Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.

In his four-decade career, John has sold more than 200 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single "Candle in the Wind 1997" has sold over 37 million copies, becoming the best selling single of all time. He has more than 50 Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 U.S. albums, 56 Top 40 singles, 16 Top 10, four No. 2 hits, and nine No. 1 hits. He has won five Grammy awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Tony Award. His success has had a profound impact on popular music and has contributed to the continued popularity of the piano in rock and roll. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him #49 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. Some of the characteristics of John's musical talent and work include an ability to quickly craft melodies for the lyrics of songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, his former rich tenor (now baritone) voice, his classical and gospel-influenced piano, the sensitive orchestral arrangements of Paul Buckmaster among others, and the on-stage showmanship, especially evident during the 1970s.

John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s, and was knighted in 1998. He entered into a civil partnership with David Furnish on 21 December 2005 and continues to be a champion for LGBT social movements. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of the top 100 most-frequently-charting artists in the history of the Billboard Hot 100

. John was listed at #3, behind only Madonna and The Beatles.

Early life

John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947, and was raised in Pinner, Middlesex in a council house of his maternal grandparents, with whom his newlywed parents (Sheila Eileen (Harris) and Stanley Dwight) were living. They then moved to a nearby semi-detached house. He was educated at Pinner Wood Junior School, Reddiford School and Pinner County Grammar School until the age of 17, when he left just prior to his GCE A Level examinations to pursue a career in the music industry.Elton John, Philip Norman, Fireside, 1991His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John, Elizabeth Rosenthal, Billboard Books, 2001 first= Nigel

When John began to seriously consider a career in music, his father, who served as a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force, tried to steer him toward a more conventional career, such as banking. John has stated that his wild stage costumes and performances were his way of letting go after such a restrictive childhood. Both of John's parents were musically inclined, his father having been a trumpet player with a semi-professional big band called the Bob Millar Band that played at military dances. The Dwights were avid record buyers, exposing John to all the popular singers and musicians of the day. John remembers being immediately hooked on rock and roll when his mother brought home records by Elvis Presley and Bill Haley & His Comets in 1956.

Musical fame

John started playing the piano at the age of 3, and within a year, his mother heard him picking out Winifred Atwell's "The Skater's Waltz" by ear. John was soon pressed into service as a performer at parties and family gatherings. He began taking formal piano lessons at the age of 7. He showed great musical aptitude at school, including the ability to compose melodies, and gained some notoriety by playing like Jerry Lee Lewis at school functions. At the age of 11, he won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. According to one of his instructors, John promptly played back, like a "gramophone record", a four-page piece by Handel that he heard for the first time.

For the next five years, John traveled by subway into central London to attend Saturday classes at the Academy, in addition to his regular school duties at Pinner County Grammar School. John has since stated that he enjoyed playing Chopin and Bach and singing in the choir during Saturday classes, but that he was not otherwise a diligent classical student. "I kind of resented going to the Academy," he says. "I was one of those children who could just about get away without practicing and still pass, scrape through the grades." He even claims that he would sometimes skip classes and just ride around on the Tube. However, several instructors have testified that he was a "model student," and during the last few years he was taking lessons from a private tutor in addition to his classes at the Academy. Therefore, whatever his internal attitude might have been, it seems clear that he was dedicated to learning his craft.

John's mother Sheila, though also strict with her son, was more vivacious than her husband, and something of a free spirit. With Stanley Dwight uninterested in his son and often physically absent, John was raised primarily by his mother and maternal grandmother. When his father was home, the Dwights would have terrible arguments that greatly distressed their son. John was 15 when they divorced. Sheila was soon remarried to a local painter named Fred Farebrother, who turned out to be a caring and supportive stepfather. John affectionately referred to him as "Derf", his first name in reverse. They moved into flat No. 1A in an eight-unit apartment building called Frome Court, not far from both previous homes. It was there that John would write the songs that would launch his career as a rock star; he would live there until he had four albums simultaneously in the American Top 40.

