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A Tribute To
Elton John
Born March 25, 1947
In Pinner, Greater London, England, UK
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1979: He was the first Western rock star to perform in Israel and the USSR.
Grammy award winning singer.
9/5/97: Performed a new version of "Candle in the Wind", in tribute to Princess Diana at her funeral, with new lyrics specially written by Bernie Taupin.
Changed his name legally to Elton Hercules John. He chose the middle name "Hercules" not after the hero of mythology, but after the horse named Hercules on the British sitcom "Steptoe and Son" (1962).
1995: Awarded the Polar Music Prize, the Royal Swedish Academy of Music Award.
1992: Decided that all profits from his singles would be donated to AIDS charities and formed the Elton John AIDS Foundation. The foundation has become one of the world's largest nonprofit AIDS organizations.
At age 11, entered the Royal Academy of Music, but quit just before graduation to pursue a rock career.
He was twice a former Chairman of Watford Football Club.
1994: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
He was a friend of the late rock singer Freddie Mercury and performed at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert.
Christmas hits: "Step into Christmas" (1973) and "Cold as Christmas (In the Middle of the Year)" (1983).
Dusty Springfield sang backing vocals on his song "The Bitch is Back".
Covered the The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" in 1974. John Lennon is featured in this recording.
His song "Philadelphia Freedom" was a tribute to tennis star Billie Jean King.
1976: Covered The Who's "Pinball Wizard".
His hit "Song for Guy" was a tribute to Guy Burchett, Rocket Records messenger who was killed in a motorcycle accident.
His song "Empty Garden" is a tribute to John Lennon.
Stevie Wonder played harmonica on his song "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues".
His song "Act of War" was a duet with Millie Jackson.
Sang a duet with Cliff Richard called "Slow Rivers".
Duet with Jennifer Rush: "Flames of Paradise".
Duet with Aretha Franklin: "Through the Storm".
Duet with Eric Clapton: "Runaway Train".
1991: Had a UK #1 with his live duet with George Michael, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me".
Has played the piano since he was four years old.
1974: During one of his concerts at Madison Square Garden, John Lennon joined him on stage to perform three songs. This was part of a bet that if Lennon's song "Whatever Gets You Through the Night" went to #1, he would join Elton on stage. This proved to be Lennon's last on-stage performance.
Is the Godfather of John Lennon's son, Sean Lennon, Elizabeth Hurley's son Damian and David Beckham and Victoria Beckham's sons Brooklyn and Romeo.
Often parodied on "Saturday Night Live" (1975) by Horatio Sanz.
Started wearing glasses to copy one of his idols, Buddy Holly. After a while, his eyes adjusted to the lenses and he's worn glasses ever since.
His partner, filmmaker David Furnish, made the documentary about Elton, Elton John: Tantrums & Tiaras (1997) (TV).
Long-time collaborator, lyricist Bernie Taupin.
He has teamed up with lyricist Tim Rice on four projects. The songs for the films The Lion King (1994), The Road to El Dorado (2000) and the Broadway stage productions of "The Lion King" and "Aida".
Duets he sang with Kiki Dee are "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" and "True Love".
Is a co-owner of the chic Sunset Strip restaurant Le Dome in Hollywood.
Sang with Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight on the song "That's What Friends Are For".
1994: Re-recorded his 1976 hit "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", this time as a duet with RuPaul.
The song "You Can Make History (Young Again)" was a tribute to fashion designer Gianni Versace.
Sang the duet "Donner Pour Donner" in French with singer France Gall.
His parents, Sheila and Stanley Dwight, divorced when he was young. His mother then married Fred Farebrother, whom Elton affectionately dubbed 'Derf.'
Covered the Kiki Dee song "Sugar on the Floor".
Covered the Queen song "The Show Must Go On".
Covered the John Lennon song "Give Peace a Chance" on his four-CD boxed set "To Be Continued...".
Gave friend Rod Stewart the nickname "Phyllis".
Likes Indian food.
Duet with Luciano Pavarotti: "Live Like Horses".
