Elton John Band

The Elton John Band is the band that backs singer, composer and pianist Elton John on both studio and live recordings. The band has gone through several lineup changes, but Nigel Olsson, Davey Johnstone, and Ray Cooper have been members (albeit not continuously) since 1970, 1971 and 1973 respectively. The various lineups of the band have consisted of both British, American, and European musicians. The band is often not recognised as a formal entity, and is instead referred to simply as the Elton John Band.
The band was originally formed by John in 1970 as a trio, consisting of himself, drummer Olsson, and bassist Dee Murray. They first appeared together on disc with John on the album Tumbleweed Connection, which was released that same year. Over the next few years, guitarist Johnstone and percussionist Cooper also joined the band, forming the band's classic lineup. The critical success of the band was at its peak in the 1970s, when they released a streak of chart-topping albums in the US and UK, which began with Honky Château (1972) and culminated with Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975).
After the release of Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, John fired Murray and Olsson from the band and added several new musicians to the band's lineup, including Kenny Passarelli, Caleb Quaye, James Newton Howard, and Cindy Bullens, as John wanted to achieve a different sound. This lineup first appeared on disc on the 1975 album Rock of the Westies, but all left the band by either the late 1970s or early 1980s respectively. Olsson rejoined the band in 1980 alongside Murray, who continued to perform with the band until his death in 1992. New musicians that joined the band around this time include Richie Zito, Tim Renwick, Fred Mandel, Charlie Morgan, David Paton, Helena Springs, Jody Linscott, Jonathan Moffett, and Guy Babylon. Of these musicians, Babylon remained a member of the band for the longest amount of the time, being in the group from 1988 until his death in 2009, whereas the other members left at some point before the end of the 1980s. John Mahon joined the band in 1997, and Kim Bullard and Matt Bissonette joined in 2009 and 2012 respectively, which alongside John, Olsson, Johnstone, and Cooper, formed the current lineup of the band. Their most recent album is Wonderful Crazy Night, released in 2016.
Since the group's formation, John performed with his band over 4,000 times, beginning with the Elton John 1970 World Tour and concluding with the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, which began in 2018 and concluded in 2023. John and Cooper also toured outside of the band as a duo between 1977 and 2012.
== Members ==
=== Current members ===
* Elton John – lead vocals, piano (1970–present)
* Nigel Olsson – drums, backing vocals (1970–1975, 1980–1984, 2000–present)
* Davey Johnstone – lead guitar, musical director, backing vocals (1971–1977, 1980–present)
* Ray Cooper – percussion (1973–1977, 1979, 1985–1987, 1993–1995, 2009–2012, 2016–present)
* John Mahon – percussion, backing vocals (1997–present)
* Kim Bullard – keyboards (2009–present)
* Matt Bissonette – bass guitar, backing vocals (2012–present)
=== Former members ===
* Dee Murray – bass guitar, backing vocals (1970–1975, 1980–1984, 1988, died 1992)
* Kenny Passarelli – bass guitar, backing vocals (1975–1976)
* Roger Pope – drums, percussion (1975–1976, died 2013)
* Caleb Quaye – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1975–1976)
* James Newton Howard – keyboards, backing vocals, conductor, orchestrations (1975–1981)
* Jeff Baxter – guitar (1975)
* Cindy Bullens – backing vocals (1975–1976)
* Jon Joyce – backing vocals (1975–1976)
* Ken Gold – backing vocals (1975–1976)
* Jo Partridge – guitar (1977)
* John "Cooker" LoPresti – bass guitar (1977, died 2011)
* Dennis Conway – drums (1977)
* Richie Zito – lead guitar, backing vocals (1980)
* Tim Renwick – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1980)
* Fred Mandel – keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1984–1990)
* Charlie Morgan – drums (1985–1988, 1990, 1992–1998)
* David Paton – bass guitar, vocals (1985–1988, fill-in 1995)
* Alan Carvell – backing vocals (1985–1988)
* Helena Springs – backing vocals (1985–1988)
* Shirley Lewis – backing vocals (1985–1988)
* Jody Linscott – percussion (1986–1987)
* Romeo Williams – bass guitar (1988–1990, died 2017)
* Jonathan Moffett – drums (1988–1989)
* Guy Babylon – keyboards (1988–2009, his death)
* Marlena Jeter – backing vocals (1988–1993)
* Natalie Jackson – backing vocals (1988–1993)
* Alex Brown – backing vocals (1988)
* Mortonette Jenkins – backing vocals (1988–1993)
* Bob Birch – bass guitar, vocals (1992–2012, his death)
* Mark Taylor – keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1992–1993)
* John Jorgenson – guitars, saxophone, pedal steel, mandolin, backing vocals (1994–2000, 2019)
* Billy Trudel – backing vocals (1997-2000)
* Jack Bruno – drums (1998–1999)
* Curt Bisquera – drums (2000)
* Ken Stacey – backing vocals, additional guitar (2000)
* Tanya Balam – backing vocals (2010–2011)
* Táta Vega – backing vocals (2010–2014)
* Lisa Stone – backing vocals (2010–2014)
* Jean Witherspoon – backing vocals (2010–2014)
* Rose Stone – backing vocals (2011–2014)
* Luka Šulić – cello (2011–2014)
* Stjepan Hauser – cello (2011–2014)
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