Elton doesn't write lyrics, his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin usually takes care of that. They met through a want-ad in a British music trade paper, and someone at the publishing company where they both applied connected them, since Elton needed a lyricist and Bernie needed someone to write music. Taupin would deliver lyrics to John in bundles, and Elton would fit tunes to them. He wouldn't even ask Bernie what the songs were about, and Taupin claims that there are some songs Elton thinks are about him, but are actually about Bernie.
Before he was a solo artist, John was in Bluesology, a backing group for blues singers from America that toured England (like Patti Labelle and the Bluebelles). They were hired by Baldry in 1966 as his backing band; John co-produced an album of his in 1971.
His birth name is Reginald Kenneth Dwight. The name Elton comes from Elton Dean, a Bluesology sax player. John comes from Long John Baldry, a British R&B singer and founder of Blues Inc. In 1974, he made Elton Hercules John his legal name. Hercules was the name of the horse in the British comedy series
Steptoe and Son, which he enjoyed. (Thanks, Vincent - Wales, UK)
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His talent was apparent at a young age: At 11, he won a piano scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music.
He was such a big fan of the Watford Football Club that he bought a controlling interest in the team, and in 1976 became chairman. At the time, they were a Fourth-Division club, but Elton's investments and shrewd moves got them to the First Division in 1982, a remarkable feat. He gave up his interest in the team later in the decade, but again took over as chairman in 1996, this time leading them from Third Division to Premier League (the rebranded First Division). He resigned in 2002 but continued his support; he was later named Honorary Life-President of the club.
Has played piano on records by many different artists including George Harrison, John Lennon, Rod Stewart, Bon Jovi, Jackson Browne, Ringo Starr, the Hollies, and Bob Dylan.
A
six-night run at the trendy Los Angeles club the Troubadour in August 1970 gave him a huge boost in America. After the first night, major newspapers published rave reviews, with the
Chicago Sun Times declaring, "He was a major star before the end of his first set." His first hit came a few months later with "
Your Song," which went to #8 in January 1971.
As a child, John didn't need glasses, but wore a pair anyway to look like Buddy Holly. Bad idea: They damaged his eyes so much that he was soon forced to wear them for real. (from The Buddy Holly Story by John Goldrosen)
After he topped a poll by Cadbury to find Britain's favorite personality, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London made a statue of Elton out of 227lbs (126kgs) of Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolate. He's the first solo rock star to get a wax portrait made by Madame Tussaud's. The Beatles were the first rock band.
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His 1975 album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirty Cowboy was first album to to debut at #1 on the US Albums chart (the Billboard 200). His album Rock of the Westies, released later in 1975, was the second.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 by Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose, who calls John a major influence.
Taupin and John give a lot of their British royalties to AIDS charities. It's one of several things he has done for AIDS research. Others included auctioning off his record collection, hosting Oscar parties, and organizing an auction for a date with supermodel Cindy Crawford.
John was made an Officer of Arts and Letters by France, one of their highest distinctions.
He had his first sexual experience with a woman, Linda Woodrow, and in 1970, when Elton was 21, the couple were engaged. Elton abruptly ended the relationship after anguishing over it. According to his biographer Philip Norman, Elton even made a half-hearted suicide attempt around this time, putting his head in a gas oven, but leaving a window open and keeping the gas on low. The engagement is referenced in the song "
Someone Saved My Life Tonight."
In 1976 he admitted that he was bisexual, telling
Rolling Stone: "I think everybody's bisexual to a certain degree. I don't think it's just me."
Over the next few years, it became more clear that he was gay, especially when he released "
Elton's Song" in 1981, which is about a schoolboy who has a crush on another boy. It was surprising then when in 1984, Elton married a woman: studio engineer Renate Blauel in 1984. They divorced in 1988 on amicable terms; Elton later admitted he was trying to please his mother and settle his "wild life." As the AIDS crisis came to bear, he became a gay activist. In 2005, he took part in a civil ceremony with partner David Furnish - gay marriage was not legal in England.