2/6/04: Attended the special dinner at Sony Studios in Los Angeles to honor singer and activist Sting as MusiCares 2004's Person of the Year. The evening celebrated Sting's contribution to popular music, honored his charitable work with Amnesty International and the Rainforest Foundation. Other stars in attendance included Kylie Minogue and Dido.
Enjoys tennis.
His song "On Dark Street" features back-up vocals by Kiki Dee.
His song "All the Young Girls Love Alice" is a tribute to Alice Cooper.
Stated once in the 1970s that if he ever had a daughter, he would name her "Umbrella".
Auditioned for the lead vocalist spot in the band King Crimson but was turned down.
When Stevie Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group to form Traffic, he auditioned to take Winwood's place. Unfortunately, he was turned down.
2000: Nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award (1999 season) for Best New Musical for "The Lion King" at the Lyceum Theatre.
2004: Recipient of the Kennedy Center Honours, along with Joan Sutherland, John Williams, Warren Beatty, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.
Has epilepsy.
7/99: Had a pacemaker fitted to correct an irregular heartbeat following an episode of angina on an airplane.
1/87: Underwent laser surgery to remove nodules from his vocal chords in Australia. This followed a televised concert with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in which his voice sounded noticeably rough. In 2004 he admitted this problem had been caused by smoking too many drugs, including marijuana.
2001: Declared that "Songs from the West Coast" would be his final studio album, and thereafter he would concentrate on just live performances. In 2004, however, he released a new album, "Peachtree Road", which despite some favorable reviews flopped in every country it was released in.
1976 song "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" was about his real life suicide attempt.
He is a close friend of David Beckham, Billy Connolly and Billy Joel.
He was voted the 49th Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Artist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
Sang a duet with Luciano Pavarotti called "Live Like Horses".
Covered the John Lennon song "Give Peace a Chance" on his four-CD boxed set "To Be Continued...".
1/17/97: Covered the Queen song "The Show Must Go On" at the Theatre National de Chaillot in Paris, for the gala opening night of "Le Presbytere n'a rien perdu de son charme ni le jardin de son eclat", a moving work inspired by the premature deaths of Freddie Mercury and the company's principal dancer Jorge Donn.
1991: Had a UK #1 hit with his live duet with George Michael, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me".
Came up with the name Elton John from Soft Machine saxophone player Elton Dean and Long John Baldry.
One of his all-time favorite singers is Country Music Hall-Of-Fame legend "Gentleman" Jim Reeves (1923-1964). Reportedly he once considered recording Reeves' mega-hit (on both Pop and Country Charts) "He'll Have To Go" (1960), but decided he couldn't possibly top Reeves' version.
Registered his civil partnership with long-term partner David Furnish at Windsor Town Hall on December 21, 2005, the first day that civil unions were legal in England and Wales. The ceremony was performed by Registrar Clair Williams, who also presided over the union between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles.
1991: Winner of the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist.
1986: Winner of the British Phonographic Industry award for Outstanding Contribution.
2002: Presented (along with musical partner Bernie Taupin) with the Music Industry Trusts' Award for his outstanding contribution to the British music industry.
As of March 2006, he has 10 godchildren.
Estimated in 2006 to have sold 250 million albums during his career.
He considers The Beatles song "Yesterday" as the perfect song.
In the Independent of Sunday 2006 Pink List - a list of the most influential gay men and women - he came no. 2, down from no. 1.
1995: Winner of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution. Having previously won the award in 1986, he became the first person to win the award twice as a solo artist, a record which still stands in 2008.
His 1994 album "The Lion King" sold 15 million copies in the United States.
Sang a song with Tupac Shakur called "Ghetto Gospel".
Helped compose the single 'I Don't Like Dancin' with The Scissor Sisters.
2004: Winner of the Q Classic Songwriter Award.
Is one of the few artists such as Madonna and Kylie Minogue with #1 hits in both '80s, '90s and '00s.
Started piano lessons at age four, and showed promise as a musician at an early age.
Sang in his first and only concert in Puerto Rico in the Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot on April 28th 2007.
