Elton John

Not to be confused with John Elton.

Sir EltonHercules JohnCBE (bornReginaldKennethDwight, 25 March 1947)[1][2] is an English songwriterand singer, who accompanies himself on the piano. Hehas worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriterpartner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than30 albums to date. In his five-decade career Elton Johnhas sold more than 300 million records, making him oneof the best-selling music artists in the world.[3][4] He hasmore than fifty Top 40 hits, including seven consecutiveNo. 1 US albums, 58 Billboard Top 40 singles, 27 Top10, four No. 2 and nine No. 1. For 31 consecutive years(1970–2000) he had at least one song in the Billboard Hot100. His single "Something About the Way You LookTonight"/"Candle in the Wind 1997" sold over 33 mil-lion copies worldwide and is “the best-selling single ofall time”.[5][6][7] He has also composed music, producedrecords, and has occasionally acted in films. John ownedWatford Football Club from 1976 to 1987, and remainsthe club’s president.Elton John was born Reginald Dwight in 1947, and raisedin the Pinner area of London. He learned to play piano atan early age, and by 1962 had formed Bluesology. Johnmet his songwriter partner, Bernie Taupin, in 1967, afterthey had both answered an advert for songwriters. Fortwo years they wrote songs for other artists, includingRoger Cook and Lulu, and John also worked as a ses-sion musician for artists such as the Hollies and the Scaf-fold. In 1968 his debut album, Empty Sky, was released.In 1970 a single, "Your Song", from his second album,Elton John, reached the top ten in the UK and the US, hisfirst hit single.He has received six Grammy Awards, five Brit Awards –winning two awards for Outstanding Contribution to Mu-sic and the first Brits Icon in 2013 for his “lasting impacton British culture", an Academy Award, a Golden GlobeAward, a Tony Award, a Disney Legend award, and theKennedy Center Honors in 2004. In 2004, Rolling Stoneranked him Number 49 on its list of 100 influential musi-cians of the rock and roll era.[8] In 2013, Billboard rankedhim the most successful male solo artist on “The Bill-board Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists” (third overall be-hind the Beatles and Madonna).[9] He was inducted intothe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, is an inducteeinto the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, and is a fellow ofthe British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Au-thors. Having been named a Commander of the Order ofthe British Empire in 1996, John received a knighthood

from Elizabeth II for “services to music and charitableservices” in 1998.[10] John has performed at a numberof royal events, such as the funeral of Princess Diana atWestminster Abbey in 1997, the Party at the Palace in2002 and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Concert outsideBuckingham Palace in 2012.He has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDSsince the late 1980s.[11] In 1992, he established the EltonJohn AIDS Foundation and a year later began hostingthe annual Academy Award Party, which has since be-come one of the highest-profile Oscar parties in the Hol-lywood film industry. Since its inception, the foundationhas raised over $200 million.[12] John, who announcedhe was bisexual in 1976 and has been openly gay since1988, entered into a civil partnership with David Furnishon 21 December 2005, and after gay marriage becamelegal in England, wed Furnish on 21 December 2014. Hecontinues to be a champion for LGBT social movementsworldwide and same-sex marriage.

1 Life and career

1.1 Early life

Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25March 1947 in Pinner, Middlesex, the eldest childof Stanley Dwight and only child of Sheila Eileen(Harris),[13][14][15] and was raised in a council house ofhis maternal grandparents, in Pinner. His parents did notmarry until he was 6 years old, when the family movedto a nearby semi-detached house.[16][17][18] He was edu-cated at Pinner Wood Junior School, Reddiford Schooland Pinner County Grammar School, until age 17, whenhe left just prior to his A Level examinations to pursue acareer in the music industry.[19][20][21]

When he began to seriously consider a career in music,Elton John’s father, who served as a flight lieutenant in theRoyal Air Force, tried to steer him toward a more con-ventional career, such as banking.[19] John has stated thathis wild stage costumes and performances were his wayof letting go after such a restrictive childhood.[21] Both ofJohn’s parents were musically inclined, his father havingbeen a trumpet player with the Bob Millar Band, a semi-professional big band that played at military dances.[21]The Dwights were keen record buyers, exposing John tothe popular singers and musicians of the day, and Johnremembers being immediately hooked on rock and rollwhen his mother brought home records by Elvis Presley

1

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2 1 LIFE AND CAREER

and Bill Haley & His Comets in 1956.[19][20]

Elton John started playing the piano at the age of 3, andwithin a year, his mother heard him picking out WinifredAtwell's “The Skater’s Waltz” by ear.[19][20] After per-forming at parties and family gatherings, at the age of7 he took up formal piano lessons. He showed musi-cal aptitude at school, including the ability to composemelodies, and gained some notoriety by playing like JerryLee Lewis at school functions. At the age of 11, he won ajunior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. Ac-cording to one of his instructors, John promptly playedback, like a “gramophone record”, a four-page piece byHandel that he heard for the first time.[20]

Elton studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London for fiveyears

For the next five years he attended Saturday classes at theAcademy in central London, and has stated that he en-joyed playing Chopin and Bach and singing in the choirduring Saturday classes, but that he was not otherwise adiligent classical student.[20] “I kind of resented going tothe Academy”, he says. “I was one of those children whocould just about get away without practising and still pass,scrape through the grades.”[20] He even claims that hewould sometimes skip classes and just ride around on theTube.[20] However, several instructors have testified thathe was a “model student”, and during the last few yearshe was taking lessons from a private tutor in addition tohis classes at the Academy.[20]

Elton John’s mother, though also strict with her son, wasmore vivacious than her husband, and something of a freespirit. With Stanley Dwight uninterested in his son andoften physically absent, John was raised primarily by hismother and maternal grandmother. When his father washome, the Dwights would have terrible arguments thatgreatly distressed their son.[20] When John was 14, theydivorced. His mother then married a local painter, FredFarebrother, a caring and supportive stepfather whomJohn affectionately referred to as “Derf”, his first namein reverse.[20] They moved into flat No. 1A in an eight-unit apartment building called Frome Court, not far fromboth previous homes. It was there that John would writethe songs that would launch his career as a rock star; he

would live there until he had four albums simultaneouslyin the American Top 40.[22]

