Elton John

Elton John, born in 1947, British singer-songwriter, who was one of the most successful musicians of the 1970s and remained popular through the 1980s and 1990s. Born Reginald Dwight in Pinner, Middlesex, he began a career as a professional musician in 1965, playing piano and singing with the band Bluesology. While with the band he changed his name to Elton John, combining the first names of two musicians he admired, saxophonist Elton Dean and singer John Baldry. In 1967 John met British lyricist Bernie Taupin, and they formed a song-writing partnership.

The single “Your Song” (1971) was John’s first hit, and his talent for melodious, sentimental ballads became his most distinguishing feature. He experimented with flamboyant stage costumes and other elements of a style known as glam rock, which he employed to effect on raucous songs such as “Crocodile Rock” (1973). John caused some controversy in 1976 when he publicly spoke about his bisexuality. Between 1972 and 1975, many of his albums topped the British music charts. One of the most critically acclaimed records of this period was Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975), which was based on the life stories of John and Taupin. John also had a role in the motion-picture version of Tommy (1975), a rock-opera created by the rock band The Who.

During the early 1980s, John temporarily broke up his writing partnership with Taupin and battled bulimia and drug problems. He overcame his problems, and his 1983 hit “I’m Still Standing” emphasized his resilience during this time. By 1992 John had equaled Elvis Presley’s achievement of placing hit singles in the American top-40 music charts for 22 consecutive years. In 1994 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 1999 he received a Grammy Legend Award in recognition of his ongoing contributions to the recording industry (Grammy Awards).

John performed “Candle in the Wind 1997,” a special adaptation of his 1973 song “Candle in the Wind,” at the September 1997 funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in Westminster Abbey. A studio recording of the song later released to raise money for a charitable trust set up in her memory sold some 33 million copies over the following year, making it the biggest-selling single in history, surpassing “White Christmas,” released by Bing Crosby in 1942. John received a knighthood in 1998.

From the mid-1990s onward John worked on a number of motion-picture and stage productions. He collaborated with lyricist Tim Rice on songs for the Disney animated film The Lion King (1994), which was later turned into a popular stage musical. With less critical success they worked together on a Broadway version of the opera Aïda, which opened in 2000. His score for Billy Elliot: The Musical (2005), adapted from a 2000 film, was well received. However, his score for Lestat (2006), a Broadway musical based on the vampire novels of Anne Rice, received negative reviews and closed early.