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Sir Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947 in Pinner, England. He inherited his father's love of music, but had little else in common with the often-missioned Royal Air Force pilot. He learned to play the piano with his grandmother, and at the age of 11 won a prize from the Royal Academy of Music. He later joined the group Bluesology and eventually adopted the stage name Elton John, combining the first names of saxophonist Elton Dean and singer Long John Baldry. He met lyricist Bernie Taupin in 1967 through a classified ad, but the duo had to wait three years for their first hit with "Your Song" (No. 7 in the UK). In the 1970s, Elton John and his band produced no fewer than 17 albums in 9 years, 7 of which consecutively topped the American charts: Honky Château, Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Caribou, the Greatest Hits I compilation , Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy and Rock of the Westies. The hits followed one another over the years: "Tiny Dancer" (No. 70), "Rocket Man" (No. 2), "Crocodile Rock" (No. 5), "Daniel" (No. 4), "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (No. 16), "Candle in the Wind" (No. 11), "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" in a duet with Kiki Dee (No. 1) and "I'm Still Standing" (No. 4), among others. The 1980s and 1990s remained just as prolific, and saw Elton John become one of the world's best-selling artists, with over 300 million records sold throughout his career. 2019 sees the release of the biographical film Rocketman. Ennobled by the Queen, he was still one of Britain's favorite personalities in 2021 when he released The Lockdown Sessions (No. 1), his 32nd studio album, containing mainly tracks recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic and during the stoppage of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road farewell tour. Following the release in 2021 of a previously unreleased album from 1967-1968, Regimental Sgt. Zippo, the documentary Elton John: Never Too Late, directed by her husband David Furnish, includes the song of the same name with American Brandi Carlile, the first single from their collaborative album Who Believes in Angels? released in 2025 and immediately ranked No. 1 in the UK charts.
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