Early career (1962–69)

At the age of 15, with the help of mother Sheila and stepfather "Derf", Reginald Dwight became a weekend pianist at the nearby Northwood Hills pub, playing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Known simply as "Reggie" (a small, unassuming name in Britain), he played everything from Jim Reeves country songs "He'll Have to Go" to Irish tribute numbers "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," old pub favourites such as, "Roll Out The Barrel," hits of the day, "King of the Road," and songs he had written himself. He received a modest, steady income and substantial tips. "During that whole period, I don't think I ever missed a gig," he said later. A stint with a short-lived group called the Corvettes rounded out his time.

In 1964, Dwight and his friends formed a band called Bluesology. By day, he ran errands for a music publishing company; he divided his nights between solo gigs at a London hotel bar and working with Bluesology. By the mid-1960s, Bluesology was backing touring American soul and R&B musicians like The Isley Brothers, Major Lance, Billy Stewart, Doris Troy and Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles. It was during this period that Dwight first heard Music from Big Pink—he would derive much of his compositional thinking from stagecraft picked up in the 1970s, but it was learning how fully the blues could be played which was a "turning point in his life".Contradiction-inline
After failing lead vocalist auditions for King Crimsontitle=King Crimson FAQ and Gentle Giant, Dwight answered an advertisement in the New Musical Express placed by Ray Williams, then the A&R manager for Liberty Records. At their first meeting, Williams gave Dwight a stack of lyrics written by Bernie Taupin, who had answered the same ad. Dwight wrote music for the lyrics, and then mailed it to Taupin, and thus began a partnership that continues to this day. In 1967, what would become the first Elton John/Bernie Taupin song, "Scarecrow", was recorded; when the two first met, six months later, Dwight was going by the American-sounding name "Elton John", in homage to Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean and Long John Baldry.

The team of John and Taupin joined Dick James's DJM Records as staff songwriters in 1968, and over the next two years wrote material for various artists, like Roger Cook and Lulu. Taupin would write a batch of lyrics in under an hour and give it to John, who would write music for them in half an hour, disposing of the lyrics if he couldn't come up with anything quickly. For two years, they wrote easy-listening tunes for James to peddle to singers. Their early output included an entry for British song for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969, called "Can't Go On (Living Without You)". It came sixth of six songs.

During this period, John also played on sessions for other artists including playing piano on The Hollies' "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" and singing backing vocals for The Scaffold. On the advice of music publisher Steve Brown, John and Taupin started writing more complex songs for John to record for DJM. The first was the single "I've Been Loving You" (1968), produced by Caleb Quaye, former Bluesology guitarist. In 1969, with Quaye, drummer Roger Pope, and bassist Tony Murray, John recorded another single, "Lady Samantha", and an album, Empty Sky. Despite extraordinary reviews, none of the records sold well.

1970s

John and Taupin now enlisted Gus Dudgeon to produce a follow-up with Paul Buckmaster as musical arranger. Elton John was released in the spring of 1970 on DJM Records/Pye Records in the UK and Uni Records in the USA, and established the formula for subsequent albums; gospel-chorded rockers and poignant ballads. The first single from the album, "Border Song", only made the US Top 100 peaking at #92. After the second single "Your Song" made the U.S. Top Ten, the album followed suit. John's first American concert took place at The Troubadour in Los Angeles (his introduction was provided by Neil Diamond), in August of that year, backed by ex-Spencer Davis Group drummer Nigel Olsson and bassist Dee Murray. Playing alongside David Ackles left him armed with ideas for showmanship, and the exuberant pianist followed Jerry Lee Lewis' style, kicking over the piano bench added to his own touches, performing handstands on the keyboards, John left the critics raving, and drew praise from fellow artists such as Quincy Jones and Bob Dylan.Citation needed
In the spring of 1970, John was recruited to provide piano and backing vocals on "Back Home", the song recorded by the English football squad preparing to depart to Mexico for the World Cup finals.

Elton John was followed quickly with the concept album Tumbleweed Connection in October 1970, which reached the Top Ten on the Billboard 200. A frenetic pace of releasing two albums a year was now established.

