Elton was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight (named for his mother's brother)
on March 25 1947 in Pinner, Middlesex, England to Stanley and Sheila Dwight.
His parents divorced when he was 14, and his mother married Fred Farebrother
ten years later.

Elton was an excellent piano player at a young age, he won a scholarship to
the Royal Academy of Music when he was 11, he attended until he was 15.
His parents used to have him perform at their dinner parties late into the night,
he would then sleep most of the next day.

Elton's father, a squadron leader in the Royal Air Force forbid Elton to play
or listen to the new American music, he wanted his son to be a Royal Air
Force pilot or a bank teller. Behind his back, Elton and his mother listened
to records by artists such as Elvis and Buddy Holly. Since Elton's father was
away most of the time he was raised primarily by his mother, grandmother and aunt.

When Elton was 13, he wanted to be just like Buddy Holly, so much in fact that
he even copied his look, by wearing glasses even though his vision was perfect.
Elton became more and more nearsighted, and after a year or two he had ruined
his vision and then actually needed glasses.

In 1960, Elton and his friends formed a band called the Corvettes, it eventually
evolved into Bluesology, a much more serious group that performed back up
vocals in the '60s for many singers including: Major Lance, Billy Stewart, Long
John Baldry, the Inkspots, the original Drifters, Doris Troy, Patti LaBelle and the
Blue Belles. Elton played keyboard and organ with the band and wrote two songs
(Come Back Baby and Mr. Frantic) which he performed lead vocals on.

After her divorce, Sheila and Fred Farebrother moved into an apartment in
Northwood Hills, England. Later on, Elton and Bernie shared a room and bunk
beds in the apartment.

In 1967 Elton quit Bluesology and teamed up with lyricist Bernie Taupin, they
met after both being turned down for a job at Liberty Records. Elton named
himself Elton Hercules John after his friend Elton Dean and Long John Baldry.

Elton and Bernie's first album came out in 1970 named Empty Sky, their first hit,
Your Song came out on the second album Elton John.

Elton made his American concert debut at the Troubadour in West Hollywood,
on August 25 1970. The set list consisted of: Your Song, Sixty Years On,
I Need You To Turn, Border Song, Country Comfort, Take Me To The Pilot,
Burn Down The Mission, Honky Tonk Women and Bad Side Of The Moon.

Elton received his Hollywood Star on the Walk Of Fame, near the front of Mann's
Chinese Theater, on November 21 1975.

In the late '70s, Elton admitted that he was "bisexual" in a Rolling Stone interview by
Cliff Jahr. He later stated that it was a compromise at the time, and that he is gay.

Elton met Renate Blauel (a German sound engineer) in 1982 while recording
Two Low For Zero, he proposed to her on February 9 1984, and they were
married five days later on Valentines' Day in Sydney, Australia at St. Mark's
Anglican Church. They divorced in November of 1988.

In 1990 Elton checked himself into a drug and alcohol rehab center in Chicago,
where he got off cocaine and alcohol.

Elton formed the Elton John Aids Foundation in 1992, after his friend, Ryan White
died of the disease. All singles' profits are donated to the foundation.

In 1994 Elton was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame by Axl Rose, he
gave the award to Bernie.

Elton met his partner, film producer David Furnish in 1993 at a party.
The thirty-six year old Canadian runs Elton's film company Rocket Pictures.

Elton currently owns four homes: Woodside, an estate in Windsor, England, a
6,000 square foot suite in a condominium high rise in Atlanta, Georgia which he
purchased in 1990, a high-rise in London and a new house on the Mont Boron
in Nice, France.

In 1997 Elton sang Candle In The Wind 1997 at Princess Diana's funeral, a
song he and Bernie had rewritten for her. A b-side to the hit Something About
The Way You Look Tonight is now the all-time selling single in history.

Elton enjoys playing tennis, every year an EJAF benefit tennis tournament is held.
He and Billie Jean King enjoy creating "teams" of players and competing against
each other, in '98 Billie Jean King's team won for the first time.

In 1998 Elton was given the honorary title of Knight Bachelor
(making him "Sir Elton John, CBE") by the Queen of England: "For services to music
and for charitable services." "My joy at now receiving this great new honor is immeasurable."
Elton said. The official ceremony was performed at Buckingham Palace.
In 1995 he was named Commander Of The British Empire.

1999 was the year Elton and Tim Rice released the soundtrack to the Disney stage musical
Aida. The songs were performed by various artists including Elton, Tina Turner, LeAnn Rimes,
Sting, Janet Jackson, Spice Girls, and Boyz II Men. The Elton/LeAnn duet Written In The
Stars was an adult contemporary hit, but the CD failed to do as well in sales as expected.

Elton had an operation to install a pacemaker in July of 1999 after an irregular heartbeat was
discovered. He recovered at his home in Nice, France and plans to tour lightly for the next year.
Elton said the only long term effect: "is that I have to carry a card explaining why I set off the
alarms when I walk through airport security."

Elton Facts

Favorite Stores: Tiffany's, Neiman Marcus, and Cartier.

Favorite Restaurants: Buckhead Diner in Atlanta, and Mister Chow in London.

Pets: Elton currently owns thirteen dogs, 8 Border Terriers, 2 Irish Wolfhounds,
2 German Shepherds and a mutt named Thomas, purchased from the Battersea
Dogs Home in London. Elton used to take Thomas for walks in Holland Park
while recovering in the early '90s. He owned a pet bird in the '70s. Elton's partner
David owns a Thoroughbred, Dynasty, and deer and a donkey also live at Woodside.

