March 15, 2007. Copyright 2007, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Flamboyant showman Elton John celebrates 60th birthday
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, March 15, Graphic News:  As he approaches his 60th birthday on March 25, Elton John is in little danger of being toppled from his throne at the pinnacle of popular music. So great is his acknowledged talent that itÕs safe to say many of his classics, such as Candle in the Wind, Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word and Rocket Man, almost certainly strike a chord with someone somewhere.

In a career spanning more than 40 years, the pop and rock singer has sold more than 250 million records and notched up more than 50 Top 40 hits. His most memorable work combines his melodic tenor voice with virtuosic piano-playing and haunting lyrics. But John is also a charismatic, generous performer with an electrifying on-stage presence.

Predictably, however, his journey to the top has not been quite the seamless trajectory of one always destined for showbiz greatness. The composer/singer has battled public addictions to drugs and alcohol along the way, and overcame hostility from some fans of his largely mainstream music when he finally came out as a homosexual.

He is certainly the most famous son of Pinner, a suburb in north-west London, where he was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947. His father Stanley Dwight, an officer in the RAF, was frequently away during his childhood and John was close to his mother Sheila, who encouraged his musical interest by buying him rock ÔnÕ roll records.

At 11, John won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, where he spent five years studying classical music. He held part-time jobs and played in a blues band before Liberty Records paired him with lyricist Bernie Taupin. Their partnership created many of his best known songs, including Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Your Song. 

The John/Taupin double act dominated popular music in the 1970s, when John released albums such as Captain Fantastic and Here and There. On stage the short, balding star became compulsive viewing as he donned outsized glasses and outlandish outfits. At the peak of his success in 1976, John told Rolling Stone that he was ÒbisexualÓ. He later admitted that this had been a ÒcompromiseÓ because he was afraid to admit he was gay.

The 1980s were less successful personally and professionally. John was briefly married to German sound engineer Renate Blauel, and received treatment for the slimming disease bulimia, as well as for addictions to cocaine and alcohol. But in 1992 he was back on form with The One, his best performing album since Blue Moves in 1976.

In 1994 he won a new generation of fans with his songs for the Disney animated film, The Lion King. That same year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he and Taupin having been inducted into the SongwritersÕ Hall of Fame two years earlier.

In 1997 John recorded a revised version of Candle in the Wind, following his performance of the song at the funeral of his close friend, Princess Diana. It became the fastest selling single of all time, with sales in excess of 30 million copies.

Since the early 1990s the multiple Grammy and Academy Award winner has raised millions of pounds towards Aids research through his Elton John Aids Foundation. This and other efforts for charity led to a knighthood in 1998. In December 2005 he ÒmarriedÓ his longtime partner, Canadian filmmaker David Furnish, on the first day single-sex unions became legal in Britain.
/ENDS