The live album 17-11-70 (11-17-70 in the US) was recorded at a live show aired from A&R Studios on WABC-FM in New York City. Introduced by disc jockey Dave Herman, it featured extended versions of John/Taupin's early compositions that illustrate the gospel and boogie-woogie influences on John's piano playing, as well as the interaction between John, bassist Dee Murray, and drummer Nigel Olsson. During the magnum opus 18:20 version of "Burn Down the Mission", the band interpolates Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "My Baby Left Me" and a full rendition of The Beatles' "Get Back" before a rampaging conclusion. Sales of the live album were heavily hit in the U.S. when an east coast bootlegger released the performance several weeks before the official album, including all 60 minutes of the aircast, not just the 40 minutes selected by Dick James Music.

John and Taupin then wrote the soundtrack to the obscure film Friends and then the album Madman Across the Water, the latter reaching the Top Ten and producing the hit "Levon", while the soundtrack album produced the hit "Friends".

In 1972, the final piece of what would become known as the Elton John Band fell into place with the addition of Davey Johnstone on guitar and backing vocals. Murray, Olsson, and Johnstone combined with John and Taupin's writing, John's flamboyant performance style, and producer Gus Dudgeon to create a hit-making chemistry for the next five Elton John albums. Known for their instrumental playing, the members of the band were also strong backing vocalists who worked out and recorded many of their vocal harmonies themselves, usually in John's absence.

The band released Honky Chateau, which became John's first American number 1 album, spending five weeks at the top of the charts and spawning the hit singles "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)" (which is often compared to David Bowie's "Space Oddity") and "Honky Cat".

The pop album ''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player'' came out at the start of 1973, and produced the hits "Crocodile Rock" and "Daniel"; the former became his first U.S. number one hit. (Ironically this, like his other famous 1970s solo hits, would be popular in his native land but never top the UK Singles Chart; this achievement would have to wait two decades.) Both the album and "Crocodile Rock" were the first album and single, respectively on the consolidated MCA Records label in the USA, replacing MCA's other labels including Uni.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road gained instant critical acclaim and topped the chart on both sides of the Atlantic, remaining at #1 for two months.title=Elton John --Goodbye Yellow Brick Road It also temporarily established John as a glam rock star. It contained the number 1 hit "Bennie and the Jets", along with the popular and praised "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Candle in the Wind", "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" and "Grey Seal" (originally recorded and released in 1970 as the B-side to the UK-only single, "Rock and Roll Madonna"). There is also a VHS and DVD as part of the Classic Albums series, discussing the making, recording, and popularity of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" through concert and home video footage including interviews.

John then formed his own MCA-distributed label Rocket Records and signed acts to it – notably Neil Sedaka ("Bad Blood", on which he sang background vocals) and Kiki Dee – in which he took personal interest. Instead of releasing his own records on Rocket, he opted for $8 million offered by MCA. When the contract was signed in 1974, MCA reportedly took out a $25 million insurance policy on John's life.

In 1974 a collaboration with John Lennon took place, resulting in Elton John covering The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and Lennon's "One Day at a Time", and in return Elton John and band being featured on Lennon's "Whatever Gets You thru the Night". In what would be Lennon's last live performance, the pair performed these two number 1 hits along with the Beatles classic "I Saw Her Standing There" at Madison Square Garden. Lennon made the rare stage appearance to keep the promise he made that he would appear on stage with Elton if "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" became a number 1 single.

Caribou was released in 1974, and although it reached number 1, it was widely considered a lesser quality album. Reportedly recorded in a scant two weeks between live appearances, it featured "The Bitch Is Back" and John's versatility in orchestral songs with "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me".

Pete Townshend of The Who asked John to play a character called the "Local Lad" in the film of the rock opera Tommy, and to perform a song named "Pinball Wizard". Drawing on power chords, John's version was recorded and used for the movie release in 1975 and the single came out in 1976 (1975 in the U.S.). The song charted at number 7 in England. Bally subsequently released a "Captain Fantastic" pinball machine featuring an illustration of John in his movie guise.

