Elton John
Date of birth
25th March, 1947
Occupation
Musician
Sex
Male
Height
1.72
Sir Elton John CBE (born Reginald Dwight, 25.3.1947) Elton John is an English singer and songwriter, who rose to fame in the 1970s and has continued his career over four decades.
Childhood: Elton John was born in Middlesex, in a house belonging to his mother's parents. Although his father tried to encourage him toward a conventional career, such as banking, Elton decided to pursue his musical career after leaving Pinner County Grammar School at 15.
Elton's parents were keen followers of popular music and were responsible for introducing him to the likes of Elvis Presley and Bill Haley in the 1950s.
Elton's piano playing began when he was three years old and lessons started when he was seven. Aged 11, Elton won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music.
It wasn't until 1972 that he legally changed his name to Elton Hercules John.
His Musical Genesis: Aged 15, Elton (still known as Reginald Dwight) began playing piano at weekends in his local pub. He included his own compositions alongside covers of Jim Reeves as well as old pub standards such as 'Roll Out the Barrel.'
He went on to perform in hotel bars and formed a band in 1964, called Bluesology. Bluesology became a backing band for the likes of The Isley Brothers and Patti LaBelle
In 1967, Elton's relationship with Bernie Taupin began. They had both answered an ad placed in the New Musical Express, by the A&R manager of Liberty Records. Elton wrote the music to a number of Bernie's lyrics, posted them to him, and their long-lived partnership began there and then. For two years, they wrote songs for the likes of Lulu and Roger Cook as well as Britain's 1969 Eurovision entry, 'Can't Go On (Living Without You).
Eventually, the songwriting duo began writing songs for Elton to perform. In 1969, the single 'Lady Samantha' and an album, Empty Sky were released, to great reviews, but poor sales. However, the pair eventually found massive success on both sides of the Atlantic. Elton briefly retired from performing in 1976 but returned to the limelight, working again with Taupin as well as other lyricists such as Judy Tzuke and Tom Robinson.
Discography (Albums)
Empty Sky (1969)
Elton John (1970)
Tumbleweed Connection (1970)
Madman Across The Water (1971)
Honky Château (1972)
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (1973)
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
Caribou (1974)
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975)
Rock of The Westies (1975)
Blue Moves (1976)
A Single Man (1978)
Victim of Love (1979)
21 at 33 (1980)
The Fox (1981)
Jump Up! (1982)
Too Low For Zero (1983)
Breaking Hearts (1984)
Ice On Fire (1985)
Leather Jackets (1986)
Reg Strikes Back (1988)
Sleeping With The Past (1989)
The One (1992)
Duets (1993) [Featuring K.D. Lang, Kiki Dee, P.M. Dawn, Little Richard, Chris Rea, Leonard Cohen and George Michael, among others]
Made In England (1985)
The Big Picture (1997)
Songs From the West Coast (2001)
Peachtree Road (2004)
The Captain & The Kid (2006)
Personal Life: In 1976, Elton John announced, in a Rolling Stone interview that he was bisexual. On Valentine's Day, 1984, Elton married Renate Blauel, a German recording engineer, much to many people's surprise. They divorced four years later. Elton went on to renounce his bisexuality and came out as a homosexual. In 1993, Elton met David Furnish. Furnish was formerly an advertising executive, now a filmmaker. In 2005, the couple had a civil ceremony to legally bind their partnership. Their low-key wedding ceremony was followed by a lavish party at their mansion in Berkshire.
Elton John has ten godchildren, including John Lennon and Yoko Ono's son, Sean Ono Lennon, Elizabeth Hurley's son Damian Charles, Seymour Stein's daughter and David and Victoria Beckham's son, Brooklyn.
Elton has battled a number of addictions throughout his life. His rock n' roll lifestyle began to take its toll in the 1970s and he suffered a drug overdose during Los Angeles' 'Elton Week' in 1975. He is also known to have suffered from the eating disorder, bulimia. In 1999, Elton was fitted with a pacemaker. It has been reported that this was due to an irregular heartbeat.
In 2000, Elton John sued his former manager, John Reid and his accountants, PriceWaterhouseCoopers. During the case, he admitted having spent £30 million in just under two years. Evidence provided in court showed that he had spent $9.6 million on property and £293,000 on flowers between January 1996 and September 1997. Elton lost the case and was ordered to pay £8 million in legal fees.
Elton John's fortune has been estimated at £250 million, making him one of the entertainment industry's wealthiest figures, despite his excessive spending habits.
In 1976, Elton John became the chairman and director of Watford Football Club. He invested a great deal of money into the club and still holds shares in the organisation, though he is no longer the main shareholder.
Since the deaths of his friends, Freddie Mercury and Ryan White, from AIDS, Elton has been a long-time supporter of various AIDS charities. In 1986, he teamed up with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder to release 'That's What Friends Are For' (written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager). The single won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal, as well as Song of The Year, for its writers.