1.2 Pub pianist to staff songwriter (1962–69)

See also: Bluesology

At the age of 15, with the help of his mother and step-father, Reginald Dwight became a weekend pianist at anearby pub, the Northwood Hills Hotel, playing Thursdayto Sunday nights.[23][24] Known simply as “Reggie”, heplayed a range of popular standards, including songs byJim Reeves and Ray Charles, as well as songs he had writ-ten himself.[25][26] A stint with a short-lived group calledthe Corvettes rounded out his time.[20]

In 1962, Dwight and his friends formed a band calledBluesology. By day, he ran errands for a music publish-ing company; he divided his nights between solo gigs ata London hotel bar and working with Bluesology. By themid-1960s, Bluesology was backing touring Americansoul and R&B musicians like the Isley Brothers, MajorLance and Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. In 1966,the band became musician Long John Baldry's supportingband, and played 16 times at the Marquee Club.[27]

The 1910 piano on which Elton John composed his first five al-bums, including his first hit single, "Your Song"

In 1967, Dwight answered an advertisement in the Britishmagazine New Musical Express, placed by Ray Williams,then the A&R manager for Liberty Records.[28] At theirfirst meeting, Williams gave Dwight a stack of lyrics writ-ten by Bernie Taupin, who had answered the same ad.Dwight wrote music for the lyrics, and then mailed itto Taupin, beginning a partnership that still continues.When the two first met in 1967 they recorded what wouldbecome the first Elton John/Bernie Taupin song: “Scare-crow”. Six months later Dwight was going by the name“Elton John” in homage to Bluesology saxophonist EltonDean and Long John Baldry.[25]

The team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin joined DickJames's DJM Records as staff songwriters in 1968, and

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1.3 Debut album to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1969–73) 3

over the next two years wrote material for various artists,like Roger Cook and Lulu.[29] Taupin would write a batchof lyrics in under an hour and give it to John, who wouldwrite music for them in half an hour, disposing of thelyrics if he couldn't come up with anything quickly.[29]For two years, they wrote easy-listening tunes for Jamesto peddle to singers. Their early output included a con-tender for the UK entry for the Eurovision Song Contestin 1969, for Lulu, called “I Can't Go On (Living WithoutYou)". It came sixth of six songs. In 1969, John pro-vided piano for Roger Hodgson on his first released sin-gle, “Mr. Boyd” by Argosy, a quartet that was completedby Caleb Quaye and Nigel Olsson.[30][31] Elton John wasalso a session musician for other artists including playingpiano on the Hollies' "He Ain't Heavy, He’s My Brother"and singing backing vocals for the Scaffold.[32]

1.3 Debut album to Goodbye Yellow BrickRoad (1969–73)

Elton John on stage in 1971

On the advice of music publisher Steve Brown, Johnand Taupin started writing more complex songs for Johnto record for DJM. The first was the single “I've BeenLoving You” (1968), produced by Caleb Quaye, formerBluesology guitarist. In 1969, with Quaye, drummerRoger Pope, and bassist Tony Murray, John recordedanother single, "Lady Samantha", and an album, EmptySky. For their follow-up album, Elton John, Elton Johnand Bernie Taupin enlisted Gus Dudgeon as producer andPaul Buckmaster as musical arranger. Elton John was re-leased in April 1970 on DJM Records/Pye Records in theUK and Uni Records in the US, and established the for-mula for subsequent albums – gospel-chorded rockers andpoignant ballads. The first single from the album, "BorderSong", made into the US Top 100, peaking at Number 92.The second single, "Your Song", reached number sevenin the UK Singles Chart and number eight in the US, be-coming John’s first hit single as a singer.[33] The albumsoon became his first hit album, reaching number four onthe US Billboard 200 and number five on the UK AlbumsChart.[33][34]

Backed by ex-Spencer Davis Group drummer Nigel Ols-son and bassist Dee Murray, Elton John’s first Americanconcert took place at the Troubadour in Los Angeles inAugust 1970, and was a success.[35] The concept albumTumbleweed Connection was released in October 1970,and reached number two in the UK and number five inthe US.[33] The live album 17-11-70 (11–17–70 in theUS) was recorded at a live show aired from A&R Studioson WABC-FM in New York City. Sales of the live albumwere heavily hit in the US when an east coast bootleggerreleased the performance several weeks before the offi-cial album, including all 60 minutes of the aircast, notjust the 40 minutes selected by Dick James Music.[36]

Elton John at the Musikhalle, Hamburg, in March 1972

John and Taupin then wrote the soundtrack to the obscurefilm Friends and then the album Madman Across the Wa-ter, the latter reaching number eight in the US and pro-ducing the hit songs, "Levon", and the album’s openingtrack "Tiny Dancer". In 1972, Davey Johnstone joinedthe Elton John Band on guitar and backing vocals. Re-leased in 1972, Honky Château became John’s first USnumber one album, spending five weeks at the top ofthe Billboard 200, and began a streak of seven consecu-tive US number one albums.[37] The album reached num-ber two in the UK, and spawned the hit singles "RocketMan" and "Honky Cat".[38] both of which were recordedat Trident Studios in London.The pop album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Playercame out at the start of 1973, and reached number onein the UK, the US, Australia among others.[33] The al-bum produced the hits "Crocodile Rock", his first USBillboard Hot 100 number one, and "Daniel"; numbertwo US, number four UK.[33][39] Both the album and“Crocodile Rock” were the first album and single, respec-tively on the consolidated MCA Records label in the US,replacing MCA’s other labels including Uni.[40]

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, released in October 1973,gained instant critical acclaim and topped the chart onboth sides of the Atlantic, remaining at number one fortwo months.[41] It also temporarily established John as aglam rock star. It contained the US number 1 "Bennie andthe Jets", along with other hits, "Goodbye Yellow BrickRoad", "Candle in the Wind", "Saturday Night’s Alrightfor Fighting" and "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleed-

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4 1 LIFE AND CAREER

ing". Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is included in the VH1Classic Albums series, discussing the making, recording,and popularity of the album through concert and homevideo footage including interviews.[42]

1.4 The Rocket Record Company to 21 at33 (1974–79)

Elton on the piano during a live performance in 1975

John formed his own MCA-distributed label named TheRocket Record Company and signed acts to it – notablyNeil Sedaka (“Bad Blood”, on which he sang backgroundvocals) and Kiki Dee – in which he took a personal in-terest. Instead of releasing his own records on Rocket,he opted for $8 million offered by MCA. When the con-tract was signed in 1974, MCA reportedly took out a $25million insurance policy on John’s life.[43] In 1974 MCAreleased his Greatest Hits album, a UK and US numberone which is certified Diamond by the RIAA for sales of16 million copies in the US.[33][44]

