Elton John

Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, now known as Sir Elton John, he started to play the piano at the tender age of four. Somewhat of a child prodigy, he could play by ear any melody he heard.

His parents, Sheila and Stanley Dwight, an RAF Squadron Leader, divorced when Elton was young. His mother then married Fred Farebrother, whom Elton nicknamed ‘Derf’.

At 11, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. He stayed for six years but dropped out shortly before graduation in order to pursue a rock career. Elton was 14 when he and friends formed a band, the Corvettes, which evolved into Bluesology.

It was 1961 and they played Ray Charles and Jim Reeves ballads Fridays to Sundays, at the Northwood Hills Hotel, Middlesex. With the money he made from this work, Elton bought himself his first electric piano.

By the mid 1960s, Bluesology was backing American soul and R&B artists, including Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. In 1966, Elton left Bluesology and auditioned unsuccessfully, as lead vocalist, for progressive rock bands King Crimson and Gentle Giant.

The turning point in Elton’s career came a few years later, when, during an audition for Liberty Records as a songwriter, he met lyricist Bernie Taupin.

A strong musical partnership began that would last to this day. He changed his name, by deed poll, from Reginald Kenneth Dwight to Elton Hercules John in 1972.

The name came from Elton Dean, a saxophonist, and the late Long John Baldry, a British blues musician. Hercules was the name of the horse in the British television sitcom ‘Steptoe and Son’.

The Elton/Taupin formula was beginning to weave its magic and they recorded their first song ‘Scarecrow’ in 1967, going on to write songs for the likes of Roger Cook and Lulu. Their musical chemistry had a sense of urgency to it, with Taupin writing a batch of lyrics in less than an hour and then Elton writing music for them in half an hour.

If he couldn’t quickly come up with the music, he would dispose of the lyrics. They were never in the same room during this process.

Elton’s debut album, ‘Empty Sky’ (1969), received somewhat of an empty response, despite its good reviews. He quickly followed this with ‘Elton John’ (1970), which started to climb the charts and the single ‘Your Song’ making the US Top Ten. A few months later, Elton gave his first American concert in Los Angeles.

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