For this assignment tittled the Role of the Performer I thought it would be perfect to talk about Elton John who has recently just had a movie produced about him. He is a musical genius however if you did not know already he did not write most of his songs. Those lyrics we know and love are written by Bernie Taupin but I’ll get into that later on.
Elton’s Musical Bio:
Starting at the early age of 4, Reginald Kenneth Dwight was teaching himself piano. Deciding on the musical path he attended London’s Academy of Music but stopped just short if graduating to pursue a job with Dick James Publishing Company. On his off hours of he would sing and play piano at bars. At the company in 1986 he met Bernie Taupin. However before they started making songs publicly Elton joined a band called “Bluesology”. He created his stage name Elton John after a combination of multiple band members names including Elton Dean (the saxophone player)and Long John Baldry (the lead singer). After that he started making songs with Bernie and he came out with their first album “Empty Sky” which pretty much bombed financially and most people would not recognize any of the songs from it. However the second album titled “Elton John” had the hit song “Your Song”. From there he took off. They eventually released “Rocket Man”, “Crocodile Rock” and “Tiny Dancer”.
His Role as a Performer:
The musical world would simply not be the same without him. He released a total of 7 number 1 albums. Plus is just iconic and eye catching with his outfits and signature crazy glasses. Not to mention his social impact when he first cam out as bi then gay which did stunt his music career. However he bounced back with his reach of his hit “Candle in the Wind” which he played at princess Diana’s funeral. He sold over 30 million copies and donated the money to a charity made in Diana’s name.
Under are two songs: His first hit song “Your Song” and my personal favorite “Rocket Man”
Work Cited:
Holden, Stephen. “Elton John.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1 July 2019, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Elton-John.
“List of Songs with Lyrics by Bernie Taupin.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_with_lyrics_by_Bernie_Taupin.
“Elton John Biography.” Encyclopedia of World Biography, http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ho-Jo/John-Elton.html.
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