In 1974 a collaboration with John Lennon took place, re-sulting in Lennon appearing on Elton John’s single coverof the Beatles’ "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", the B-side of which was Lennon’s “One Day at a Time.” In re-turn, John was featured on "Whatever Gets You thru theNight" on Lennon’s Walls and Bridges album. Later thatyear in what would be Lennon’s last major live perfor-mance, the pair performed these two number 1 hits alongwith the Beatles classic "I Saw Her Standing There" atMadison Square Garden in New York. Lennon made therare stage appearance with John and his band to keep thepromise he made that he would appear on stage with himif “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night” became a USnumber one single.[45]

Caribou was released in 1974 and became John’s thirdnumber one in the UK, and topped the charts in the US,Canada and Australia.[33][46] Reportedly recorded in twoweeks between live appearances, it featured "The Bitch IsBack" and the orchestrated "Don't Let the Sun Go Downon Me".[46] "Step into Christmas" was released as a stand-alone single in November 1973, and appears in the al-bum’s 1995 remastered re-issue.[47]

Performing in 1975, Elton often wore elaborate stage costumeson stage

Pete Townshend of the Who asked John to play a char-acter called the “Local Lad” in the film of the rockopera Tommy, and to perform the song "Pinball Wizard".Drawing on power chords, John’s version was recordedand used for the movie release in 1975 and the singlecame out in 1976 (1975 in the US). The song chartedat number 7 in the UK.[33] Bally subsequently released a“Captain Fantastic” pinball machine featuring an illustra-tion of John in his movie guise.[48]

The 1975 autobiographical album Captain Fantastic andthe Brown Dirt Cowboy debuted at number one in the US,the first album ever to do so, and stayed at the top forseven weeks.[49] Elton John revealed his previously am-biguous personality on the album, with Taupin’s lyrics de-scribing their early days as struggling songwriters and mu-sicians in London. The lyrics and accompanying photobooklet are infused with a specific sense of place and timethat is otherwise rare in his music. "Someone Saved MyLife Tonight" was the hit single from this album and cap-tured an early turning point in Elton John’s life. The al-bum’s release signalled the end of the Elton John Band,as an unhappy and overworked John dismissed Olssonand Murray, two people who had contributed much ofthe band’s signature sound and who had helped build hislive following since the beginning.[48]

According to Circus Magazine, a spokesman for JohnReid said the decision was reached mutually via phonewhile John was in Australia promoting Tommy.[50] Shesaid there was no way Reid could have fired them “be-cause the band are not employed by John Reid, they're

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1.4 The Rocket Record Company to 21 at 33 (1974–79) 5

employed by Elton John.”[50] She went on to say Nigelwould be going back to his solo work and Dee would dosession work “and possibly cut a solo album”.[50]

Davey Johnstone and Ray Cooper were retained, Quayeand Roger Pope returned, and the new bassist wasKenny Passarelli; this rhythm section provided a heavier-sounding backbeat. James Newton Howard joined to ar-range in the studio and to play keyboards.[51] In June1975, John introduced the line-up before a crowd of75,000 in London’s Wembley Stadium.[51]

Elton John during a Captain Fantastic concert in 1975

The rock-oriented Rock of the Westies entered the US al-bums chart at number 1 like Captain Fantastic, a previ-ously unattained feat.[49] Elton John’s stage wardrobe nowincluded ostrich feathers, $5,000 spectacles that spelledhis name in lights, and dressing up like the Statue ofLiberty, Donald Duck, or Mozart, among others, at hisconcerts.[52][53] In 1975, Elton received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.[54]

To celebrate five years since he first appeared at the venue,in 1975 Elton John played a two-night, four-show standat the Troubadour. With seating limited to under 500per show, the chance to purchase tickets was determinedby a postcard lottery, with each winner allowed two tick-ets. Everyone who attended the performances received ahardbound “yearbook” of the band’s history. That yearhe also played piano on Kevin Ayers' Sweet Deceiver,and was among the first and few white artists to ap-pear on the black music series Soul Train on Americantelevision.[41] On 9 August 1975, John was named theoutstanding rock personality of the year at the first annualRock Music Awards at ceremonies held in Santa Monica,California.[55]

In 1976, the live album Here and There was releasedin May, followed by the Blue Moves album in October,which contained the single "Sorry Seems to Be the Hard-est Word". His biggest success in 1976 was "Don't GoBreaking My Heart", a duet with Kiki Dee that toppedboth the UK and US charts.[33][56] Finally, in an inter-view with Rolling Stone that year entitled “Elton’s FrankTalk”, John stated that he was bisexual.[57]

Besides being the most commercially successful period,

Elton performing live with Ray Cooper in Dublin, Ireland in 1979

1970–1976 is also held in the most regard critically.Within only a three-year span, between 1972 and 1975John saw seven consecutive albums reach number one inthe US, which had not been accomplished before.[41] Ofthe six Elton John albums to make Rolling Stone ' s list of"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2003, all arefrom this period, withGoodbye Yellow Brick Road rankedhighest at number 91; similarly, the three Elton John al-bums given five stars by Allmusic (Tumbleweed Connec-tion, Honky Château, and Captain Fantastic) are all fromthis period.[58]

During the same period, he made a guest appearance onthe popular Morecambe and Wise Show on the BBC. Thetwo comics spent the episode pointing him in the direc-tion of everywhere except the stage in order to preventhim singing.[59]

In November 1977 Elton John announced he was retiringfrom performing; Taupin began collaborating with oth-ers. Now only producing one album a year, John issuedA Single Man in 1978, employing a new lyricist, GaryOsborne; the album produced no singles that made thetop 20 in the US but the two singles from the album re-leased in the UK, "Part-Time Love" and "Song for Guy",both made the top 20 in the UK with the latter reachingthe top 5.[33] In 1979, accompanied by Ray Cooper, El-ton John became one of the first Western artists to tourthe Soviet Union, as well as one of the first in Israel.[60]John returned to the US top ten with "Mama Can't BuyYou Love" (number 9), a song originally rejected in 1977by MCA before being released, recorded in 1977 withPhiladelphia soul producer Thom Bell.[61] John reportedthat Thom Bell was the first person to give him voicelessons; Bell encouraged John to sing in a lower register.A disco-influenced album, Victim of Love, was poorly re-ceived. In 1979, John and Taupin reunited, though theydid not collaborate on a full album until 1983’s Too LowFor Zero. 21 at 33, released the following year, was asignificant career boost, aided by his biggest hit in fouryears, "Little Jeannie" (number 3 US), with the lyricswritten by Gary Osborne.[62]

