Elton John
Born 1947
Period of Music: Contemporary/Modern
Nationality: British
Instruments he plays: piano
Major compositions: Your Song, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Bennie and the Jets,
Rocket Man, Honky Cat, Candle in the Wind, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,
The Lion King (movie/musical), Aida (musical)
Sir Elton
Hercules John, CBE, is one of the most highly acclaimed and successful solo
artists of all time. He has achieved 37 gold and 27 multi-platinum albums, has
sold more
than 250 million records worldwide, and holds the record for the
biggest selling single
of all time. Over the five decades since his career
began in 1969, Elton has played
more than 3,500 concerts in over 80 countries.
Composer (Broadway musical): The Lion King, 1998 (six
Tony Awards); Aida, 2000 (Tony Award for Best Original Score); Lestat,
2006; (West End Musical); Billy Elliot the Musical, 2005 (Olivier Award
for Best Musical)
Composer (albums): Empty Sky, 1969; Elton
John, Tumbleweed Connection, 1970; 11.17.70, Friends,
Madman Across The Water, 1971; Honky Chateau, 1972; Don't Shoot
Me I'm Only the Piano Player, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973; Caribou,
Greatest Hits, 1974; Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, Rock
of the Westies, 1975; Here and There, Blue Moves, 1976; Greatest
Hits Volume II, 1977; A Single Man, 1978; Victim of Love,
1979; 21 at 33, 1980; The Fox, 1981; Jump Up, 1982; Too
Low for Zero, 1983; Breaking Hearts, 1984; Ice on Fire, 1985;
Leather Jackets, 1986; Live in Australia, 1987; Reg Strikes
Back, 1988; Sleeping With the Past, 1989; To Be Continued,
1990; The One, 1992; Duets, 1993; Made in England, 1995; Love
Songs, 1996; The Big Picture, 1997; Elton John and Tim Rice's
Aida, The Muse, 1999; One Night Only, 2000; Songs From the
West Coast, 2001; Greatest Hits 1970 - 2002, 2002; Peachtree Road,
2004; The Captain & The Kid, 2006; Rocket Man- Number Ones,
2007; The Union, 2010; Good Morning To The Night, 2012;The
Diving Board, 2013
Composer (film music): The Lion King, 1994 (Best Original
Song Academy Award for Can You Feel the Love Tonight?); The Road to
El Dorado, 2000; Gnomeo & Juliet, 2011
- Inducted into Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, 1994
- Five Grammy Awards: 1986, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000
- Oscar Award, 1995
- Tony Award, 2000
- Grammy Legend Award, 2001
- Kennedy Center Honor, 2004
- First popular Western singer to perform in USSR, 1979
- Made Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 1996
- Received Knighthood from HM Queen Elizabeth II, February 24, 1998
- Released biggest selling single of all time, Candle In The Wind 1997 (over 33,000,000 copies sold), 1997
- Received Honorary Doctorate, Royal Academy of Music, 2002
- Became Fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters and Composers, 2004
- Founder of the Rocket Music Entertainment Group, a
music company with its core business focused in artist management, 2011
