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Elton John Biography – Age, Education, Personal Life, Career, Net Worth, Assets, and Awards

Elton John And His Family

Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947, in Pinner, Middlesex, England, to Stanley Dwight and Sheila Eileen.

He started playing the piano at an early age, and at the age of 11, he won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. Such were his abilities that he started composing music at an early age. Elton studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London for five years.

Age, Physical Appearance, and Height

Elton John was born on 25 March 1947, and according to the calculation, his current age is 75 years. 

Let’s Talk about his Height, Weight & Physical Status as the main things for the Cricket Industry. Fans also attract the Height, Weight & Physical Status of Elton John is 172 cm and 1.72 m and feet inches- 5′ 8″. His weight is in kilograms- 85 kg. Weight.

Elton John has a Waist Size of 34 Inches and a chest of 42 Inches, And biceps of 14 Inches. he has Black colour hair and Black colour eyes. Besides this, he is wearing a shoe size 10.

Education

He gained his education from Pinner Wood Junior School, Reddiford School and Pinner County Grammar School. However, he left his studies before A-Level examinations to pursue a career in music.

Personal Life

Elton John married Renate Blauel in February 1984. The two parted ways four years later.

In 1988, he came out as gay and in 1993, he began a relationship with David Furnish. In 2005, when the Civil Partnership Act came into force, Elton John and David Furnish were amongst the first couples in the UK to form a civil partnership. In 2014, when gay marriage became legal, John and Furnish got married on 21 December 2014. They have two children, Zachary Furnish-John and Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John, through surrogacy. In 1992, John founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation as a charity to fund programmes for HIV/AIDS prevention. The foundation aims to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against HIV/AIDS-affected individuals and provide services to people living with or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.

Career

Elton John’s first job was as a weekend pianist at a pub. After that, he took up several roles, forming a band with friends, working in a music publishing house, and performing solo at hotels. In 1962, he formed the band Bluesology.

In 1967, he collaborated with lyricist Bernie Taupin. He wrote musical compositions for the latter’s lyrics. This led to the beginning of the historic partnership that still survives today. ‘Scarecrow’ was the first song recorded by the two. Meanwhile, Dwight changed his name to Elton John after Bluesology musicians.

In 1968, Elton John and Taupin became successful staff songwriters for DJM Records. They wrote and composed songs for other singers and musicians. They switched to more complex forms starting with easy lyrics and catchy music.

In 1969, Elton John received his first break as a singer and came up with his debut album ‘Empty Sky’. He soon backed it with a follow-up album, ‘Elton John,’ released in April 1970. The album soon became his first hit album, reaching number four on the US Billboard 200 and five on the UK Albums Chart.

The tremendous success of Elton John’s second album gave him the impetus to continue making music. Consequently, in 1972, he released ‘Honky Château’, which became his first US number one album. This was just the beginning, as what followed was a streak of seven consecutive US number one albums.

His first song to reach the US Billboard Hot 100 number one position was ‘Crocodile Rock’ from the pop album ‘Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player. His 1973 album ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road gained cult status as it was an instant hit critically and popularly. The album established his reputation as a glam rock star.

He gained a star status and formed his label, The Rocket Record Company. However, instead of releasing his records on Rocket, he signed an offer with MCA.

In 1974, MCA released his Greatest Hits album, a UK and the US number one, certified Diamond by the RIAA. This was followed by 1974 ‘Caribou’ and the 1975 autobiographical album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy’. It debuted at number one in the US, becoming the first album ever to do so. The rock-oriented album Rock of the Westies soon repeated its success.

Though the early 1970s was the most successful period for John, both commercially and critically, given his seven consecutive albums reached the number one spot in the US, John became equally famous for his live shows and dressing sense. He wore pompous, over-the-top costumes and glasses for his elaborate concerts.

In 1976, John touched the top with the duet single ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart with Kiki Dee. He took a hiatus from the music industry only to return in 1978 with the album A Single Man. Following year, he became one of the first Western artists to tour the Soviet Union and Israel.