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6 1 LIFE AND CAREER

1.5 1980s: The Fox to Sleeping with the Past(1980–89)

Elton John performing in the 1980s

His 1981 album, The Fox, was recorded in part duringthe same sessions as 21 at 33, and also included col-laborations with Tom Robinson and Judie Tzuke. On13 September 1980, Elton John, with Olsson and Mur-ray back in the Elton John Band, performed a free con-cert to an estimated 400,000 fans on The Great Lawn inCentral Park in New York.[63] His 1982 hit "Empty Gar-den (Hey Hey Johnny)", came from his Jump Up! album,his second under a new US recording contract with GeffenRecords.With original band members Johnstone, Murray and Ols-son together again, he was able to return to the charts withthe 1983 hit album Too Low for Zero, which included"I'm Still Standing" (No. 4 UK) and "I Guess That’s WhyThey Call It the Blues", the latter of which featured StevieWonder on harmonica and reached No. 4 in the US andNo. 5 in the UK.[33][56] In October 1983, Elton Johncaused controversy when he broke the United Nations’cultural boycott on apartheid South Africa by performingat the Sun City venue.[64] He married his close friend andsound engineer, Renate Blauel, on Valentine’s Day 1984– the marriage lasted three years.[65]

In 1985, he was one of the many performers at LiveAid held at Wembley Stadium.[66] John played “Bennieand the Jets” and “Rocket Man"; then “Don't Go Break-ing My Heart” with Kiki Dee for the first time since theHammersmith Odeon on 24 December 1982; and intro-duced his friend George Michael, still then of Wham!, tosing “Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me”.[66] In 1985he released Breaking Hearts which featured the hit song"Sad Songs (Say So Much)", No. 5 in the US and No.7 in the UK.[33] Elton John also recorded material withMillie Jackson in 1985. In 1986, he played the piano ontwo tracks on the heavy metal band Saxon’s album Rockthe Nations.[67]

A Biography channel special detailed the loss of Elton’svoice in 1986 while on tour in Australia. Shortly there-

Elton John costume from the 1986 Tour de Force Australian con-certs, on display in the Hard Rock Cafe, London

after he underwent throat surgery, which permanently al-tered his voice. Several non-cancerous polyps were re-moved from his vocal cords, resulting in a change in hissinging voice.[68] In 1987 he won a libel case against TheSun which published false allegations of sex with rentboys.[69] In 1988, he performed five sold-out shows atMadison Square Garden in New York, giving him 26 forhis career.[70] Netting over $20 million, 2,000 items ofElton John’s memorabilia were auctioned off at Sotheby’sin London.[71]

He placed other hits throughout the 1980s, including"Nikita" which featured in a music video directed by KenRussell, No. 3 in the UK and No. 7 in the US in 1986, alive orchestral version of “Candle in the Wind”, No. 6 inthe US, and "I Don't Wanna Go on with You Like That",No. 2 in the US in 1988.[33][56] His highest-charting sin-gle was a collaboration with Dionne Warwick, GladysKnight, and Stevie Wonder on "That’s What Friends AreFor" which reached No. 1 in the US in 1985; creditedas Dionne and Friends, the song raised funds for AIDSresearch.[56] His albums continued to sell, but of those re-leased in the latter half of the 1980s, onlyReg Strikes Back(number 16, 1988) placed in the top 20 in the US.[56]

1.6 1990s: “Sacrifice” to Aida (1990–99)

In 1990, he achieved his first solo UK number one hitsingle, with "Sacrifice" (coupled with "Healing Hands")from the previous year’s album Sleeping with the Past; it

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1.6 1990s: “Sacrifice” to Aida (1990–99) 7

would stay at the top spot for six weeks.[72] The follow-ing year, John’s “Basque” won the Grammy for Best In-strumental, and a guest concert appearance at WembleyArena he had made on George Michael's cover of "Don'tLet the Sun Go Down on Me" was released as a single andtopped the charts in both the UK and the US.[73] At the1991 Brit Awards in London, Elton John won the awardfor Best British Male.[74]

In 1992 he released the US number 8 album TheOne, featuring the hit song "The One".[75][76] Johnand Taupin then signed a music publishing deal withWarner/Chappell Music for an estimated $39 millionover 12 years, giving them the largest cash advance in mu-sic publishing history.[77] In April 1992, John appeared atthe Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Sta-dium, performing "The Show Must Go On" with theremaining members of Queen, and "Bohemian Rhap-sody" with Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses and Queen.[78] InSeptember, John performed “The One” at the 1992 MTVVideo Music Awards, and also closed the ceremony per-forming “November Rain” with Guns N' Roses.[79] Thefollowing year, he released Duets, a collaboration with15 artists including Tammy Wynette and RuPaul. Thisalso included a new collaboration with Kiki Dee, enti-tled “True Love”, which reached the Top 10 of the UKcharts.[80]

“For myself as well as for many others no-one has beenthere more for inspiration than Elton John. When we talkof great rock duos like Jimmy Page and Robert Plant,John [Lennon] and Paul [McCartney], Mick [Jagger] andKeith [Richards], I like to think of Elton John and BernieTaupin. Also tonight I think that Elton should be hon-oured for his great work and contribution in the fightagainst AIDS. And also his bravery in exposing all thetriumphs and tragedies of his personal life. "—Axl Rose speech inducting Elton John into the Rockand Roll Hall of Fame.[81]

Along with Tim Rice, Elton John wrote the songs for the1994 Disney animated film The Lion King. At the 67thAcademy Awards ceremony, The Lion King soundtrackprovided three of the five nominees for the AcademyAward for Best Song, which he won with "Can You Feelthe Love Tonight".[82] Both that and "Circle of Life"became hit songs for John.[83][84] “Can You Feel theLove Tonight” would also win Elton John the GrammyAward for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the37th Grammy Awards.[82] After the release of the TheLion King soundtrack, the album remained at the top ofBillboard 200 for nine weeks. On 10 November 1999,the RIAA certified The Lion King "Diamond" for selling15 million copies.[85]

