  Elton John was born Reginald
Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947 in England.
Elton John ruled the pop and rock airwaves
throughout the 70s, allowing him to attain
superstar status around the world by the time
he was 30. The consummate piano player
stumbled personally and professionally in the
80s, but always maintained his craft for
creating pop music. As Elton entered the 90s,
he changed his own self-destructive behavior
and focused on a career of music and
humanitarian efforts. Throughout it all,
Elton has maintained a level of respect few
superstar music artists can claim. Elton is
no stranger to the pop charts with 32 Top 10
hits and 60 Top 40 hits. Elton has appeared
on the Top 40 every year since '70, from his
first appearance with "Your Song"
in '70 to "Candle In The Wind
1997." Elton began his mastery of the
piano at the age of four and won a piano
scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at
the age of 11. Elton joined his first band,
Bluesology, in 1961 and successfully played
local venues and as a supporting band for
five years. In 1962, Elton signed with Dick
James Music (a publisher who had also signed John Lennon and Paul
McCartney). Elton starting collaborating
with songwriter Bernie Taupin by 1968 when
both of them answered an ad in a music trade
paper. The duo combined their talents with
Taupin writing song after song, and Elton
bring musical life to the results. Elton
released his first LP, Empty
Sky, in 1969. The
LP was received well by critics but had
little sales impact.
 Elton signed with MCA Records.
For the LP release, Elton
John , the collaboration between
Elton and Taupin continued, and additional
work on the musical arrangements was focused
on for the material. The LP helped introduce
Elton to a wider audience with the Top 10
track, "Your Song," the track
"Border Song," and enthusiastic
responses to his concert appearances.
 Elton released Tumbleweed
Connection.
Elton
John was certified gold.
Elton released 11-17-70 - a live broadcast
recording from New York - also called 17-11-70
in the U.K. and the Friends
soundtrack.
The Friends soundtrack
was certified gold.
 Elton released Madman
Across The Water which included the
hits "Levon" and "Tiny
Dancer" and was certified gold by the
end of the month.
Elton achieved star status when
he released Honky
Chateau and hit the radio with
"Honky Cat" and "Rocket
Man." The LP also introduced listeners
to Elton's touring band which included Dee
Murray on bass, Nigel Olsson on drums, and
Davey Johnstone on guitar. The LP hit #1 on
American charts and for the next 4 years,
Elton a string of Top 10 hits and seven #1,
platinum LPs.
Honky
Chateau was certified gold.
 Elton released hit Don't
Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player and Elton hit # 1 on
the pop charts for the first time in the U.S.
with "Crocodile Rock." The LP also
contained Elton's classic, "Daniel"
and sold over 3 million copies in the U.S.
The single "Crocodile
Rock" was certified gold and Don't
Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player was certified
gold.
 Elton released the double LP, Goodbye
Yellow Brick Road. The LP contains the
hit title track, "Bennie And The
Jets," "Saturday Night's
Alright," and the eventual classic,
"Candle In The Wind."
Goodbye
Yellow Brick Road was certified gold.
The single "Bennie &
The Jets" was certified gold.
 Elton released Caribou which
contained the classics "The Bitch Is
Back" and "Don't Let The Sun Go
Down On Me."
The single "Don't Let The
Sun Go Down On Me" was certified gold.
 Elton released his first hits
compilation - Greatest
Hits. Elton's first greatest hits
collection has since become his biggest
selling LP with over 15 million copies sold
in the U.S. The same year Elton signed a
multi-million dollar contract with MCA,
founded his own record label, Rocket Records,
and co-wrote a #1 song for John Lennon, "Whatever Gets
You Through The Night."
Greatest
Hits was certified gold by the end
of the month.
The single "Lucy In The Sky
With Diamonds" was certified gold.
The single "Philadelphia
Freedom" was certified gold.
 Elton released Captain
Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy and it became
his first LP to debut at #1 on U.S. charts.
The LP sold over 3 million copies in the U.S.
and contained the hit "Someone Saved My
Life Tonight."
Captain
Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy was certified gold by
the end of the month.
The single "Someone Saved
My Life Tonight" was certified gold.
 Rock
Of The Westies was released with a new band
lineup and the hit "Island Girl."
By the mid-70s, Elton's performance costumes
and eyeglasses had become legendary.
Elton also appeared in the film
version of the Who's Tommy and released a book of
his poetry, The
One Who Writes The Words For Elton John.
Rock
Of The Westies was certified gold by the end
of the month.
Elton got his star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The single "Island
Girl" was certified gold.
 After years of selling millions
of LPs worldwide and selling out concert
arenas, Elton's popularity slipped when he
revealed his bisexuality in a Rolling
Stone interview. The sexuality
admission was later said to be a compromise
revelation over his homosexuality.
The release of Here
And There (a live recording of
performances at the Royal Festival Hall and
Madison Square Garden from '74) only achieved
Gold status in the U.S.