Elton John performing live in 1975
In the 1975 autobiographical album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, John revealed his previously ambiguous personality, with Taupin's lyrics describing their early days as struggling songwriters and musicians in London. The lyrics and accompanying photo booklet are infused with a specific sense of place and time that is otherwise rare in John's music. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" was the hit single from this album and captured an early turning point in John's life.

The album's release signaled the end of the Elton John Band, as an unhappy and overworked John dismissed Olsson and Murray, two people who had contributed much of the band's signature sound and who had helped build his live following since the beginning. Johnstone and Ray Cooper were retained, Quaye and Roger Pope returned, and the new bassist was Kenny Passarelli; this rhythm section provided a heavier-sounding backbeat. James Newton-Howard joined to arrange in the studio and to play keyboards. John introduced the lineup before a crowd of 75,000 in London's Wembley Stadium.

Rock-oriented Rock of the Westies entered the U.S. albums chart at number 1 like Captain Fantastic, a previously unattained feat. However, the material was almost universally regarded as not on a par with previous releases. The musical and vocal chemistry Olsson and Murray brought to John's previous releases was seen as lacking by some,Who
Commercially, John owed much of his success during the mid-1970s to his concert performances. He filled arenas and stadiums worldwide, and was arguably the hottest act in the rock world.
John was an unlikely rock idol to begin with, as he was short of stature at ft, chubby, and gradually losing his hair. But he made up for it with impassioned performances and over-the-top fashion sense. Also known for his glasses (he started wearing them as a youth to copy his idol Buddy Holly), his flamboyant stage wardrobe now included ostrich feathers, $5,000 spectacles that spelled his name in lights, and dressing up like the Statue of Liberty, Donald Duck, or Mozart among others at his concerts made them a success and created interest for his music.

To celebrate five years of unparalleled success since he first appeared at the venue, in 1975 John played a two-night, four-show stand at The Troubadour. With seating limited to under 500 per show, the chance to purchase tickets was determined by a postcard lottery, with each winner allowed two tickets. Everyone who attended the performances received a hardbound "yearbook" of the band's history. That year he also contributed some exemplary piano playing to Kevin Ayers' Sweet Deceiver.

In 1976, the live album Here and There in May, then the downbeat Blue Moves in October, which contained the memorable but even gloomier hit "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word". His biggest success in 1976 was the "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", a peppy duet with Kiki Dee that topped both the American and British charts. Finally, in an interview with Rolling Stone that year entitled "Elton's Frank Talk", a stressed John stated that he was bisexual.

Besides being the most commercially successful period, 1970 - 1976 is also held in the most regard critically. Within only a three year span, between 1972-75 John saw seven consecutive albums reach #1 in the charts, which had not been accomplished before. Of the six Elton John albums to make the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in Rolling Stone'in 2003, all are from this period, with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road ranked highest at number 91; similarly, the three Elton John albums given five stars by Allmusic (Tumbleweed Connection, Honky Château, and Captain Fantastic) are all from this period too.

During the same period, John made a self-effacing guest appearance on the popular Morecambe and Wise show on the BBC. The two comics spent the episode pointing him in the direction of everywhere except the stage in order to prevent him singing.

Hiatus

John's career took a hit after 1976. In November 1977 John announced he was retiring from performing; Taupin began collaborating with others. John secluded himself in any of his three mansions, appearing publicly only to attend the matches of Watford, an English football team of whom he was a lifelong devotee, and that he later bought. Some speculated that John's retreat from stardom was prompted by adverse reactions to the Rolling Stone article.

Now only producing one album a year, John issued A Single Man in 1978, employing a new lyricist, Gary Osborne; the album produced no singles that made the Top 20 in the US but the two singles from the album released in the UK, Part-Time Love and Song for Guy, both made the Top 20 in the UK with the latter reaching the Top 5. In 1979, accompanied by Ray Cooper, John became the first Western pop star to tour the Soviet Union (as well as one of the first in Israel), then mounted a two-man comeback tour of the US in small halls. John returned to the singles chart with "Mama Can't Buy You Love" (number 9, 1979), a song originally rejected in 1977 by MCA before being released, recorded in 1977 with Philadelphia soul producer Thom Bell. Elton reported that Thom Bell was the first person to give him voice lessons; Bell encouraged John to sing in a lower register. A disco-influenced album, Victim of Love, was poorly received.