In 1994, Elton John was inducted into the Rock and RollHall of Fame by Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose.[86]In 1995 he released Made in England (number 3, 1995),which featured the single "Believe".[87] John performed

“Believe” at the 1995 Brit Awards, and picked up theprize for Outstanding Contribution to Music.[88] A duetwith Luciano Pavarotti, “Live Like Horses”, reachednumber nine in the UK in December 1996.[33] A compi-lation album called Love Songs was released in 1996.[89]

Early in 1997 he held a 50th birthday party, costumedas Louis XIV, for 500 friends. He also performed withthe surviving members of Queen in Paris at the openingnight (17 January 1997) of Le Presbytère N'a Rien PerduDe Son Charme Ni Le Jardin De Son Éclat, a work byFrench ballet legend Maurice Béjart which draws uponAIDS and the deaths of Freddie Mercury and the com-pany’s principal dancer Jorge Donn. Later in 1997, twoclose friends died: designer Gianni Versace was mur-dered; Diana, Princess of Wales died in a Paris car crashon 31 August.[90]

In early September, he contacted his writing partnerBernie Taupin, asking him to revise the lyrics of his1973 song “Candle in the Wind” to honour Diana, andTaupin rewrote the song accordingly.[91] On 6 Septem-ber 1997, John performed "Candle in the Wind 1997" atthe funeral of Princess Diana in Westminster Abbey.[92]The song became the fastest and biggest-selling singleof all time, eventually selling over 33 million copiesworldwide,[85][93] the best-selling single in UK Charthistory,[94] the best-selling single in Billboard history andthe only single ever certified Diamond in the UnitedStates – the single sold over 11 million copies in theU.S.[6][85][95] Also the Guinness World Records 2009states that the song is “the biggest-selling single since UKand US singles charts began in the 1950s, having accu-mulated worldwide sales of 33 million copies”.[7] Thesong proceeds of approximately £55 million were do-nated to Diana’s charities via the Diana, Princess of WalesMemorial Fund.[96] It would win Elton John the GrammyAward for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 40thGrammy Awards in 1998.[93] "Something About the WayYou Look Tonight" was released as a double A-side. El-ton John has publicly performed “Candle in the Wind1997” only once, at Diana’s funeral, vowing never to per-form it again unless asked by Diana’s sons.[97]

On 15 September 1997, John appeared at the Music forMontserrat charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall, Lon-don, performing “Your Song”, “Don't Let the Sun GoDown on Me” and “Live Like Horses” solo before finish-ing with "Hey Jude" alongside fellow English artists PaulMcCartney, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Mark Knopflerand Sting.[98] In November 1997, John performed in theBBC’s Children in Need charity single "Perfect Day",which reached number one in the UK.[99]

In the musical theatre world, The Lion King musical de-buted on Broadway in 1997 and the West End in 1999.In 2014, it had grossed over $6 billion and became thetop-earning title in box-office history for both stage pro-ductions and films, surpassing the record previously heldby Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1986 musical The Phantom

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8 1 LIFE AND CAREER

of the Opera.[100] In addition to The Lion King, John alsocomposed music for a Disney musical production of Aidain 1999 with lyricist Tim Rice, for which they receivedthe Tony Award for Best Original Score at the 54th TonyAwards,[101] and the Grammy Award for Best MusicalShow Album at the 43rd Grammy Awards.[102][103] Themusical was given its world premiere in the Alliance The-atre in Atlanta. It went on to Chicago and eventuallyBroadway. He also released a live compilation albumcalled Elton John One Night Only – The Greatest Hits fromthe show he did at Madison Square Garden in New YorkCity that same year. A concept album from the musicaltitled Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida was also releasedand featured the duets, "Written in the Stars" with LeAnnRimes, and “I Know the Truth” with Janet Jackson.[104]

1.7 2000s: Are YouReady for Love and 60thbirthday (2000–09)

Elton John performs at the Skagerak Arena in Skien, Norway,June 2009

In 2000, he and Tim Rice teamed again to create songsfor DreamWorks' animated film The Road to El Dorado.he released his 27th album, Songs from the West Coast, inOctober 2001. At this point, Elton John disliked appear-ing in his own music videos; "This Train Don't Stop ThereAnymore" featured Justin Timberlake portraying a youngElton, and "I Want Love" featured Robert Downey, Jr.lip-syncing the song.[105] At the 2001 Grammy Awards,Elton performed "Stan" with Eminem.[106] One month af-ter the September 11 attacks, Elton John appeared at theConcert for New York City, performing “I Want Love”as well as “Your Song” in a duet with Billy Joel.[107]

In August 2003, he scored his fifth UK number one singlewhen "Are You Ready for Love" topped the charts.[108]Returning to musical theatre, John composed music fora West End theatre production of Billy Elliot the Musi-

cal in 2005 with playwright Lee Hall. Opening to strongreviews, the West End production is still running as of2014.[109] His only theatrical project with Bernie Taupinis Lestat: The Musical, based on the Anne Rice vampirenovels. However it received harsh reviews from criticsand closed in May 2006 after 39 performances.[110] El-ton featured on rapper Tupac Shakur's posthumous sin-gle "Ghetto Gospel", which topped the UK charts in July2005.[33]

In October 2003, he announced that he had signed an ex-clusive agreement to perform 75 shows over three yearsat Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. The show, en-titled The Red Piano, was a multimedia concert featur-ing massive props and video montages created by DavidLaChapelle. Effectively, he and Celine Dion shared per-formances at Caesars Palace throughout the year – whileone performs, one rests. The first of these shows tookplace on 13 February 2004.[111] In February 2006, El-ton and Dion sang together at the venue to raise moneyfor Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. workers affected bythe 2005 hurricanes, performing “Sorry Seems to Bethe Hardest Word” and “Saturday Night’s Alright (forFighting).”[112]

Elton John was named a Disney Legend for his contribu-tions to Disney’s films and theatrical works on 9 October2006, by the Walt Disney Company.[113] In 2006 he toldRolling Stone that he plans for his next record to be in theR&B and hip hop genre. “I want to work with PharrellWilliams, Timbaland, Snoop [Lion], Kanye [West], Em-inem and just see what happens.”[114]

Elton on piano at the Concert for Diana, commemoratingPrincess Diana, at Wembley Stadium on 1 July 2007

