Elton John Research Papers

The Rocket Man of Music

One could call Elton John the Rocket Man of music, not just because of his hit “Rocket Man” but because of his incredible popularity and rise to stardom. He is a British singer, pianist and composer and is considered to be one of the most popular musicians of the 20th century. He was born as Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947. He has sold over 250 million records, found success on Broadway and composed the music score for “Billy Elliot” the Tony award hit in 2008. His full name is Elton Hercules John and after being knighted by the Queen in 1998 could add Sir to his name. So I present the music of Sir Elton Hercules John. Elton John’s music is a special blend of pop and rock styles. He was inducted into the Rock

and the U.S. and shot him straight to stardom was Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It included the songs “Candle in the Wind” (written about Marilyn Monroe), “Bennie and the Jets” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”.

Forming His Own Record Label

In 1974 he formed his own record label The Rocket Record Company. That same year John collaborated with John Lennon, who appeared on Elton John’s single cover of The Beatles “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”. Elton John was featured on Lennon’s song “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” on Lennon’s album Walls and Bridges. Later on that year at Lennon’s last major live performance, he and Elton John performed both of these songs and The Beatles’ classic “I Saw Her Standing There” at Madison Square Garden in New York.

John’s third album was “Caribou” released in 1974. This album received a Grammy Award nomination. Two popular songs from this album were “The Bitch is Back” and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”.

Pete Townshend of The Who asked John to play a character named “Local Lad” in the rock opera “Tommy” and to perform the song “Pinball Wizard”. John’s version was used for the movie released in 1975 and the song was made into a single and rose up on the pop

John recorded The Fox in 1981. On September 13, 1980 John and The Elton John Band performed a free concert to about 400,000 fans on The Great Lawn in Central Park, New York. This resulted in his 1982 hit “Empty Garden (Hey, Hey Johnny)” which is on his album Jump Up! This album also included his wonderful song “Blue Eyes”.

Performing at Live Aid

In 1985 John joined the many other performers at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium in London, England. He performed “Bennie and the Jets”, “Rocket Man” and a duet with Kiki Dee “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”.

In 1985 he released the album Breaking Hearts which featured his hit song “Sad Songs (Say So Much)”. That year he also recorded with Millie Jackson and in 1986 he played the piano on two tracks on the album Rock the Nations released by heavy metal band Saxon.

Throughout the 1980s John kept coming out with hits such as “Nikita”, a live orchestral version of “Candle in the Wind” and “I Don’t Wanna Go On with You Like That”. He collaborated with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder on “That’s What Friends Are For” which reached number one on the charts in the U.S. This song raised funds for AIDS research. Even though John’s albums continued to sell only his album Reg Strikes Back in 1988 got on the U.S.