1992: Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Plays Yamaha concert grand pianos. Yamaha have also produced the Elton John Limited Edition Signature Series Red Piano, based on his Vegas show, The Red Piano.
Names The Beatles as a major musical inspiration and became friends with all the members of the band.
Ranked #17 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll.
In 2007, Forbes Magazine reported his earnings to be approximately $53 million for the year.
Raised $2.5m for Hillary Rodham Clinton's US presidential campaign with a concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
Personal Quotes
I haven't made a good album in a long while. Not since 1976 and Blue Moves.
If there is a better singer in England than Craig David, then I am Margaret Thatcher.
[After being asked about his sexuality in the 1970s]: I think people should be free to engage in any sexual practices they choose; they should draw the line at goats, though.
Nowadays, record companies want the quick buck from the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, S Club 7, Steps. They've always been around, I'm not knocking the music perhaps, but it's like packets of cereal. There are too many of them, too many of them are just mediocre. And I think it damages real people's chance, real talent, of getting airplay. It's just fodder.
[About Madonna]: Anyone who lip-synchs in public on stage when you pay £75 to see them should be shot. That's me off her Christmas card list. But do I give a toss? No.
[After breaking his fingernails by playing so hard]: If I had one finger left, I'd play for you.
[About Live 8 (2005) (TV)]: I thought it was a bit of an anti-climax, to be honest. The thought behind it was fantastic, but Hyde Park is a charisma-free zone. There was no sense of occasion and from a musical point, I didn't think there were too many highlights. I was very pleased to be a part of it, but I didn't think it was anywhere near as good as the first one. How could it be?
[On his unsuccessful 2004 studio album, "Peachtree Road"]: It is probably one of my lowest-selling albums of all time. It was disappointing everywhere in the world, so I have to hold my hands up and accept that the songs just didn't connect. I'm proud of "Peachtree", but, if I think about it logically, people may have ten or twelve Elton John albums in their collection already. Do they need another one?
I had a hell of a time last year [2004] and this is the end of it. I haven't spoken to Madonna since. She's been in Kabbalah meetings ever since. I don't think I'll ever be forgiven for that one. Then I had the George Michael-thing and the Victoria Beckham-thing. I will keep my mouth shut now.
[On performing at the Colosseum in 2005]: I love places that have an incredible history. I love the Italian way of life, I love the food, I love the people, I love the attitudes of Italians.
[About his marriage to Renate Blauel]: I regret it to this day because I was not honest with Renate. I married her while I knew that my truth was different. I find her a beautiful woman, she could have ruined me financially but she hasn't done that. That is what I call true friendship.
I've always wanted to smash a guitar over someone's head. You just can't do that with a piano.
The great thing about rock and roll is that someone like me can be a star.
My voice has gotten deeper and it's all down to when I was living in Australia. I could speak and only barely sing. Deep down I knew that something was chronically wrong with my voice. It was polyps. The first thing the doctor said to me, "You smoke a lot of dope, don't you?" I gasped and said, "How do you know?" The doctor said, "I can tell by the way you're talking. If you're a singer, the worse thing you can do is smoke dope." We did the operation in Australia and it lowered the timbre of my voice. It's deeper, has more resonance and it's stronger. I used to be a piano player who sang and now I'm a singer who plays piano.
[November 2004] I've never lived in a time so vexing. I just want to scream. It's a nightmare. Bush [George W. Bush] and this administration are the worst thing that's ever happened to America. I'm just as angry at Tony Blair. You lied to us, Tony. It was like - these idiots think they can get away with anything! I voted for Tony. He's basically a nice guy. What happened? Is it because power does that thing to you, that you isolate yourself? It enrages me that people can just smirk their way through it.
If I was to say what I am, I'd be a Labour man. I like Tony Blair a lot, I think he's a good man. And in America I'd definitely be a Democrat; I'd never be a Republican. One government all the time isn't great for a country. I think it's very hard to be in power for a long time, I think you lose touch. If Cameron [David Cameron] can bring a strong opposition to the Labour Party, then I think it's healthy and I'm all for it.