In March 2007 he performed at Madison Square Gardenfor a record breaking 60th time for his 60th birthday, theconcert was broadcast live and a DVD recording was re-leased as Elton 60 – Live at Madison Square Garden;[115]a greatest-hits compilation CD, Rocket Man – NumberOnes, was released in 17 different versions worldwide,including a CD/DVD combo; and his back catalogue –almost 500 songs from 32 albums – became available forlegal paid download.[116]

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1.8 2010–present 9

On 1 July 2007, Elton John appeared at the Concert forDiana held at Wembley Stadium in London, in honour ofDiana, Princess of Wales, on what would have been her46th birthday.[117] John opened the concert with “YourSong”, and then closed the concert with his second per-formance, with “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting”,“Tiny Dancer”, and “Are You Ready For Love”.[117]

On 21 June 2008, he performed his 200th show in Cae-sars Palace. A DVD/CD package of The Red Piano wasreleased through Best Buy in November 2008. A two-year global tour was sandwiched between commitmentsin Las Vegas, Nevada, some of the venues of which werenew to John. The Red Piano Tour closed in Las Vegas inApril 2009.[118]

In a September 2008 interview with GQ magazine, Johnsaid: “I'm going on the road again with Billy Joel againnext year,” referring to “Face to Face,” a series of concertsfeaturing both musicians. The tour began in March andwill continue for at least two more years.[119]

1.8 2010–present

Elton on World AIDS Day in Sydney, Australia on 1 December2011

Elton John performed a piano duet with Lady Gaga at the52nd Grammy Awards.[120] On 6 June 2010, John per-formed at the fourth wedding of conservative commenta-tor Rush Limbaugh for a reported US$1 million fee.[121]

Eleven days later, and 17 years to the day after his last pre-vious performance in Israel, he performed at the RamatGan Stadium; this was significant because of other then-recent cancellations by other performers in the fallout sur-rounding an Israeli raid on Gaza Flotilla the month be-fore. In his introduction to that concert, Elton John notedhe and other musicians should not “cherry-pick our con-science”, in reference to Elvis Costello, who was to haveperformed in Israel two weeks after John did, but can-celled in the wake of the aforementioned raid, citing his[Costello’s] conscience.[122][123]

He released The Union on 19 October 2010. John sayshis collaboration with American singer, songwriter andsideman Leon Russell marks a new chapter in his record-ing career, saying: “I don't have to make pop records anymore.”[124]

He began his new show The Million Dollar Piano at theColosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas on 28 Septem-ber 2011.[125] John performed the show at Caesars for thenext three years. He performed his 3000th concert onSaturday 8 October 2011 at Caesars.[126] In 2011, Johnperformed vocals on Snowed in at Wheeler Street withKate Bush for her 50 Words for Snow album.[127] On 3February 2012, Elton John visited Costa Rica for the firsttime when he performed at the recently built National Sta-dium.[128]

On 4 June 2012, he performed at the Queen’s DiamondJubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace, performing arepertoire including “Your Song”, “Crocodile Rock”and “I'm Still Standing”.[129] On 30 June, John per-formed in Kiev, Ukraine at a joint concert with Queen+ Adam Lambert for the Elena Pinchuk ANTIAIDSFoundation.[130]

An album containing remixes of songs that he recordedin the 1970s called Good Morning to the Night was re-leased in July 2012. The remixes were conducted byAustralian group Pnau and the album reached No. 1in the UK.[131] At the 2012 Pride of Britain Awardson 30 October, Elton John, along with Michael Caine,Richard Branson, Simon Cowell and Stephen Fry, recitedRudyard Kipling's poem "If—" in tribute to the 2012British Olympic and Paralympics athletes.[132]

In February 2013, John performed a duet with singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran at the 55th Grammy Awards.[133]Later in 2013 he collaborated with rock band Queens ofthe Stone Age on their sixth studio album ...Like Clock-work, contributing piano and vocals on the song “Fair-weather Friends”. He stated that he was a fan of frontmanJosh Homme's side project, Them Crooked Vultures, andhad contacted Homme via phone call, asking if he couldperform on the album.[134]

In September 2013, John received the first Brits IconAward for his “lasting impact” on UK Culture.[135] RodStewart presented him the award on stage at the LondonPalladium before the two performed a duet of “Sad Songs(Say So Much)".[136] It had been announced in March

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10 3 PERSONAL LIFE

2012 that John had completed work on his thirty-first al-bum, The Diving Board. The album was produced by T-Bone Burnett and was originally set for release in autumn2012.[137][138] The album’s release date was pushed backmultiple times, but on its release in September 2013 itreached No. 3 in the UK and No. 4 in the US.[33][139]

2 Musicianship

Elton John with Bernie Taupin (left) in 1971

Elton John has written with his songwriting partnerBernie Taupin since 1967 when he answered an advertise-ment for talent placed in the popular UK music publica-tion, New Musical Express, by Liberty records A&R manRay Williams.[140] The pair have collaborated on morethan 30 albums to date.[141] The writing style that EltonJohn and Bernie Taupin use involves Taupin writing thelyrics on his own, and John then putting them to music,with the two never in the same room during the process.Taupin would write a set of lyrics, then mail them to John,wherever he was in the world, who would then lay downthe music, arrange it, and record.[142] In 1992 he was in-ducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. John is a fel-low of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composersand Authors (BASCA).[143]

Elton John’s voice was once classed as tenor; it isnow baritone.[20] His piano playing is influenced byclassical and gospel music.[144] He used Paul Buckmas-ter to arrange the music on his studio albums during the1970s.[145]

3 Personal life

3.1 Sexuality and family

In the late 1960s, Elton John was engaged to be mar-ried to his first lover, secretary Linda Woodrow, whois mentioned in the song "Someone Saved My LifeTonight".[146][147] He married German recording engi-neer Renate Blauel on 14 February 1984, in DarlingPoint, Sydney, with speculation that the marriage was a

cover for his homosexuality. John came out as bisexual ina 1976 interview with Rolling Stone,[146][147] but after hisdivorce from Blauel in 1988, he told the magazine that hewas “comfortable” being gay.[148]