1980s

In 1979, John and Taupin reunited. 21 at 33, released the following year, was a significant career boost, aided by his biggest hit in four years, "Little Jeannie" (number 3 US), although the lyrics were written by Gary Osborne. His 1981 follow-up, The Fox, was recorded in part during the same sessions and also included collaborations with Tom Robinson and Judie Tzuke. On 13 September 1980, John, with Olsson and Murray back in the Elton John Band, performed a free concert to an estimated 400,000 fans on The Great Lawn in Central Park in New York City. Elton sang and dedicated "Imagine" to his friend, John Lennon, at this concert. Three months later Lennon would be murdered in front of his home building. John mourned the loss in his 1982 hit "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)", from his Jump Up! album, his second under a new U.S. recording contract with Geffen Records. He performed the tribute at a sold-out Madison Square Garden show in August 1982, joined on stage by Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon, Elton John's godchild.

The 1980s were years of personal upheaval for John. In 1984 he surprised many by marrying his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel. They married in an extravagant ceremony on Valentine's Day 1984. He professed to love Renate deeply and is still friends with her to this day. In 1988 Elton began coming out of the closet. According to a Biography.com tribute to the performer aired in October of 2009, Elton expressed his new found identity by appearing on a well-known television show and confessing that he was bi-sexual. It wasn't much longer before he finally admitted to the public and himself that had come to the realization that he was gay. He claims he labeled himself bisexual because he was still coming to terms with his own feelings. In accordance with this revelation, he and Renate divorced. He claims to still love her deeply as an important part of his past life.

The Biography Channel Special detailed the loss of Elton's voice in 1986 while on tour in Australia. Shortly thereafter he underwent throat surgery, which permanently altered his voice. Several non-cancerous polyps were removed from his vocal cords, resulting in the loss of his famous falsetto. John continued recording prolifically, but years of cocaine and alcohol abuse, initiated in earnest around the time of Rock of the Westies' 1975 release, were taking their toll. In 1987 he won a libel case against The Sun which published allegations of underaged sex; afterwards he said, "You can call me a fat, balding, talentless old queen who can't sing – but you can't tell lies about me."

With original band members Johnstone, Murray and Olsson together again, John was able to return to the charts with the 1983 hit album Too Low For Zero, which included "I'm Still Standing" and "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues", the latter of which featured Stevie Wonder on harmonica and reached number 4 in the U.S., giving John his biggest hit there since "Little Jeannie". Indeed while he would never again match his 1970s success, he placed hits in the U.S. Top Ten throughout the 1980s – "Little Jeannie" (number 3, 1980), "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" (number 5, 1984), "Nikita" boosted by a mini-movie pop video directed by Ken Russell (number 7, 1986), a live orchestral version of "Candle in the Wind" (number 6, 1987), and "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That" (number 2, 1988). His highest-charting single was a collaboration with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder on "That's What Friends Are For" (number 1, 1985); credited as Dionne and Friends, the song raised funds for AIDS research. His albums continued to sell, but of the six released in the latter half of the 1980s, only Reg Strikes Back (number 16, 1988) placed in the Top 20 in the United States.

In 1984, Watford reached the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium, fulfilling a lifelong ambition for John, who by now was owner and chairman of the club. During the traditional pre-match ritual of the crowd singing "Abide With Me", John burst into tears. Watford lost the game 2-0 to Everton, who have played in blue shirts since 1901. After the game a large banner was unfurled among the Everton supporters, saying "SORRY ELTON - I GUESS THAT'S WHY THEY CALL US THE BLUES". With his change of mind being in part a reaction to the recent death of his friend and colleague Guy Babylon, John declared that "I would love to adopt him (Lev). I don't know how we do that but he has stolen my heart". Two days later however, Ukranian Minister of Family, Youth and Sport Yuriy Pavlenko stated that under Ukranian law John could not adopt Lev due to his age and marital status. Pavlenko did (also) say that John could adopt the baby if the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a separate special law on making Elton John an adoptive parent of the child. But he was against the initiating of such a law. (On 15 September 2009) a London-based spokesman for the singer said he had no comment to make in response to the minister's remarks. In October 2009 Lev's mother and father declared they wanted to regain the custody of their two children who were taken from them by social workers.

