One of the leading figures of British pop rock, the king of outrageousness and everyone’s favorite, turns 75. Elton John has devoted almost 80 percent of his life to music, becoming one of the kings of the charts and sales, collecting all kinds of awards from Oscars to Grammys, and even receiving a knighthood.
The 1960s: From London bars to his partnership with Bernie Taupin
The singer formed his first band, The Corvettes, in 1960 — although at that time there was no Elton John, no love for pop, no wild sequined costumes, and it was Reginald Kenneth Dwight who performed Ray Charles covers in a London hotel bar. who was drawn to rhythm and blues and, a few years later, went on tour in the US with the band Bluesology (which was the same band, The Corvettes, under a new name). Soon, the musician met songwriter Bernie Taupin and recorded Scarecrow with him, which marked the beginning of a long collaboration and friendship that continues to this day. Along with this duo, Elton John himself appeared. He decided to combine the names of British jazz musician Elton Dean and Anglo-Canadian blues musician Long John Boldry in his new pseudonym, and at the same time take the first steps towards creating a memorable image — dyeing his hair red and acquiring crazy sunglasses.
The 1970s. It doesn’t get any better than this
The period from 1970 to 1975 was the most successful in Elton John’s career. He released two albums a year and didn’t forget to release new singles in between. Each new release was a major event, and six of the albums created during those years made it onto Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) climbed the highest, reaching 91st place. It took first place in the US and UK charts and sold over 30 million copies. Although critics initially considered this work too long-winded, the album, which Topin also had a hand in, is now considered one of the most important in John’s career. In an interview with Rolling Stone, the artist himself called this period the peak of his creativity:
The 1980s. Farewell to an eccentric past
In the 1980s, the musician slowed down a bit — if the rhythm of “one album every two years” instead of “two albums a year” can be called a slowdown at all. He resumed his collaboration with Bernie Taupin and, at the age of 33, recorded the album 21 at 33, whose title referred to the number of albums he had released and his age. It was no longer about the breakthroughs of the previous decade, but Elton John was still incredibly successful. The song Little Jeannie, released as a single from the album, became the singer’s biggest hit in the US in recent years.
The next albums and another large-scale performance in New York’s Central Park, attended by 400,000 people, were followed by a sudden wedding to sound engineer Renate Blauel, whom the singer met in 1983 while working on the release of Too Low for Zero. The unexpected marriage, which lasted four years, did not help John overcome his problems with alcohol and cocaine, nor did it quell his relentless workaholism. The musician continued to create albums (he released nine studio albums in the 1980s), give concerts, and go on tour. Neglecting his own health led to John temporarily losing his voice, and his desire to start a family ended in divorce. Later, the musician said that he sincerely believed that his marriage to Blauel would be a happy one.
The 1990s: Time to collect awards
The 1990s were a period when the performer began to transition from being a big star to a legendary star. His various achievements, awards, and titles are proof of this. Together with Topin, the artist signed a major contract with Warner/Chappell Music, founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation to help fight AIDS, and recorded the album The One, which was his best-selling album in the US since the 1976 release of Blue Moves. The soundtrack to the animated film The Lion King also brought him all kinds of awards — the song Can You Feel the Love Tonight won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy. In 1994, the musician was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a year later he was knighted. The end of the 1990s was marked by a grand party in honor of Elton John’s 50th birthday, at which the birthday boy appeared in a $100,000 costume. Due to his voluminous wig and uncomfortable feather boa, he had to travel to the event in a car with a throne.
The 2000s. Elton everywhere
With the arrival of the 2000s, Elton John increasingly devoted himself to duets, whether with rapper Eminem or country singer Katheryn Britt. At one point, he even decided to abandon recording his own albums and promised that the 2001 release Songs from the West Coast would be the last in his discography, but then changed his mind. The release was warmly received by critics and earned the musician another Grammy nomination. Another nomination came for the album’s track I Want Love, a solemn rock ballad about the need for love, which was accompanied by a music video featuring Robert Downey Jr.
In 2018, Elton John announced that after 300 concerts, he was going to leave the stage for good. The farewell tour did not go as smoothly as planned: it was hampered by the sudden coronavirus pandemic and health problems. In January of this year, the artist managed to return to touring, which will end in Europe. And while the musician’s farewell will undoubtedly be accompanied by words about a man who defined an era, Elton John has actually managed to become something greater: his music has managed to span several generations, making him not just a star of one era, but a never-ending, brilliant living celebration.
