Elton John History
Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947 in his maternal grandparents home in Middlesex, England. He is one of the most successful artists of his time having sold over 250 million albums in addition to over a hundred million singles. |
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Sir Elton John was 15 years old when he decided to pursue a career in music. His father, Stanley Dwight, tried to steer him towards a more conventional career like banking but Elton was not interested. In fact, Elton John claims that he had a very strict and restrictive childhood which he tries to overcome with his wild stage costumes and performances.
Elton John’s parents were both musically inclined and they were keen record buyers which resulted in their son being exposed to music and singers of that time. Elton John took a great liking to rock and roll after his mother purchased a record of Elvis Presley and Billy Haley and His Comets in 1956.
Elton John was a piano prodigy and he started playing the piano at the age of 3. By the age of 4, he could play complex pieces by ear. When he was 7 years old, Elton John started taking piano lessons and he had the aptitude to compose melodies. At the age of 11, he won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. For the next 5 years, Elton John went to the Academy in addition to studying at the Pinner County Grammar School.
Elton was primarily raised by his mother and maternal grandmother. When he was 15, his parents divorced and his mother promptly remarried a local painter named Fred Farebrother, who turned out to be a loving and caring stepfather.
In 1964, Elton John and his friends formed a band named Bluesology and soon the band was backing American Soul and R&B musicians like Isley Brothers, Major Lance, Patti LaBelle and The Bluebells, and Doris Troy. In 1966, the band became Long John Baldry’s supporting band and started touring cabarets across England.
In 1967, Reginald Dwight changed his name to Elton John in homage to Bluesology’s saxophonist Elton Dean and Long John Baldry.
Elton John has won the Grammy 5 times and he is a one time Academy Award winner. He is greatly involved in the fight against AIDS and is a champion of LGBT rights. He was knighted in 1998. However, Elton John has had a complicated personal life with his drug addiction, bulimia, depression and baldness.
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