History Music / EltonJohn

Changing his name by deed poll to "Elton Hercules John" in 1970 (''Elton'' for saxophonist Elton Dean, ''John'' for a singer Reg's old band Bluesology backed up, Long John Baldry, and ''Hercules'', well from a racehorse in BritCom ''Series/SteptoeAndSon''), Elton (with Bernie's lyrics in tow) would gain a reputation as a singer-songwriter-pianist par excellence. By 1972, he had begun to wear increasingly flamboyant costumes, clothes, and eyeglasses, which became a trademark for him until the mid-[[TheEighties 1980s]]. He became an unexpected superstar, with a string of highly successful albums such as ''Tumbleweed Connection'', ''Madman Across the Water'', ''Honky Chateau'', ''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player'', ''Music/GoodbyeYellowBrickRoad'' (a double), and ''Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy''. His success tapered by the late-[[TheSeventies 1970s]], especially after outing himself in 1976. In the meantime, he appeared in the film ''Born to Boogie'' as himself, and in ''Music/{{Tommy}}'' singing "Pinball Wizard".

* BeyondTheImpossible: With "Simple Life" in 1993, Elton John achieved 24 consecutive years with a Top-40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, breaking a record held by Music/ElvisPresley. He would extend it another six years, ending it at 30 in 1999 with Written in the Stars". The streak finally ended when his only single of 2000, "Someday out of the Blue", peaked at number 49.

* BeyondTheImpossible: With "Simple Life" in 1993, Elton John achieved 24 consecutive years with a Top-40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, breaking a record held by Music/ElvisPresley. He would extend it another two years, ending it at 26 in 1995 with "Believe" and "Blessed".

* BreakupSong: Plenty to choose from. "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", "Cold As Christmas (In the Middle of the Year)", "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word", "High Flying Bird", "I Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)", "I'm Still Standing" (a more vitriolic variety), "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" (ditto).

* AdamWesting: Plays himself in ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle''.

* AdamWesting: In ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle''.

** "Levon" is an interesting case. While lengthy, the original song is only 5 minutes long, not quite "epic". But in concerts? It's almost like Elton and the band forget the song they're playing and insert impromptu jazz sessions before coming back for the final chorus, making it run sometimes up to ''12 minutes long''.

His life and career are fictionalized in the biopic film ''Film/{{Rocketman|2019}}'', which he fully supported. Creator/TaronEgerton portrays him in it.

His life and career are fictionalized in the biopic ''Film/{{Rocketman|2019}}'', which he fully supported. Creator/TaronEgerton portrays him in it.

His life and career are fictionalized in the biopic ''Film/{{Rocketman|2019}}'', starring Creator/TaronEgerton.

* ''Disney/TheLionKing'' (1994)

* LicensedPinballTable: ''Pinball/CaptainFantasticAndTheBrownDirtCowboy'', a tie-in to both the album and to the movie ''Film/{{Tommy}}''.

Changing his name by deed poll to "Elton Hercules John" in 1970 (''Elton'' for saxophonist Elton Dean, ''John'' for a singer Reg's old band Bluesology backed up, Long John Baldry, and ''Hercules'', well from a racehorse in BritCom ''Series/SteptoeAndSon''), Elton (with Bernie's lyrics in tow) would gain a reputation as a singer-songwriter-pianist par excellence. By 1972, he had begun to wear increasingly flamboyant costumes, clothes, and eyeglasses, which became a trademark for him until the mid-[[TheEighties 1980s]]. He became an unexpected superstar, with a string of highly successful albums such as ''Tumbleweed Connection'', ''Madman Across the Water'', ''Honky Chateau'', ''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player'', ''Music/GoodbyeYellowBrickRoad'' (a double), and ''Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy''. His success tapered by the late-[[TheSeventies 1970s]], especially after outing himself in 1976. In the meantime, he appeared in the film ''Born to Boogie'' as himself, and in ''Film/{{Tommy}}'' singing "Pinball Wizard".

** "The Last Song" (a song concerning a gay boy and his estranged father reconciling with each other on the boy's death bed as he was dying of AIDS). Written in memory of Ryan White (whom Elton knew), Bernie faxed the lyrics to him shortly after [[Music/{{Queen}} Freddie Mercury]]'s death. Elton said that he had cried the whole time throughout making it.

His life and career are fictionalized in the biopic ''Film/{{Rocketman|2019}}''.

