elton John
Discography and Lyrics
*
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/singerUnid/
E98916284BE40C2F48256876001FCECF Elton John
Biography
* http://www.rareexception.com/Garden/Blues.php
The Blues Elton and his song "I Guess That's Why
They Call It The Blues"
* http://www.eltonchords.com EltonChords.com
Resource for piano chording for Elton John Songs.
* http://www.eltonscafe.com/ Elton John's Music
Cafe
* http://ejaf.org/welcome.html Elton John AIDS
Foundation (EJAF)
* http://www.whizzo.ca/elton/ej.html Cornflakes &
Classics - The musical history of Elton John
* http://www.eltonjohnfanatic.com Elton John
Fanatic
* http://www.thelive8concert.com/elton.htm Elton
John at Live 8
* http://www.eltonography.com/songs/index.html/
Elton John Song Lyrics Websities