Drugs, alcohol and health

Throughout his career, John has battled addictions to alcohol and cocaine. By 1975, the pressures of stardom began to take a serious toll on the musician. During "Elton Week" in Los Angeles that year, John suffered a drug overdose. He also battled the eating disorder bulimia. In a CNN interview with Larry King in 2002, King asked if John knew of Diana, Princess of Wales's eating disorder. John replied, "Yes, I did. We were both bulimic."

He is also rumoured to have struggled with significant financial difficulties caused by his profligate spending. In the early 1990s, John formed a friendship with pop singer Michael Jackson, who later dedicated his 1997 album Blood on the Dance Floor to him for the support John had given him during his struggle with addiction to prescription morphine.

After many years of struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, John finally checked himself into a drug rehabilitation clinic in 1990. He has cited the highly publicised case of Ryan White, who died that same year of complications from AIDS (and at whose funeral John performed), as a major motivating factor in his decision to enter rehab. In July 1999, he was fitted with a pacemaker due to an irregular heart beat."

Residence

Aside from his

Spending

During the 2000 court case, in which John sued both his former manager John Reid, the CEO of Reid's company and accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers, he admitted spending £30 million in just under two years – an average of £1.5 million a month, the High Court in London heard. The singer's lavish lifestyle saw him spend more than £9.6m on property and £293,000 on flowers between January 1996 and September 1997. John accused the pair of being negligent, and PwC of failing in their duties. Mark Hapgood QC for defendants PwC suggested that John went "spending mad" following a £42 million deal with recording company Polygram in February 1996. When quizzed by Mr Hapgood about the £293,000 spent on flowers, John said, "Yes, I like flowers." John stated that the terms of the contract, whereby John paid Reid 20% of his gross earnings, were agreed in Saint-Tropez in the summer of 1984 – but that he could not remember the exact occasion on which the deal was made. After losing the case, he faced an £8 million bill for legal fees.

John decided with his fleet manager John Newman to sell 20 of his collection of 28 cars at Christie's – including several Ferraris, Aston Martins, and six post-war Bentleys. His reason for selling them was stated as: I do not find enough time to drive them. The sale raised £2 million The cars sold included:

1993 Jaguar XJ220 – the most expensive car in the collection, with a 213mph top speed and only 852 miles on the clock – sold for £234,750. The auction room was told how John's chauffeur refused to drive the car after he "twitched it" on a flyover and was scared by its power.
1978 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Coupe – known as "The Beast", because of its roar, went for £80,750. The car was painted in black, red and yellow; the colours of John's favourite Watford Football Club.
Two Ferraris – a 1992 512 Testarossa and a 1987 Testarossa given to John by MCA Records on the occasion of his 40th birthday. Rod Stewart had been among a group of friends who had ridden in the car.
1973 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI – Lawrence Cohen from Hertfordshire spent over twice as much on a car valued at £110,000. It was fitted with a 36-speaker stereo system which cost £28,000. It was so powerful that it once blew out the rear window, after which the glass in the car had to be reinforced.
1985 Bentley Continental Convertible – in Tudor Red, the car used in the video for Nikita. The car's body was specially crafted by coachbuilder Mulliner Park Ward of Harlesden, and a long list of special fitments include colour-coded radiator veins and parchment trim piped in red.
1969 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud Mk3 – supplied new in Arizona, it was a purchase by John in Atlanta and named Daisy after the film Driving Miss Daisy which was filmed close to his Atlanta home. Flown to the UK in 1994 by KLM, it spent two years being restored at the cost of £100,000. It sold for £90,000.