In 1993, he began a relationship with David Furnish, aformer advertising executive and now filmmaker origi-nally from Toronto, Canada. On 21 December 2005(the day that the Civil Partnership Act came into force),John and Furnish were amongst the first couples in theUK to form a civil partnership, which was held at theWindsor Guildhall.[149] After gay marriage became legalin England in March 2014, John and Furnish married inWindsor, Berkshire, on 21 December 2014, the ninth an-niversary of their civil partnership.[150][151][152] They havetwo sons. Their oldest, Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John, was born to a surrogate mother on 25 December2010 in California.[153][154] A second son, Elijah JosephDaniel Furnish-John, was born to the couple by the samesurrogate mother on 11 January 2013.[155]

Elton John has ten godchildren, including Sean Lennon,David and Victoria Beckham's sons Brooklyn andRomeo, Elizabeth Hurley's son Damian Charles, and thedaughter of Seymour Stein.[156]

In 2010, John was criticised by some Christian groups inthe US after describing Jesus as a “compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems”.William Anthony Donohue, president of the CatholicLeague for Religious and Civil Rights and opponent ofgay marriage, responded: “To call Jesus a homosexual isto label him a sexual deviant. But what else would we ex-pect from a man who previously said, 'From my point ofview, I would ban religion completely.'"[157]

In 2008, John stated he preferred civil partnerships overmarriage for gay people.[158] But by 2012 John hadchanged his position and become a staunch supporterof same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom. He wasquoted: “There is a world of difference between callingsomeone your 'partner' and calling them your 'husband'.'Partner' is a word that should be preserved for people youplay tennis with, or work alongside in business. It doesn'tcome close to describing the love that I have for David,and he for me. In contrast, 'husband' does.”[159] In 2014,he claimed Jesus would have been in favour of same-sexmarriage.[160]

In 2013, Elton John resisted calls to boycott Russia inprotest at the country’s anti-gay legislation, but told fansat a Moscow concert that the Russian laws were “inhu-mane and isolating” and he was “deeply saddened andshocked over the current legislation.”[161] In a January2014 interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin spokeof Elton John in an attempt to show that there was nogay discrimination in Russia, stating; “Elton John – he’san extraordinary person, a distinguished musician, andmillions of our people sincerely love him, regardless ofhis sexual orientation.”[162] Elton responded by offeringto introduce the President to Russians abused under Rus-

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3.3 Other 11

sian legislation banning “homosexual propaganda”.[162]

3.2 Wealth

John on stage in July 2008

In April 2009, the Sunday Times Rich List estimatedJohn’s wealth to be £175 million (US$265 million), andranked him as the 322nd wealthiest person in Britain.[163]John was estimated to have a fortune of £195 million inthe Sunday Times Rich List of 2011, making him one ofthe 10 wealthiest people in the British music industry.[164]Aside from his main home “Woodside” in Old Windsor,Berkshire, John owns residences in Atlanta, Nice, Lon-don’s Holland Park, and Venice. John’s property in Niceis based on Mon Boron mountain.[165] Elton John is anart collector, and is believed to have one of the largestprivate photography collections in the world.[166]

In 2000, he admitted to spending £30 million in just un-der two years—an average of £1.5 million a month. Be-tween January 1996 and September 1997, he spent morethan £9.6m on property and £293,000 on flowers.[167] InJune 2001 John sold 20 of his cars at Christie’s, say-ing he didn't get the chance to drive them because hewas out of the country so often.[168] The sale, whichincluded a 1993 Jaguar XJ220, the most expensiveat £234,750, and several Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, andBentleys, raised nearly £2 million.[169] In 2003, Johnsold the contents of his Holland Park home—expected

to fetch £800,000 at Sotheby’s—in order to modernisethe decoration in order to display some of his contempo-rary art collection.[170] Every year since 2004, John hasopened a shop called “Elton’s Closet” in which he sells hissecond-hand clothes.[171]

3.3 Other

By 1975, the pressures of stardom had begun to take a se-rious toll on him. During “Elton Week” in Los Angelesthat year, he suffered a drug overdose.[172] He also bat-tled the eating disorder bulimia. In a CNN interview withLarry King in 2002, King asked if John knew of Diana,Princess of Wales' eating disorder. John replied, “Yes, Idid. We were both bulimic.”[173]

A longtime tennis enthusiast, he wrote the song “Philadel-phia Freedom” in tribute to long-time friend Billie JeanKing and her World Team Tennis franchise of the samename. John and King also co-host an annual pro-am eventto benefit AIDS charities, most notably Elton John’s ownElton John AIDS Foundation, for which King is a chair-woman. John, who maintains a part-time residence in At-lanta, Georgia, became a fan of the Atlanta Braves base-ball team when he moved there in 1991.[174] In 2015, hewas named one of GQ's 50 best dressed British men.[175]

4 Watford Football Club

“At the 1984 Cup Final, the song "Abide with Me" wasplayed and that’s why I cried. The song evokes my mem-ory of childhood.”—Elton John on his emotions during the FA Cup Final'straditional pre-match hymn.[176]

Having supported Watford Football Club since growingup locally, Elton John became the club’s chairman anddirector in 1976, appointing Graham Taylor as managerand investing large sums of money as the club rose threedivisions into the English First Division.[177] The pinnacleof the club’s success was finishing runners up in the FirstDivision to Liverpool F.C. in 1983 and reaching the FACup Final at Wembley Stadium in 1984. He sold the clubto Jack Petchey in 1987, but remained president.[178]

In 1997, he re-purchased the club from Petchey and onceagain became chairman. He stepped down in 2002 whenthe club needed a full-time chairman although he con-tinued as president of the club.[178] Although no longerthe majority shareholder, he still holds a significant fi-nancial interest. In June 2005 he held a concert at Wat-ford’s home stadium, Vicarage Road, donating the fundsto the club, and another concert in May 2010.[178] He hasremained friends with a number of high-profile playersin football, including Pelé and David Beckham.[156][179]For a time, from late 1975 until 1976, he was a part-

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12 6 HONOURS AND AWARDS

owner of the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North Ameri-can Soccer League. On 13 December 2014, he appearedat Watford’s Vicarage Road with David Furnish, and hissons Zachary and Elijah for the opening of the “Sir EltonJohn stand”.[180] He described the occasion as “one of thegreatest days of my life”.[180]