Every artist who makes it goes through a period where it seems they're invincible. We've seen it with Phil Collins, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna and Prince. It just seems like they can't fail. And then suddenly everything levels off. I knew it when it started happening to me. I was really tired, I knew I was peaking. I knew it was time for someone else to take over. You have to be realistic about these things.
I want to bring my songs and melodies to hip-hop beats. It may be a disaster, it could be fantastic, but you don't know until you try.
I've dodged so many bullets. Not just because of unsafe sex, but because of the amount of drugs I did, the amount of alcohol, the amount of work I was doing. I started the Elton John AIDS Foundation because I got so lucky.
I think religion has always tried to turn hatred towards gay people. Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays. But there are so many people I know who are gay and love their religion. From my point of view I would ban religion completely. Organised religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate ... The world is near escalating to World War Three and where are the leaders of each religion? Why aren't they having a conclave? Why aren't they coming together? I said this after 9/11 and people thought I was nuts. Instead of more violence why isn't there a meeting of religious leaders? It's like the peace movement in the Sixties. Musicians got through to people by getting out there and doing peace concerts but we don't seem to do them any more. If John Lennon were alive today he'd be leading it with a vengeance. They seem to do their protesting on-line and that's not good enough. You have to get out there and be seen to be vocal, and you've got to do it time and time again. There was a big march in London when Britain decided to join the war against Iraq and Tony Blair is on the record as saying 'the people who march today will have blood on their hands'. That's returned to bite him on the ass. People come to me and I'm a bit like the Queen Mother. I never get those problems. I don't know what it is with me, people treat me very reverently. It was the same when Dave and I had our civil union - I was expecting the odd flour bomb and there wasn't. Dave and I as a couple seem to be the acceptable face of gayness, and that's great. I'm going to fight for them whether I do it silently behind the scenes or so vocally that I get locked up. I can't just sit back - it's not in my nature any more. I'm nearly sixty years old after all. I can't sit back and blindly ignore it and I won't.
[about Dusty Springfield] Hers was the first fan club I belonged to. I had pictures of Dusty all over my walls.
I have no one to leave the money to. I'm a single man. I like spending my money.
[after it was revealed he had spent £293,000 on flowers in less than two years] Yes, I like flowers.
[in 2007] In the early '70s there were at least ten albums released every week that were fantastic. Now you're lucky to find ten albums a year of that quality. And there are more albums released each week now than there were then.
I am such a Luddite when it comes to making music. All I can do is write at the piano.
[in 2007] The Internet has stopped people from going out and being with each other, creating stuff. Instead, they sit at home and make their own records, which is sometimes OK but it doesn't bode well for long-term artistic vision. It's just a means to an end. We're talking about things that are going to change the world and change the way people listen to music and that's not going to happen with people blogging on the Internet. I mean, get out there - communicate. Hopefully the next movement in music will tear down the Internet. Let's get out in the streets and march and protest instead of sitting at home and blogging. I do think it would be an incredible experiment to shut down the whole Internet for five years and see what sort of art is produced over that span. There's too much technology available. I'm sure, as far as music goes, it would be much more interesting than it is today.
I didn't have sex until I was 23 and that was with a man. I made up for lost time after that in a hurry. I wish I could have had sex when I was, like, 14, 15 or 16 because that's such an exciting age to have sex.
There's a lot of Liberace in me and as a gay artist as such, but I am an openly gay man. A lot of my audience is the same kind of audience that Liberace would have had and they didn't seem to give a shit. I think that's so great.
There is no-one more qualified to lead America. I'm amazed by the misogynistic attitudes of some of the people in this country, and I say to hell with them. I love you Hillary, I'll be there for you. (On Hillary Rodham Clinton)
Some people don't get hyped enough, people like David Ackles, who could well be hyped as much as I've been. But once you're successful, they're going to try to get as much hype going as possible.
Elton John was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1996 and awarded Knighthood of the British Empire in the 1998 Queen's New Years Honors List for his services to music and fund-raising for AIDS charities.
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There's so much you're expected to do and you follow a pattern. You make a record, you do a video. I like to break the rules a little bit more and I did in the 1970s, I should try a little bit more now.
-- Elton John
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