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Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John [1][2] (birth name Reginald Kenneth Dwight, born 25 March 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, pianist and composer. He started his music career immediately after leaving school.[3] Elton John was the biggest music star of the 1970s.[4]

Sir

Elton John

Elton John 2011 Shankbone 2 (cropped).JPG
John at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival
Born
Reginald Kenneth Dwight

(1947-03-25) 25 March 1947 (age 77)
Pinner, Middlesex, England
Occupation
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • pianist
  • composer
Years active1962–present
Spouse(s)
Renate Blauel
(m. 1984; div. 1988)

David Furnish (m. 2014)
Children2
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • keyboards
Labels
Associated acts
Websiteeltonjohn.com
Website@Elton_Johns

Early life

Reginald Kenneth Dwight was born at 55 Pinner Hill Road, Pinner, Middlesex. He is the eldest child of Stanley Dwight and Sheila Eileen.[5] He was educated in Pinner.

Career

John became famous in the early 1970s when he and lyricist Bernie Taupin wrote several songs which he performed and recorded. John became a huge star, not only for his musical abilities, but for his flamboyant stage personality. He composed several musicals. He also composed the music for the animated movies The Lion King (1994) and The Road to El Dorado (2000). He is active in charity work. In 1997, in honor of Diana, Princess of Wales, John co-wrote and released a version of his hit Candle in the Wind. That became the world's best-selling single of all time. It sold 37 million copies within two months.

Outside of music, John has raised millions of pounds for people living with HIV and AIDS through the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Awards

John has received the following awards:

Academy Awards

Grammy Awards

Tony Awards

  • 2000: Best Original Musical Score for Aida

Personal Life

Reginald Dwight was born March 25, 1947. His father, who was named Stanley Dwight, served in the British Royal Airforce as a pilot. Stanley loved jazz music but detested Rock n’ roll and thought it was silly. Reginald didn’t have a good relationship with his father, who would yell at him for as small an offense as putting on his jacket the wrong way.

Reginald’s mother, Sheila Eileen (Farebrother, after marrying her second husband, Fred), was likely a sufferer of Bipolar Disorder or Borderline Personality Disorder; she frequently had emotional or angry outbursts and Elton John later recounted as an adult that she was “sociopathic”.

Because of a volatile home environment wrought with fighting between his parents, young Reginald sought comfort in collecting vinyl records. He kept photographs of pop singer Dusty Springfield on his bedroom wall as a child, but the wall became wet and it destroyed them.

At the age of ten, Reginald was given a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, because he was recognised for his immense talent and for being a protegy.

From the ages of 14 until he was 17 and left school, he was the backup singer and the pianist for the band Bluesology, which was headlined by singer Long John Baldry. Reginald initially became irritated by having to play for people who were eating, and feeling he couldn’t be taken seriously enough in this environment, he angrily left the group one evening.

Reginald had long hated his name, and so by what in England is known as “deed poll” Reginald legally changed his name from Reginald Kenneth Dwight to Elton Hercules John. Elton from Elton Dean, a saxophone player, and John from Long John Baldry. His middle name, Hercules, was taken as a joke from the British tv show Steptoe and Suns (the English version of Sanford and Son’s), pet horse, Hercules.

Originally having signed with Polydor records to record his belatedly released debut album “Regimental Sargent Zippo”, which was a psych rock album, was shelved for the time being. Elton was given Bernie Taupins lyrics to write to, which began their lifelong friendship and collaboration.

Their next album was Empty Sky, released in 1969 and at the time didn’t receive significant attention.

It wasn’t until John’s live tv performance of “Your Song” on the Andy Williams show in 1970, and his first American gig at The Troubadour, that his success sky rocketed, and he quickly became a sensation.

That same night, he slept with another man for the first time, his manager John Reid. To Elton’s account, their love making took place on the roof of the Tokyo Hotel in Las Angelous.

Originally a shy and demure person, Elton struggled to talk and be social apart from his stage created persona, and so he developed a habit of using cocaine, Scotch whisky, Valium and marijuana to cope with the social aspects of fame.

The problems led to Elton feeling immensely unhappy in his personal life, and in order to seek happiness and a way out of his empty, drug filled life, he married a German sound engineer named Renate Blauel.

Reportedly sleeping in separate rooms of the house and barely spending time with eachother, their relationship deteriorated, with Elton ending their marriage in 1988 and promising to not speak ill of her in the press.

In 1990 Elton befriended the mother of the AIDS patient Ryan White, which inspired Elton to check into rehab and get sober. He developed the Elton John AIDS Foundation and funded research for the disease.

In the early 90s he met his future husband David Furnish, an amateur film maker, at an arranged get together and they hit it off.

Elton was a close personal friend of the late Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales at the time, and upon her tragic 1997 death, he paid homage to her legacy by singing publically at her funeral, with altered lyrics to “Goodbye Norma Jean” (which was originally intentioned as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe.)

Elton has stated that both he and the Princess both struggled with bulemia nervosa, and were confiding in eachother with their struggles.

Elton is an avid collector of art, including photography and paintings by William Scott Tuke and Monet.

Discography

Studio albums

Regimental Sgt Zippo (unreleased until 2024) recorded in 1968

Empty Sky (1969)

Elton John (1970)

The Tumbleweed Connection

Madman Across the Water

Don’t Shoot Me (I’m only the piano player)

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Rock Of The Westies

Caribou

Blue Moves

The Tom Bell Sessions

A Single Man

Victim of Love

Jump!

21 at 33

Breaking Hearts

Too Low For Zero

The Fox

Leather Jackets

Reg Strikes Back

Sleeping With the Past

Made In England

The Big Picture

The Lion King (movie soundtrack)

The Diving Board

The Union (with Leon Russel)

Wonderful Crazy Night

Who Believes in Angels (Not yet released)

Elton John Media

References

  1. ↑ Change of Name. 11 January 1972. p. 403. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/45571/page/403 
  2. ↑ "New year honours". BBC News (The British Broadcasting Corporation). 1997-12-31. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/for_christmas/_new_year/new_year_honours/43509.stm. Retrieved 2009-08-07. "KNIGHTS BACHELOR ...Elton Hercules John, CBE. Musician and Composer. For services to Music and for charitable services.". 
  3. ↑ "Elton John's biography on eltonjohn.com". Archived from the original on 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  4. ↑ "A biography of Elton John". Archived from the original on 2009-04-13. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  5. ↑ "Birthplace of Elton John goes up for sale". Harrow Times. Retrieved 2020-02-11.


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