5 AIDS Foundation

Main article: Elton John AIDS Foundation

John has said that he took risks with unprotected sex dur-ing the 1980s and considers himself lucky to have avoidedthe AIDS epidemic.[181] In 1986 he joined with DionneWarwick, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder to record thesingle "That’s What Friends Are For", with all profits be-ing donated to the American Foundation for AIDS Re-search. The song won John and the others the GrammyAward for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group withVocals. In April 1990, John performed his 1968 ballad"Skyline Pigeon" at the funeral of Ryan White, a teenagehaemophiliac he had befriended.[182]

Elton John became more closely associated with AIDScharities following the deaths of his friends Ryan White in1990 and Freddie Mercury in 1991, raising large amountsof money and using his public profile to raise awareness ofthe disease. He founded the Elton John AIDS Foundationin 1992 as a charity to fund programmes for HIV/AIDSprevention, for the elimination of prejudice and discrim-ination against HIV/AIDS-affected individuals, and forproviding services to people living with or at risk of con-tracting HIV/AIDS. This cause continues to be one ofhis personal passions. In 1993 he began hosting his an-nual Academy Award Party, which has become one of thehighest-profile Oscar parties in the Hollywood film indus-try, and has raised over $200 million.[12] In early 2006,John donated the smaller of two bright-red Yamaha pi-anos from his Las Vegas, Nevada show to auction on eBayto raise public awareness and funds for the foundation.To raise money for his AIDS charity, he annually hostsa glamorous White Tie & Tiara Ball In the grounds ofhis home in Old Windsor, Berkshire to which many fa-mous celebrities are invited.[183] On 28 June 2007, the9th annual White Tie & Tiara Ball took place. Themenu consisted of a truffle soufflé followed by Surf andTurf (filet mignon with Maine lobster tail) and a giantKnickerbocker glory ice cream. An auction followed thedinner held by Stephen Fry. A Rolls Royce 'Phantom'drophead coupe and a piece of Tracey Emin's artworkboth raised £800,000 for the charity fund, with the totalamount raised reaching £3.5 million.[184] Later, John sang"Delilah" with Tom Jones and "Big Spender" with ShirleyBassey.[185] The 2011 guests included Sarah, Duchess ofYork, Elizabeth Hurley and George Michael (who per-formed “Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me” in a duet

with John), and the auction raised £5 million, adding tothe £45 million the Balls have raised for the Elton JohnAids Foundation.[183]

6 Honours and awards

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inhis first year of eligibility in 1994. He and Bernie Taupinhad previously been inducted into the Songwriters Hall ofFame in 1992. John was appointed a Commander of theOrder of the British Empire (CBE) in 1995.[186] For hischaritable work, John was knighted by Queen ElizabethII on 24 February 1998. In October 1975, John becamethe 1,662nd person to receive a star on the HollywoodWalk of Fame.[54]

He was awarded Society of Singers Lifetime Achieve-ment Award in 2005.[187] He became a recipient of aKennedy Center Honor in 2004, and a Disney LegendsAward in 2006. In 2010, he was awarded with the PRSfor Music Heritage Award, which was erected, on TheNamaste Lounge Pub in Watford, where John performedhis first ever gig.[188]

Music awards include the Academy Award for Best Orig-inal Song for "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" fromThe Lion King (award shared with Tim Rice); the GoldenGlobe Award for Best Original Song in 1994 for “CanYou Feel The Love Tonight” from The Lion King (awardshared with Tim Rice); and the Tony Award for BestOriginal Score in 2000 for Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida(award shared with Tim Rice). He has also received fiveBrit Awards, including the award for Best British Male in1991, and awards for Outstanding Contribution to Musicin 1986 and 1995. In 2013, John received the first BritsIcon award in recognition of his “lasting impact” on UKculture, which was presented to him by his close friendRod Stewart.[135][189]

6.1 Film awards

6.1.1 Academy Awards

1. 1995: Best Original Song (won) for Can You Feelthe Love Tonight from The Lion King

2. 1995: Best Original Song (nominated) for Circle ofLife from The Lion King

3. 1995: Best Original Song (nominated) for HakunaMatata from The Lion King

6.2 Music awards

6.2.1 Grammy Awards

1. 1972: Grammy Award for Best Original Score Writ-ten for a Motion Picture (nominated) for Friends

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13

2. 1987: Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Groupwith Vocal (won) for “That’s What Friends AreFor”, performed by Dionne Warwick & Friends(award shared with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight& Stevie Wonder)

3. 1991: Best Instrumental Composition (won) for“Basque”, performed by James Galway

4. 1994: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for “CanYou Feel The Love Tonight”

5. 1995: Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Per-formance (won) for Can You Feel the Love Tonightfrom The Lion King

6. 1995: Best Song Written Specifically for a MotionPicture or for Television (nominated) for Can YouFeel the Love Tonight from The Lion King

7. 1995: Best Song Written Specifically for a MotionPicture or for Television (nominated) for Circle ofLife from The Lion King

8. 1997: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance (won) for“Candle in the Wind 1997”

9. 1999: Grammy Legend Award

10. 2001: Best Musical Show Album (won) for EltonJohn & Tim Rice’s Aida (award shared with GuyBabylon, Paul Bogaev & Chris Montan (produc-ers), Tim Rice (lyricist) and the original Broadwaycast with Heather Headley, Adam Pascal, and SherieRene Scott)

11. 2011: Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals (nomi-nated) for If it Wasn't for Bad

6.3 Theatre awards

6.3.1 Tony Awards

1. 1998: Best Original Musical Score (nominated) forThe Lion King (musical)

2. 2000: Best Original Musical Score (won) for Aida(musical)

3. 2009: Best Score (Music and/or Lyrics) (nomi-nated) for Billy Elliot, The Musical

4. 2010: Best Play (nominated as producer) for NextFall

7 Elton John Band

Elton John Band membersSince 1970, John’s band, of which he is the pianist

and lead singer, has been known as the Elton John

The Elton John Band 15 March 2012 Left to Right: John, John-stone, Birch, and (not pictured, right), Olsson and Cooper

Band.[190][191] The band has had multiple line-up changes,but Nigel Olsson, Davey Johnstone, and Ray Cooperhave been members (albeit non-consecutively) since 1969(Olsson) and 1972 (Johnstone and Cooper). Olssonleft the band in 1984 but rejoined in 2000.[192][193] RayCooper has worked on and off with the Elton John Bandbecause he maintains obligations to other musicians as asession player and sideman as a road-tour percussionist.

8 Discography

Main articles: Elton John albums discography and EltonJohn singles discography

Solo studio 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 (