Elton John
Elton John is the rhinestone-glasses-wearing, piano-pounding British rock legend who turned five decades of chart dominance into one of the most lucrative touring careers in music history.
Elton John: The Rocket Man Who Never Really Came Down
Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in Pinner, Middlesex, England, Elton John is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated record sales north of 300 million. He burst onto the global scene in the early 1970s and simply never left, scoring hits across every decade from “Crocodile Rock” and “Rocket Man” to “I’m Still Standing” and “Tiny Dancer.”
His songwriting partnership with lyricist Bernie Taupin, forged in 1967, is one of the most celebrated collaborations in pop history. Elton writes the music, Taupin writes the words, and they have rarely been in the same room while doing it. The result is a catalog that spans glam rock, pop, gospel, and Broadway.
Beyond the music, Elton John is a cultural institution. His 1997 reworking of “Candle in the Wind” as a tribute to Princess Diana became the best-selling physical single of all time. His Elton John AIDS Foundation, founded in 1992, has raised over half a billion dollars for HIV/AIDS programs worldwide.
His life and career were dramatized in the 2019 biographical musical film Rocketman, starring Taron Egerton. His record-breaking “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” farewell tour, which began in 2018, finally concluded in 2023, cementing his status as one of live music’s all-time greats.
People search for Elton John constantly, curious about his personal life, his flamboyant stage persona, his husband David Furnish, and what he’s doing now that the touring chapter has officially closed.