In 2003, John sold the contents of his Holland Park home in a bid to create more room for his collection of contemporary art. The auctioneer Sotheby's catalogue had a list of more than 400 items, expected to fetch £800,000, including: Biedermeier furniture; early 16th- and 17th-century items, including an Edward Bower estimated at £20,000–£30,000 and a portrait of Elizabeth Honeywood from the circle of William Larkin, which was estimated at £30,000–£40,000. John's bedroom featured a painting by 19th-century French artist Jacques-Noël-Marie Frémy, which was exhibited at the 1814 Paris Salon, and is estimated at £12,000–£18,000.Citation needed

Sports and other interests

In 1976, John became involved in Watford Football Club and fulfilled a childhood dream by becoming chairman and director. He appointed an unknown Graham Taylor as manager and invested large sums of money as the club rose three division into the First Division. The pinnacle of the clubs' success was finishing runners up in First Division and reaching the FA cup final a year later. He sold the club to Jack Petchey in 1987, but remained their life-long president. In 1997 he re-purchased the club from Petchey and once again became chairman. He stepped down in 2002 when the club needed a full-time chairman although he continued as president of the club. Although no longer the majority shareholder, he stills holds a significant financial interest. In June 2005 he held a concert at Watford's Vicarage Road ground, donating the funds to the club and a concert for 2010 has been announced to raise money. For a time he was also a part-owner of the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League.

A longtime tennis enthusiast, John wrote the song "Philadelphia Freedom" in tribute to longtime friend Billie Jean King and her World Team Tennis franchise of the same name. John and King also co-host an annual pro-am event to benefit AIDS charities, most notably John's own Elton John AIDS Foundation, for which King is a chairperson. The fund was involved in The Reign, too.

Charity

John has long been associated with AIDS charities after the deaths of his friends Ryan White and Freddie Mercury, raising large amounts of money and using his public profile to raise awareness of the disease. For example, in 1986 he joined with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder to record the single "That's What Friends Are For", with all profits being donated to the American Foundation for AIDS Research. The song won John and the others the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (as well as Song of the Year for its writers, Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager). In April 1990, John performed "Skyline Pigeon" at the funeral of White, a teenage hemophiliac he had befriended.

John founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 as a charity to fund programmes for HIV/AIDS prevention, for the elimination of prejudice and discrimination against HIV/AIDS-affected individuals, and for providing services to people living with or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. This cause continues to be one of his personal passions. In early 2006, John donated the smaller of two bright-red Yamaha pianos from his Las Vegas, Nevada show to auction on eBay to raise public awareness and funds for the foundation.

To raise money for his AIDS charity, John hosts annually a glamorous White Tie & Tiara Ball, to which many famous celebrities are invited. On 28 June 2007, the 9th annual White Tie & Tiara Ball took place. The menu consisted of a truffle soufflé followed by Surf and Turf (filet mignon with Maine lobster tail) and a giant Knickerbocker Glory ice cream. An auction followed the dinner held by Stephen Fry. A Rolls Royce ‘Phantom’ drophead coupe and a piece of Tracey Emin's artwork both raised £800, 000 for the charity fund, with the total amount raised reaching £3.5 million. Later on in the event, John sang "Delilah" with Tom Jones and "Big Spender" with Shirley Bassey. Tickets for the Ball cost £1,000 a head. The event raised £4.6 million for his AIDS Foundation in 2006.

Every year since 2004, he has opened a shop, selling his second hand clothes. Called "Elton's Closet" the sale this year of 10,000 items was expected to raise $400,000

John was an Honorary Chair of the Imperial Court of New York's Annual Charity Coronation Ball, Night of A Thousand Gowns on 21 March 2009. Other Honorary Chairs for the evening's charity event included Patti LuPone, Idina Menzel, John Cameron Mitchell, Joan Rivers and Dame Robin Strasser.

