Elton John

**Sir Elton Hercules John** <small></small> (birth name **Reginald Kenneth Dwight**, born 25 March 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, pianist and composer. He started his music career immediately after leaving school. Elton John was the biggest music star of the 1970s.

## Early life

Reginald Kenneth Dwight was born at 55 Pinner Hill Road, Pinner, Middlesex. He is the eldest child of Stanley Dwight and Sheila Eileen. He was educated in Pinner.

## Career

John became famous in the early 1970s when he and lyricist Bernie Taupin wrote several songs which he performed and recorded. John became a huge star, not only for his musical abilities, but for his flamboyant stage personality. He composed several musicals. He also composed the music for the animated movies _The Lion King_ (1994) and _The Road to El Dorado_ (2000). He is active in charity work. In 1997, in honor of Diana, Princess of Wales, John co-wrote and released a version of his hit _Candle in the Wind_. That became the world's best-selling single of all time. It sold 37 million copies within two months.

Outside of music, John has raised millions of pounds for people living with HIV and AIDS through the _Elton John AIDS Foundation_.

## Awards

John has received the following awards:

### Academy Awards

- 1995: Best Original Song for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from _The Lion King_
- 2020: Best Original Song for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from _Rocketman_

### Grammy Awards

- 1987: Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "That's What Friends Are For", performed by Dionne Warwick & Friends (award shared with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder)
- 1991: Best Instrumental Composition for "Basque", performed by James Galway
- 1995: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"
- 1997: Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Candle in the Wind 1997"
- 1999: Grammy Legend Award
- 2001: Best Musical Show Album for _Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida_ (award shared with Guy Babylon, Paul Bogaev & Chris Montan (producers), Tim Rice (lyricist) and the original Broadway cast with Heather Headley, Adam Pascal, and Sherie Rene Scott)

### Tony Awards

- 2000: Best Original Musical Score for _Aida_

## Personal life

John has had treatment for alcoholism, drug abuse and bulimia nervosa. In 1984, he was married to Renate Blauel.
In 2005, John entered a civil partnership with David Furnish. They had been together for over 16 years.  On 21 December 2014, John and Furnish married. Guests at their wedding included English former footballer David Beckham along with his wife Victoria Beckham and their younger sons and their daughter. Their eldest son, who is also John's godson, was not present.

## Discography

- Studio albums

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **embed**: yes
- **background**: solo_singer


## Infobox (person)

- **honorific-prefix**: Sir
- **name**: Elton John
- **image**: File:Elton John 2011 Shankbone 2 (cropped).JPG
- **caption**: John at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival
- **birth name**: Reginald Kenneth Dwight
- **birth place**: Pinner, Middlesex, England
- **years active**: 1962–present
- **spouse**:

- **children**: 2
- **website**: @Elton_Johns