Sir Elton Hercules John
"Sir Elton Hercules John", CBE(born 25 March 1947) is a pop music singer, composer, and pianist, and is one of the most successful solo artists in popular music history. Though best-known in contemporary times for his successful 1997 re-release of 'Candle In The Wind', his recording and performing career has spanned over four decades. His flamboyant fashion sense, on-stage showmanship, and public struggles with his private life have combined with his talent to make him a legend to his many fans around the world.

John was one of the dominant commercial forces in the rock world during the 1970s, racking up a string of seven consecutive #1 records on the U.S. album charts. His piano-based sound has helped keep that instrument relevant in a guitar-oriented genre. He has maintained a public presence in the fight against AIDS, and has had renewed moments of commercial triumph, such as his defiant hit "I'm Still Standing" and his award-winning work on the popular animated film "The Lion King".

Early life and career
Elton John was born "Reginald Kenneth Dwight" in Pinner, England, the son of Squadron Leader Stanley Dwight, RAF, and his wife, Sheila Dwight. Reginald was raised primarily by his mother and other female relatives, and saw little of his father as a boy. Stanley and Sheila divorced in 1962, when Reginald was 15.

Reginald began playing the piano when he was four. Something of a child prodigy, he was able to play by ear any melody he heard on the radio or phonograph. At 11, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. He stayed at the Academy for six years, leaving before graduation to focus on his professional music.

In 1960, Reginald and some of his friends 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 La Belle and the Bluebelles. In 1966 the band became musician Long John Baldry's supporting band and began touring cabarets with him throughout England. Reginald left soon after, as Baldry's control had increased. After failing lead vocalist auditions for both 'King Crimson' and 'Gentle Giant', Reginald answered an advertisement in the New Musical Express placed by Ray Williams then the young A&R manager for Liberty Records. There, Ray gave him lyrics written by Bernie Taupin who had answered the same ad. Reginald wrote music for the lyrics, and then mailed it to Taupin. 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 and Long "John" Baldry. In 1967 the first Elton John/Bernie Taupin song, "Scarecrow", was recorded.

Elton and Bernie, now partners, 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', while also recording their own songs. Taupin would write a batch of lyrics in under an hour, and give it to John who would write music for them in half an hour, disposing the lyrics if he couldn't come up with anything quickly.

In June 1969, Elton John released "Empty Sky", his first album, for DJM. Despite good reviews, it failed to click with the record buying public.

1970s success
Elton's self-titled second album was released in the spring of 1970 on MCA, and slowly began to climb the charts. The first single from the album, "Your Song", made the US Top Ten, and the album followed path.

John's first American concert took place at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, in August, receiving praise from the likes of Quincy Jones.

"Elton John" was followed quickly with the concept album "Tumbleweed Connection" in October 1970. 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 and father of Piano rock, with astonishing interaction between Elton, bassist Dee Murray, and drummer Nigel Olsson. 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 (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 LP "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" which gained instant critical acclaim. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" topped the charts and is considered by many to be his best 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" and Lennon's "One Day at a Time", Elton being featured on Lennon's "Whatever Gets You Thru 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 Football Club, and released the albums "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 (1975 in the U.S.). The song charted #7 in England. Many still recognize Elton John's rocker version more easily than The Who's original version.

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 like "Captain Fantastic", a previously unattained feat.

1976 also saw a highly successful collaboration with English singer Kiki Dee, when their duet "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" went to number 1 on the charts.

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 an interview with "Rolling Stone" that he was bisexual. This revelation may have contributed to 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.

Nevertheless, Elton John dominated the rock world in the 1970s, as evidenced by his seven consecutive albums that topped the US album charts: "Honky Chateau" (1972, No 1 for five weeks), "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player" (1973, No 1 for two weeks), "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973, No 1 for eight weeks), "Caribou" (1974, No 1 for four weeks), "Elton John's Greatest Hits" (1974, No 1 for ten weeks), "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" (1975, No 1 for seven weeks) and "Rock of the Westies" (1975, No 1 for three weeks), and 15 hit singles, including six that went to No 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 No 2 ("Daniel", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"), during that period.

1980s onwards
On 13 September 1980 Elton John performed a free concert to a huge audience on The Great Lawn in Central Park in New York City, within hearing distance of his friend John Lennon's apartment building. A few months later Lennon would be murdered and Elton mourned the loss in his 1982 hit "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)".

Elton John's 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 during a concert with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra although the orchestra did not take part in the song. The song, which was a tribute to Marilyn Monroe, was originally recorded in 1973 on his "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album.

The 1991 film documentary "Two Rooms" described the unusual writing style that John and Bernie Taupin use, which involves Taupin writing the lyrics on his own, and John then putting them to music, with the two never in the same room during the process.

In 1991, John's "Basque" won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition.

In 1992, John performed "Bohemian Rhapsody " and "The Show Must Go On" with Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, an AIDS charity event held at Wembley Stadium, London in honour of Queen's late front man Freddie Mercury. In September of the same year, he performed "November Rain" with Guns N' Roses for the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards at the Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA.

Elton John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He and Bernie Taupin had previously been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992.

Elton John was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1995.

In September 1997, Taupin altered the lyrics of "Candle in the Wind" for a special version mourning the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and John performed it at her funeral in Westminster Abbey. A recorded version, "Candle in the Wind 1997", then became the fastest selling single of all time, eventually going on to sell over 30 million copies worldwide, with the proceeds of approximately ?55 million going to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. John would later win the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the single.

Elton John was dubbed a knight by Queen Elizabeth II on 24 February 1998, granting him the title of 'Sir'.

He continues to release new material to commercial success, and tours extensively, despite being fitted with a 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 La Chapelle

John dueted with Eminem on the rapper's "Stan" at the Grammy Awards of 2001. This went a long way towards absolving Eminem of charges of homophobia and thus paving the way for Eminem's greater mainstream acceptance.

In 2001, John was booked to appear on an episode of the BBC topical panel show "Have I Got News For You" but withdrew with just hours to spare. He was replaced by a look-alike - a taxi driver from Colchester called Ray Johnson, who was credited by the show as 'Ray Elton John Son'. Johnson also appeared 'as' Elton in Never Mind the Buzzcocks' December 20th, 2005, as part of a line up. However, it was obvious that the show had booked Johnson rather than John himself.

He achieved yet another No 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".

On 2 July 2005, John performed at the Live 8 concert at Hyde Park in London.

In July of 2005, Madame Tussauds made a statue of Elton John to his measurements. It took more than 1,000 hours to complete. John is currently sandwiching a two-year world tour, some venues of which are new to Elton, with his regular appearances at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

Film work
He has also done work both for and in films. In 1971, he wrote the soundtrack for the movie "Friends". In 1972 he appeared in the Marc Bolan's musical film 'Born to Boogie' In 1975, he appeared as the Pinball Wizard in Ken Russell's over-the-top movie version of the rock opera "Tommy".

In 1994, along with Tim Rice, he wrote the songs for the Disney animated film "The Lion King". (Rice was reportedly stunned by the rapidity with which John was able to set his words to music.) "The Lion King" went on to become the best-grossing traditionally-animated feature of all time, with the songs playing a key part. Three of the five songs nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song that year were John and Rice songs from "The Lion King", with "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" winning. In versions sung by John, both that and "Circle of Life" became big hits, while the other songs such as "Hakuna Matata" achieved popularity with all ages as well. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" would also win John the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

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, his song "The Heart of Every Girl" was featured as the end title song from 2003's "Mona Lisa Smile", and his most recent movie song is "My Father's Gun" from 2005's "Elizabeth town".

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