Musical style and voice

In the 1970s, John's sound immediately set him apart from most others by being piano-based in a rock 'n' roll world dominated by guitars. Another early characteristic was a set of dynamic string arrangements by Paul Buckmaster. Coupled with Taupin's often cryptic but emotionally resonant lyrics, the results were unique in the history of music. Songs in this style included "Sixty Years On", "Burn Down the Mission", "Take Me to the Pilot", "Levon", "Madman Across the Water", and the best-known of these, "Tiny Dancer".

"Your Song", one of his earliest popular hits, incorporates some other features found in many of his songs:

It is strophic in form, with the verse repeated before the chorus begins;
The piano accompaniment is prominent, though the song also features an orchestra;
It uses a slowly building crescendo that brings the song to a tutti climax. Other songs that follow this pattern include "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" and "Rocket Man".

John also has a distinctive vocal style. In particular, his phrasing is often a bit metronomic and sometimes has a curiously off-kilter, "rushed" quality especially at the end of lines (example: the phrase "like a puppy child" in the song "Amoreena"). He also, at least in his classic period in the 1970s, would sometimes sweep up from his normal tenor into a Four Seasons-like falsetto.

In January 1987, John underwent throat surgery to remove potentially cancerous nodules from his vocal cords while on tour, a necessity he originally claimed was due to an infection, but later claimed was the result of excessive drug abuse.

The problems with his voice can clearly be heard in his raspy singing on the Live In Australia album (released 1987). He made a full recovery from the surgery, but he continued to use illegal drugs until 1990. The surgery in 1987 also had an after-effect on John's voice, and he found that he could no longer sing in falsetto as well as he previously could, and that he now sang in a lower range. During an interview with James Lipton, John had claimed to embrace this new tone, feeling it gave a more "masculine" quality that contrasted with his earlier work. Lipton commented on the "swooping falsetto" on "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" to which John replied, "... which I don't have anymore."

Awards

Discography

Musical theatre

The Lion King (1997)
Aida (1998)
Billy Elliot (2005)
Lestat (2005)

Filmography

Elton John: Me, Myself & I (2007) autobiography as Himself
The Country Bears, U.S. (2002) Himself
Spice World, UK (1997) Himself
Tommy, UK (1975) Pinball Wizard
Born to Boogie, U.S. (1972) Himself

Pseudonyms

Over the years, John has used various pseudonyms on recordings on which he has appeared. Not counting his work in which he was credited as Reg Dwight or Elton John, these pseudonyms include:

As Rockaday Johnny: Played piano on Jackson Browne's song "Redneck Friend", from his 1974 album For Everyman.
As Ann Orson: Co-composed the songs "Hard Luck Story" (a 1974 single by Kiki Dee) and "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (a 1976 single by John and Kiki Dee). Co-composer of these songs was 'Carte Blanche', a pseudonym for Bernie Taupin. (Orson Carte being a pun on "horse and cart").
As Reggae Dwight: Co-composed (with Toots Taupin) the song "Jamaica Jerk-Off" on the 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; the name both punningly refers to his given name and the style of music the song is played in. "Toots" is a reference to Toots Hibbert of pioneering reggae group Toots & the Maytals.
As Redget Buntovan: Played piano on the rock group Blue's 1977 LP Another Night Time Flight, which was produced by John and Clive Franks. (A spoonerism for "Budget Rent-O-Van" and a reference to his real name Reg.)
As Tripe: Co-composer of "The Man Who Loved To Dance", a 1977 B-side by Kiki Dee. Co-composer 'Onions' was really Bernie Taupin.
As Dinah Card: Co-composer of "Cartier", a 1980 B-side by John. Co-composer was 'Carte Blanche', a pseudonym for Bernie Taupin. (Dinah Card being a pun on "Diner's Card".)
As Lord Choc Ice: Sole composer and credited performer of "Choc Ice Goes Mental" and "Earn While You Learn", both issued as B-sides of Elton John singles in 1983. "Don't Trust That Woman" from the 1986 album Leather Jackets (co-written by Elton John and Cher) credits Elton as Lady Choc Ice.
As Nancy Treadlight: Piano on "Come Down In Time" by Sting, from the Elton John/Bernie Taupin tribute album Two Rooms.

Signed Music Artists

Early life