Over time, Elton John has shown himself to be one of the most important musicians of his time. His "time" covers a number of decades, and his fans come from a number of different generations. John has been performing for more than 30 years, and his tour this summer is sure to bring in millions of fans from all over the US.
Early Years
Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in England in 1947. The women in his life had a big impact on his early years. S..., was a...
Over time, Elton John has shown himself to be one of the most important musicians of his time. His "time" covers a number of decades, and his fans come from a number of different generations. John has been performing for more than 30 years, and his tour this summer is sure to bring in millions of fans from all over the US.
Early Years
Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in England in 1947. The women in his life had a big impact on his early years. Stanley Dwight's father was a Squadron Leader in the RAF. Because of this, he rarely saw his son because he had to be on tour for years.
John was a bit of a child genius. By the time he was four, he could play piano melodies he had heard on the radio or record player by ear. He kept working on his love of music, and when he was 11, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music.
John went to the Academy and studied there for six years, but he left before he graduated because he wanted to focus on his professional music career. John was in a few bands when he was in college. It was during this time that he developed his professional style and attitude in a way that would help him throughout his career.
Start of a Job
When John was 13, he started his first band, which was called The Corvettes. The Corvettes eventually changed their name to Bluesology, which had some success as a backup band for R&B artists like the Isley Brothers and Patti LaBelle. Because of this, Bluesology was hired to be Long John Baldry's backing band. During this time, they toured and played small shows all over England.
John soon got tired of Baldry's tight control over Bluesology and left the band soon after. Even though John didn't get hired as the lead singer for King Crimson or Gentle Giant when he tried out, this part of his life led to a partnership that is still going strong today.
Success in a Job
John tried out for a role with Liberty Records again, but he didn't get it. As he was leaving, Bernie Taupin, who has also tried out for a role with Liberty Records, gave John a set of lyrics without music. John wrote music to go with the lyrics, and they started talking to each other. Six months later, John and Taupin met, and that's when John changed his name to what it is now. After writing music together for a few years, the partners were ready for the 1970s, a decade in which they had a level of success that had never been seen before.
Taupin and John started putting out singles that did okay, and they put together a group of musicians that helped John make his first number one album, Honky Chateau, in 1972. It stayed at number one for five weeks and had hits like "Rocket Man" and "Honky Cat."
The next year, John started his own record label called Rocket Records, and he had a lot of success. His next nine albums all went to the top of the US Album charts, and his 31 albums since his first have sold hundreds of millions of copies around the world.
Awards/Acknowledgements
Millions of people, both in the music business and outside of it, look up to John. Several things have been said about him. John has won five Grammy Awards, but that's just the "tip of the iceberg" when it comes to how well-known he is. John won the Best Music, Song Academy Award for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from The Lion King in 1995. In the same year, he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for a Movie for the same score. He was made a Commander of the British Empire (C.B.E.) in 1996, and Queen Elizabeth knighted him in 1998 for his work in music and raising money for AIDS charities. In 2000, John won a Tony Award for his work on Aida. The award was for Best Original Musical Score. In 1994, John also got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
