Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John CH CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947[1]) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his work during the 1970s and for his lasting impact on the music industry, his music and showmanship have had a significant impact on popular music.[2] His songwriting partnership with lyricist Bernie Taupin is one of the most successful in history.[3]
This article is about the musician. For the album, see Elton John (album). For other uses, see Elton John (disambiguation).
Elton John
Reggie Dwight
- Singer
- pianist
- composer
1962–present
-
Renate Blauel(m. 1984; div. 1988)
2
- Vocals
- piano
- keyboards
John was raised in Pinner and learned to play piano at an early age, winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied for five years. He formed the blues band Bluesology in 1962, but left in 1967 to embark on a solo career and met Taupin the same year. For two years, they wrote songs for other artists, and John worked as a session musician. In 1969, John released his debut album Empty Sky, and a year later formed the Elton John Band, also releasing his first hit single, "Your Song".[4] John's critical success was at its peak in the 1970s, when he released a string of chart-topping albums both in the US and UK, which began with Honky Château (1972) and culminated with Rock of the Westies (1975).[5] His success continued in the 1980s and 1990s, having several hit singles and albums in both decades,[6][7] and he has continued to record new music since.[8][9] John has also had success in musical films and theatre, composing music for The Lion King, Aida, and Billy Elliot the Musical. John's final tour, Farewell Yellow Brick Road (2018–2023), became the highest-grossing concert tour of all time.[10] His life and career were dramatised in the 2019 biopic Rocketman.
John is an HIV/AIDS charity fundraiser and has been involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s.[11][12][13] He established the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, which has raised over £300 million since its inception, and a year later he began hosting his annual AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Party, which has since become one of the biggest high-profile Oscar parties in the Hollywood film industry.[14] John was the chairman and director of Watford F.C. from 1976 to 1987, and again from 1997 to 2002, and is an honorary life president of the club.[15][16] From the late 1970s to the late 1980s, John developed a severe addiction to drugs and alcohol, but has been clean and sober since 1990.[17] In 2005 he entered a civil partnership with his long-term partner, the Canadian filmmaker David Furnish. They married in 2014, when same-sex marriage became legal in England and Wales.[18]
John has more than fifty top-40 hits on the UK Singles Chart and US Billboard Hot 100, including nine number ones in both countries, as well as seven consecutive number-one albums in the US.[19][20] He has sold over 300 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.[21] He is the most successful solo artist in the history of the US Billboard charts.[22] His tribute single to Princess Diana, "Candle in the Wind 1997", a rewritten version of his 1974 single, sold over 33 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling chart single of all time.[23][24][25] In 2021, he became the first solo artist with UK Top 10 singles across six decades.[26][27][28] Among John's numerous awards, he is one of 19 entertainers to win the EGOT, which includes an Emmy Award, five Grammy Awards, two Academy Awards, and a Tony Award.[29][30] He also won two Golden Globes, a Laurence Olivier Award, and the Kennedy Center Honor. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, and is a fellow of The Ivors Academy. He was knighted by Elizabeth II for services to music and charity in 1998 and was appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 2020, being invested at Windsor Castle in 2021 by the Prince of Wales.[31]
Personal life
Sexuality and family
In the late 1960s, John was engaged to be married to his first lover, secretary Linda Woodrow, who is mentioned in the song "Someone Saved My Life Tonight".[238][239] Woodrow provided financial assistance to John and Taupin at the time. John ended the relationship two weeks before their intended wedding, after being advised by Taupin and Long John Baldry. In 2020, John helped pay for Woodrow's medical fees upon her request, despite having lost contact with her 50 years previously.[240]
In 1970, right after his first US shows in Los Angeles, he lost his virginity to and started his first gay relationship with John Reid, the Tamla Motown label manager for the UK, who later became John's manager. The relationship ended five years later, although Reid remained his manager until 1998.[241]
John married German recording engineer Renate Blauel on 14 February 1984, in an extravagant wedding ceremony at St Mark's Church, Darling Point, Sydney.[242][243] Blauel said she attempted suicide during their honeymoon in St-Tropez after John told her that he wanted to end the union.[244] Their marriage ended in divorce in 1988. John stated: "She was the classiest woman I've ever met, but it wasn't meant to be. I was living a lie."[243] In 2020, Blauel sued John for writing about their relationship in his 2019 Me: Elton John Official Autobiography, which she claimed broke the terms of their divorce agreement.[245] The case was settled later the same year.[246]
John had come out as bisexual in a 1976 interview with Rolling Stone,[238][239] and in 1992 he told Rolling Stone in another interview that he was "quite comfortable about being gay".[247]
Artistry
Influences
John has said he remembers being immediately hooked on rock and roll when his mother brought home records by Elvis Presley and Bill Haley & His Comets in 1956.[39][40] He also stated of when he was growing up: "I heard Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, and that was it. I didn't ever want to be anything else. I'm more of a Little Richard stylist than a Jerry Lee Lewis, I think. Jerry Lee is a very intricate piano player and very skillful, but Little Richard is more of a pounder."[325] John has also cited Ray Charles, the Beatles, the Band, Leon Russell, Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell and Freddie Mercury as influences.[326]
John has often expressed a great appreciation for the accomplishments of young artists from the 21st century, collaborating with several of them on the 2021 collaborative album The Lockdown Sessions and interviewing them on his Apple Music radio show Rocket Hour.[327] He stated in an interview: "It's wonderful because you think, 'God, they're 16 or 17 or 15 years of age. How do they do that?' It keeps me animated and it keeps me so happy", and that "These are the kind of artists that keep me young. I listen to all new music, I know all the old music but it's the new music in life that keeps me inspired."[328][329]