His life and career are fictionalized in the biopic ''Film/Rocketman2019''.

* {{Medley}}: "Yell Help/Wednesday Night/Ugly" from ''Rock of the Westies"; "Gulliver/Hay Chewed/Reprise" on ''Empty Sky"; "Carla/Etude/Fanfare/Chloe" on ''The Fox''.

* SesameStreetCred: He once played "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" with [[Series/TheMuppetShow The Electric Mayhem]]. He also appeared on a ''TotallyMinnie'' video and he executive produced and contributed music to ''WesternAnimation/GnomeoAndJuliet.''

Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947 in Pinner, England, classically-trained Sir Elton John began his career in various blues bands and as a session musician, before answering a newspaper ad by Liberty Records for aspiring songwriters. He was given his first set of lyrics by Bernie Taupin, a struggling lyricist, to set them to music. Taupin liked what he heard, and the two formed a platonic and professional bond--they have been a songwriting team (Taupin lyrics, John music) for most of John's career.

Changing his name by deed poll to "Elton Hercules John" in 1970 (''Elton'' for saxophonist Elton Dean, ''John'' for a singer Reg's old band Bluesology backed up, Long John Baldry, and ''Hercules'', well from a racehorse in BritCom ''Series/SteptoeAndSon''), Elton (with Bernie's lyrics in tow) would gain a reputation as a singer-songwriter-pianist par excellence. By 1972, he had begun to wear increasingly flamboyant costumes, clothes and eyeglasses, which became a trademark for him until the mid-[[TheEighties 1980s]]. He became an unexpected superstar, with a string of highly successful albums such as ''Tumbleweed Connection'', ''Madman Across the Water'', ''Honky Chateau'', ''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player'', ''Music/GoodbyeYellowBrickRoad'' (a double), and ''Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy''. His success tapered by the late-[[TheSeventies 1970s]], especially after outing himself in 1976. In the meantime, he appeared in the film ''Born to Boogie'' as himself, and in ''Film/{{Tommy}}'' singing "Pinball Wizard".

He has had numerous comebacks in TheEighties and TheNineties, and successfully rehabilitated himself from drugs, alcohol and bulimia in 1991. He later helped score ''Disney/TheLionKing'' with Tim Rice in 1994 (winning an Oscar), and co-authored several Broadway musicals, including ''The Lion King'', ''Lestat'', ''Aida'', and ''Billy Elliot''. He received a star on the Hollywood Hall of Fame in 1975, inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, and was [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever knighted]] in 1998. A theatrical revue of his songs, featuring Sir Elton in concert amid elaborate staging, films and props, titled "The Red Piano'', opened in Las Vegas in 2004 and closed in 2009.

His life and career is fictionalized in the biopic ''Film/Rocketman2019''.

* DigitalPiracyIsEvil: Surprisingly subverted when he said, "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." He wasn't necessarily referring to online piracy, but more that he felt that the Internet was making people [[LuddWasRight emotionally detached and over-reliant on technology]], and that it allowed {{Dreadful Musician}}s to [[SturgeonsLaw flood the market with poorly produced material]].

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The entirety of his debut ''Empty Sky'', a harpischord-driven album with hardly any piano and more in common with psychedelic pop than the piano-driven soft rock style he'd adopt afterwards. The one song to survive in setlists has been "Skyline Pigeon", but even that was re-recorded in a more typical style in 1973.

* EpicRocking: His most notable examples include "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding", "Carla/Etude/Fanfare/Chloe", "Tonight", "Gulliver/Hay Chewed/Reprise". However, he tends to have at least one song on most of his albums that passes the six-minute mark. For example, ''Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy'' has the 6:42 "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and 6:18 "Curtains". He insisted on the former being the only single from the album, and refused to let it be edited in length. It became a huge hit despite its lengthy running time.

* VocalEvolution: His voice began with a more youthful and bright tone at the start of his career and naturally matured over the course of his career until the mid-1980s, until his throat surgery in 1987 changed his voice from a tenor to a baritone, and it's only deepened since. He has rarely used his trademark falsetto range since the voice change, with the extent of his ability to even do so any longer shrouded in mystery.

* UnlimitedWardrobe: Crazy hats, eyeglasses, sunglasses, platform shoes, outfits, costumes and other articles of clothing in TheSeventies. He (slightly) toned them down by 1988, though the loud suits and CoolShades he currently wears might also count. :)

* ''Theatre/{{Aida}}'' (1999)