The decade of 1980s was a decent period in John’s career. Though he had lost his Midas touch in music, all was not gone thanks to his drinking and drug problems. He produced several smash hits during this time, including ‘Little Jeannie’ ‘Empty Garden (Hey Hey Thanks)’, ‘I’m Still Standing’, ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues’ and ‘That’s What Friends Are For’ which reached No 1 spot in the US. He performed several live shows during this time.

He opened the decade of 1990 in style with his first single ‘Sacrifice’ hitting the number one spot on the UK charts. It became his first solo UK hit single. Following a series of hit singles and albums, he tried his hand at other fields.

Together with Tim Rice, he wrote the songs for the 1994 Disney animated film ‘The Lion King’. The score was immensely lauded and even went on to win him his first Academy Award for ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight.

Elton John performed ‘Candle in the Wind 1997’ at the funeral of Princess Diana. It became the fastest and biggest-selling single, eventually selling over 33 million copies worldwide. It was the best-selling single in UK chart history, the best-selling single in Billboard history, and the only single ever certified Diamond in the United States.

In 2003, Elton John scored his fifth UK number one single with ‘Are You Ready for Love’. Returning to musical theatre, he composed music for a West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical in 2005 with playwright Lee Hall. Opening to strong reviews, the show became the eleventh longest-running musical in West End history. It has won 80 international awards and has been viewed by over 5.25 million people worldwide in London and nearly 11 million people.

The decade of the 2010s has seen Elton John perform in various shows. He has his hands full with concert shows, live performances, remix albums, performances at award ceremonies, etc.

In 2016, he came up with his 32nd studio album ‘Wonderful Crazy’, also his last one.

Major Works

The 1970s was the most successful period for John, as his seven consecutive albums reached the number one spot in the US, beginning with ‘Honky Château’, ‘Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player’, ‘And Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ and so on. Six of his albums made it to Rolling Stone’s list of ‘500 Greatest Albums of All Time’. Three of his albums from this period gained five stars from Allmusic.

Interestingly Elton John’s tribute single dedicated to the late Princess Diana, titled ‘Candle in the Wind 1997’, is the best-selling single in the history of the UK and US singles charts. It sold over 33 million copies worldwide.

Net Worth

Elton John is an extremely popular and successful British singer, composer, pianist and songwriter. As of this writing, Elton John has a net worth of $500 million. Elton John is one of the most commercially successful artists of all time. To date, he has sold more than 300 million albums worldwide. That’s enough to make him the fifth best-selling musical artist in modern history behind Madonna, Michael Jackson, Elvis and The Beatles. He is frequently among the highest-paid celebrities in the world. Elton can easily earn north of $80 million from his various endeavours in a touring year.

Assets 

Elton’s primary home for many years has been a large estate called Woodside in Old Windsor, Berkshire, England. Woodside is a 37-acre estate that dates back to the 1750s. Elton acquired the property in 1974 for 400 thousand pounds, roughly the same as around USD 5 million today after inflation and currency changes. As we mentioned previously, up to that point, he was still living primarily with his mother and stepfather in their small apartment. In 1988 he sold the entire contents of the house for $8 million at auction. He then set about refurbishing and refurbishing the entire property.

Awards

  1. Elton John received the 1995 Academy Award for Best Original Song for ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight.
  2. Of the multiple nominations at the Grammy Awards, John won it five times in various categories. He also won Tony Awards in 2000 for Best Original Music Score for ‘Aida’. He has also received five Brit Awards. In 2013, John received the first Brits Icon award.
  3. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame.
  4. Elton John was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1995. Later in 1998, he was made Knight Bachelor by Queen Elizabeth II
  5. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Car Collection

Sir Elton John once owned an extensive fleet that included several Bentleys, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martins, and Ferraris. His wealth allowed him to indulge without restrictions. However, in 2001, he put up a huge chunk of his cars for auction, claiming that he wanted other people to enjoy them.

Also Read: Ellen DeGeneres Biography – Age, Education, Personal Life, Career, Net Worth, Assets, and Awards

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Riya Kapoor

Riya Kapoor writes about lifestyle, entertainment, news and gadgets. She has been in this industry for almost 4 years now. She is a graduate from Delhi University with English Hons and had deep connection with writing since her childhood.

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