Here
And There was certified gold.
The single "Don't Go
Breaking My Heart" was certified gold.
 LP sales with the release of Blue
Moves continued to decline
from Elton's admission.
Blue
Moves was certified platinum.
The single "Sorry Seems To
Be The Hardest Word" was certified gold.
 A second hits compilation, Greatest
Hits Vol. 2, was released and eventually
sold over 5 million copies in the U.S.
Greatest
Hits Vol. 2 was certified platinum.
The heavy toll of live
performances and record making took its toll
on Elton's stamina, and he announced his
retirement from live performances (for 15
months).
 Elton released A
Single Man and returned to
performing live.
A
Single Man was certified platinum.
Elton resumed touring again.
 The next LP, Victim
Of Love produced the Top 10
"Mama Can't Buy You Love" but both
LPs were commercially disappointing. But
Elton persevered and became the first Western
pop star to tour the Soviet Union.
The single "Mama Can't Buy
You Love" was certified gold.
The
Thom Bell Sessions was also released.
 # 36
Singles Artist of the Year
 Elton was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance -
Male
("Mama Can't Buy You Love").
Elton collaborated with Taupin
once again for 21
At 33 at hit the Top 40 with "Little
Jeannie."
Elton performed for free at New
York's Central Park to over 400,000 fans.He
also became the first Western artist to tour
Russia.
 Elton hit the Top 10 with "Little
Jeannie."
The single "Little
Jeannie"
was certified gold.
21
At 33 was certified gold.
Elton hit the Top 40 with "(Sartorial
Eloquence) Don't Ya Wanna Play This Game No
More?"
 # 71
Singles Artist of the Year
 Elton signed with Geffen Records
and released The
Fox.
Elton hit the Top 40 with "Nobody
Wins."
Elton hit the Top 40 with "Chloe."
 # 33
Singles Artist of the Year
 Elton released Jump
Up.
Elton hit the Top 40 with his
tribute to John Lennon, "Empty Garden (Hey Hey
Johnny)."
Elton hit the Top 10 with "Empty Garden (Hey Hey
Johnny)."
Elton hit the Top 40 with "Blue Eyes."
Jump
Up
was certified gold.
 Elton hit the Top
10
with "Blue Eyes."
 # 24
Singles Artist of the Year
Elton was
nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance -
Male
("Blue Eyes").
 Too
Low For Zero gave Elton more pop chart
success with "I'm
Still Standing" (hitting the Top 40 in
May), "Kiss The Bride," and "I Guess That's Why They
Call It The Blues."
Elton hit the Top 40 with "I'm
Still Standing."
Elton hit the Top 10 with "I'm
Still Standing."
Elton hit the Top 40 with "Kiss The Bride."
 Elton hit the Top 40 with "I Guess That's Why They
Call It The Blues."
Elton hit the Top 10 with "I Guess That's Why They
Call It The Blues."
 # 14
Singles Artist of the Year
 Too
Low For Zero was certified gold.
Elton married Renate Blauel,
even though he knew it contradicted his
sexuality. The marriage lasted for four
years.
A string of LPs in the mid-80s
were marginal hits starting with Breaking
Hearts.
 Breaking
Hearts was certified gold.
The video for "I'm
Still Standing" was nominated for 2 MTV Video Music
Awards for Best Choreography and Best Editing.
 # 67
Singles Artist of the Year
 Elton was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance -
Male
("Restless").
The video for "Sad Songs
(Say So Much)" won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Choreography (David Atkins).
 Ice
On Fire was released with the
hits "Wrap Her Up" and "Nikita."
 # 41
Singles Artist of the Year
Elton hit the Top 40 with "Nikita."
 Leather
Jackets was released and after losing
his voice while on tour in Australia, Elton
had to undergo throat surgery.
Elton teamed up with Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight with the #1 hit for
AIDS charities, "That's What Friends Are
For."
 Ice
On Fire was certified gold.
 # 105
Singles Artist of the Year
Elton won a Grammy
Award for Best Pop
Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
("That's What Friends Are For" with
Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight) and was also
nominated for Record of the Year ("That's What
Friends Are For").
 Elton released the live LP Elton
John Live In Australia - a concert
performance with the Melbourne Symphony
Orchestra in Australia recorded in 1986,
which gave Elton another Top 10 with the live
version of "Candle In The Wind."
Another greatest hits package, Greatest
Hits Vol. 3 was released.
MTV gave Elton and Bernie Taupin
an award of Special Recognition at the MTV
Video Music Awards.
Elton decided to abandon his
excessive and flamboyant stage style with an
auction of over 2000 items that brought in
$20 million.
Elton would later admit that the
last 2 years of the 80s were the worst
periods in his life with mental and physical
deterioration.
 # 14
Singles Artist of the Year
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