In 1992, Elton created the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which funds research programmes seeking to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. Each year, since 2004, Elton has sold a number of his second hand clothes in a shop called 'Elton's Closet', to raise money for charity.
Casino Residencies: From Liberace To J.Lo Or Aerosmith To Adele, They're An Odds-on Money Spinning Certainty
By Lenny Barksdale in Music / Festivals on 30 January 2022
With sales revenue of $685,000 per show it's not only Adele's fans that are devastated that they're no longer going ahead
Adele was an emotional wreck when she recently announced the cancellation of her Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace just hours before it was due to begin. The three month long stint at the world famous Caesars Palace would have been one of the biggest shows to take place there in recent years. Adele, still dominating the charts with her fourth album - 30, was clearly distraught when she told fans that the shows would not go ahead as planned because her 'Weekends With...' event simply, "just wasn't ready".
Continue reading: The Best Of Elton John: A Birthday Playlist For The Piano Man Himself
The Grammy Awards 2021: Beyoncé Wins Four But Sir Elton John Might Still Hit Someone
By Andrew Lockwood in Music / Festivals on 15 March 2021
The 63rd Grammy Awards saw history made; not once, not twice but three times with wins for Beyoncé, Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift setting new records.
On a night when barely anything was normal at the 63rd Grammy Awards, history was made as Beyoncé not only won four awards but also became the most decorated female artist of all time with a collective 28 awards. Beyoncé was reported to be a no show prior to the awards, much to the dismay of the organisers who had ideally wanted her to perform. However, as the evening got underway and the TV cameras panned across the room, it was something of a surprise to see both Beyoncé and Jay-Z seated at one of the socially distanced tables. Beyoncé was the big news, and the big winner on the night; her fourth award meant that she surpassed the total number of awards by a female artist, an honour previously held by Country singer Alison Krauss with 27. One of the biggest losers on the night, no doubt to the horror of Sir Elton John, was Phoebe Bridgers. Phoebe was up for four awards including Best New Artist and Best Rock Song, sadly she didn't win in any category. Elton, talking to Phoebe Bridgers on his Apple Music 1 'Rocket Hour' show ahead of the Grammy's, had said "If you don’t win at least one, I’m going to hit someone, OK?" We are yet to see whether he has! For now let's see who won what.
Music News
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Music News Round-Up: Elton John UK Tour Dates, Long-Lost Aretha Franklin Film And Vampire Weekend Album Four
By Ed Biggs in Music / Festivals on 11 November 2018
The week's non-Spice Girls music news rounded up, including Elton John's farewell tour and the first All Points East 2019 announcements.
Aretha Franklin FILM TO BE RELEASED AFTER NEARLY 50 YEARS
A documentary film about Aretha Franklin, capturing the power of her live performances, is to see the light of day after nearly 50 years in the editing room.
Amazing Grace will premiere in New York City on Monday November 12th as part of the DOC NYC film festival. Shot by director Sydney Pollack over two nights in January 1972 at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles – the same performance that gave us the multi-million-selling live album Amazing Grace – the proposed project was beset by problems.
Continue reading: Music News Round-Up: Elton John UK Tour Dates, Long-Lost Aretha Franklin Film And Vampire Weekend Album Four
Elton John Announces UK Dates For Farewell Tour
By Ed Biggs in Music / Festivals on 08 November 2018
The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour will take in 13 dates across the UK in late 2020.
Sir Elton John has finally revealed details of the UK leg of his massive Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour, announcing 13 dates around the country in November and December 2020.
71 year old Elton first announced that he would be quitting performing live back in January this year – but not before a massive 300-date world tour that won’t wrap until 2021. The impressive run kicked off in Pennsylvania back in September, but the singer had remained quiet on when the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour – so named for his famous 1973 album – until now.
On Thursday (November 8th), Sir Elton revealed that the UK leg will be commencing in almost exactly two years’ time, starting with two dates at London’s O2 Arena and winding up at Leeds First Direct Arena on December 7th 2020.
Continue reading: Elton John Announces UK Dates For Farewell Tour
Elton John performing with his band live onstage at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Elton still has a handful of European dates to play before Christmas - Friday 2nd December 2016
Sir Elton John seen alone and with David Furnish and Diana Krall arriving at his 15th annual AIDS Foundation benefit held at Cipriani Wall Street, New York, United States - Wednesday 2nd November 2016
Sir Elton John performs live at the Apple Music Festival 2016 held at Camden's Roundhouse, - London, United Kingdom - Sunday 18th September 2016
Elton John making a live performance at BBC Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom - Sunday 11th September 2016
Caroline Rush - Tateossian London and Elton John Aids Foundation Party held at Ronnie Scott's at Ronnie Scott's - London, United Kingdom - Sunday 14th June 2015