Favorite Sports: Besides tennis, Elton is a big fan of English football (soccer),
his cousin Roy Dwight was a national star. In 1971 Elton became vice president
of the Watford Hornets. He owned them from 1976-90, and recently bought
back a share of the team and has been named chairperson. He is also a big Atlanta
Braves fan.

Favorite Male Tennis Players: 1. Jimmy Connors, 2. John McEnroe,
3. Rod Laver, 4. Boris Becker, 5. Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

Favorite Female Tennis Players: 1. Billie Jean King, 2. Martina Navratilova,
3. Steffi Graf, 4. Monica Seles, 5. Chris Evert.

Favorite Flowers: White lilies, hyacinth, freesia, jasmine and rose.

Instruments: Piano, organ, keyboard, harmonium, and guitar (well, he tried).

Influences: Leon Russell, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones,
the Band, Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Dusty Springfield, Little Feat, Motown
acts, Randy Newman, Laura Nyro, Redbone, Jackson Browne, Sting, James
Taylor, Procul Harum, Leonard Cohen, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Piano Influences: Winifred Atwell, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Garth Hudson,
Keith Jarret, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ramsey Lewis, Little Richard, Leon Russell, and
George Shearing.

Favorite Classical Composers: Chopin, Bach, Brahms, Handel, Albinoni, Mahler,
Prokofiev, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky.

Favorite Artists: Oasis, Dodgy, Blur, Spiritualized, Collective Soul,
Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M., Jewel, Sting, Pet Shop Boys, Len, Moby,
Groove Armada, George Michael, and Beth Nielsen-Chapman.

Celebrity Elton Fans: Rosie O'Donnell, Sting, George Michael, Jerry
Bailey, David Hyde-Pierce, Jay Leno, Andre Agassi, Billie Jean King,
Kevin Richardson, etc.

Money: Elton's wealth is estimated at around $250 million. He earned
$46.2 million in concerts in 1998, more than any other performer in the US.

Grammy Awards: He has won 5 Grammy's, including: 1986 for singing
That's What Friends Are For, 1992 for his role in Prince's Trust recording,
1992 for writing the instrumental Basque, 1995 for Best Male Pop Performance
of Can You Feel The Love Tonight, and 1997 for Best Male Pop Performance
of Candle In The Wind 1997.

Personality: Elton likes shopping and giving expensive gifts. He has also been
known to have "tantrums", screaming at people, kicking over keyboards, and
often storming off. He is known as impulsive, kind, stubborn, competitive, impatient,
emotional, flamboyant, funny, and a perfectionist.

Birth Sign: Aries, a fire sign.

Height: Elton is 5'8".

The Record: In 1992 Elton broke Elvis Presley's record of 23 consecutive
years of at least one Top 40 hit with Simple Life. He has now extended the record
to 30 years and counting.

Rocket Records: Rocket Records was launched in May 1973 by Elton, his
ex-manager John Reid, Bernie, Gus Dudgeon and associate Steve Brown.

Cars: Elton turned Woodside's stables into a 36 car garage, he keeps:
Rare Bentleys, Jaguars, Porches, Rolls Royces, and Ferraris. Elton enjoys
giving very expensive cars as gifts.

Movies Elton has appeared in:

• Elton played the pinball wizard in the 1975 rock opera Tommy
• Elton had a cameo in 1972's Born To Boogie
• In 1997 Elton appeared in Spice World

Soundtracks Elton has written:

• 1971 Elton and Bernie wrote the entire soundtrack of the movie Friends
• 1994 Elton contributed a number of songs to The Lion King
• 1998 Elton composed the entire soundtrack of The Muse
• 2000 Elton will also compose the soundtracks of Steven Spielberg's animated
  project El Dorado and Women Talking Dirty of which Elton is executive 
  producer and soundtrack supervisor.
  

Songs Elton has contributed to movies:

• "Your Song" in Alex: The Life Of A Child
• "Daniel" in Alice's Restaurant
• "Blue's For Baby And Me" in Aloha Bobby And Rose 1974
• "The Last Song" in And The Band Played On
• "Candle In The Wind" in Candle In The Wind
• "You Gotta Love Someone" in Days Of Thunder 1990
• "Amoreena" in Dog Day Afternoon
• "I'm Still Standing" in Driving Me Crazy
• "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" in Fandango 1987
• "Some Other World" in Fern Gully 1992
• "But Not For Me", "Chapel Of Love", and "Crocodile Rock" in Four Weddings and A Funeral 1994
• Elton wrote and performed several songs in Friends 1971
• "Love Is A Cannibal" in Ghostbusters II
• "Candle In The Wind" in Goodbye Norma Jean
• "We All Fall In Love Sometimes" in Ice Castles 1979
• "Stone's Throw From Hurtin'" in Leap Of Faith
• "Runaway Train" in Lethal Weapon II
• "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" in Love On The Orient Express
• "Tiny Dancer", and "Bennie And The Jets" in My Girl 2
• "Blue Eyes" in My Own Private Idaho
• "Return To Paradise", and "Song For Guy" in Oh, Heavenly Dog 1979
• "The Measure Of A Man" in Rocky V
• "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" in Slapshot
• "Daniel" in Smokey and The Bandit
• "Take Me Dowen To The Ocean" in Summer Lovers
• "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" in The Entity
• "From Denver To L.A." in The Games 1971
• Elton and Tim Rice wrote the songs for The Lion King 1994
• "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" in The Lost Boys
• "Candle In The Wind", and "I'm Still Standing" in The Ryan White Story
• "True Love" in To Die For 1995
• "Pinball Wizard" in Tommy 1975
• "Your Song" in Welcome Home
• "Rocket Man" in Rocket Man 1997
• "The Muse" among others in The Muse 1998