He was known for wearing outrageous costumes on stage, appearing in feathers, in a rhinestone-studded baseball uniform, as Mozart, even as Donald Duck. In 1988, he decided to purge as part of a lifestyle change. By then he had accumulated so many items that his mansion in Old Windsor, England looked like a glittery thrift store. He auctioned off about 2,000 items, including the boots he wore in Tommy, raising about $8 million.
He appeared as the Pinball Wizard in the film version of the Who's
Tommy. After convincing Rod Stewart to turn down the role, he took it for himself and also asked if he could keep the large boots that he wore for the part.
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Elton married studio engineer Renate Blauel in 1984, surprising many people who thought he was gay. He was. They divorced four years later.
John characterizes 1989-1990 as the worst time period of his life. He had become close friends with AIDS victim Ryan White, who died in 1990; he had just gotten divorced, was addicted to cocaine, and had developed severe bulimia, gorging himself at meals so he could throw up and eat more.
He didn't get better until his lover, Hugh Williams, convinced him to check into a hospital for treatment. When he emerged six months later, he was on the road to recovery. He kept a light schedule for the next year to focus on his health and maintain his sobriety, which he did.
He lost two close friends in the summer of 1997: Designer Gianni Versace, who was murdered on July 15, and Diana, Princess of Wales, who was killed in a car accident on August 31. At her funeral, he played "
Candle In The Wind" with new lyrics written in tribute. This version was released as a single, with proceeds going to her memorial fund.
When he performed there for the 60th time on his 60th birthday, he set the record for the most performances at New York's Madison Square Garden.
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Elton John is unwilling to wear a backstage pass, as the rider for The Elton John One Man Show reveals.
He ranks #1 in Billboard's 2011 list of the top Adult Contemporary Artists Of All Time. He had 16 #1 AC hits by the time the list was compiled.
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He composed his first five albums on a 1910 white upright piano, which was sold at a Dallas auction for $164,000 in 2004.
Elton is godfather to several celebrity children, including Sean Lennon (son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono), Brooklyn and Romeo Beckham (sons of David and Victoria Beckham), and Damian Charles (son of Elizabeth Hurley).
Elton married longtime partner David Furnish in 2014 after gay marriage became legal in England. Exactly nine years earlier, they were one of the first couples in the UK to form a civil partnership after the Civil Partnership Act came into effect.
The singer has two sons with Furnish (born via surrogate mother): Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John, born in 2010, and Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John, born in 2013.
Elton had a long-standing feud with Madonna after he criticized her for lip-synching during a live performance in the early 2000s. After over a decade peppered with insults against the Material Girl, including calling her a "f--king fairground stripper" and asserting that her career was over, Elton apologized to the singer in 2013.
Elton John's "Million Dollar Piano" that he plays in concert features more than 60 LED video screens. It took Yamaha almost four years to make and weighs 220 stone.
In a 2000 court case between John and his former manager, it was revealed that Elton spent £293,000 on flowers over a 21-month span. On the stand, Elton simply explained, "Yes, I like flowers."
According to his biographer Philip Norman, Elton made a half-hearted suicide attempt when he was 21, sticking his head in a gas oven but leaving a window open and using a pillow to rest his head.
When John won the 2024 Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) award for his concert film
Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium, he joined a select group of entertainers who've received all four of the major American entertainment awards (EGOT). John was only the third pop artist to achieve the feat, following in the footsteps of John Legend and Jennifer Hudson.
Prior to winning the Emmy, John won:
Grammy Awards for Best Pop Performance by A Duo Or Group With Vocal in 1987 for "
That's What Friends Are For"; Best Instrumental Composition for "Basque" in 1992; Best Male Pop Vocal in 1994 for "
Can You Feel The Love Tonight;" Grammy Legend Award in 1999; Best Musical Show Album for
Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida in 2001.
Two Academy Awards in the Best Original Song category for "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from
The Lion King (in 1994) and "
(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from
Rocketman (2019).
A Tony Award for Best Original Score for the show
Aida in 2000.