Self titled album released by Elton John in 1970. The second album released by Elton John, the album Elton John was produced by Gus Dudgeon and recorded at Trident Studios in London, England in the month of January, 1970.


Discography:

1969 Empty Sky
1970 Elton John
1970 Tumbleweed Connection
1971 11-17-70
1971 Friends Soundtrack
1971 Madman Across The Water
1972 Honky Chateau
1973 Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player
1973 Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
1974 Caribou
1974 Elton John Greatest Hits Volume 1
1975 Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy
1975 Rock Of The Westies
1976 Here And There
1976 Blue Moves
1977 Elton John Greatest Hits Volume Two
1978 A Single Man
1978 Elton John Live 17/11/70
1978 Best Live Rarities Of Elton John
1978 London And New York Live
1978 Candle In The Wind
1979 Victim Of Love
1979 The Elton John Live Collection
1980 21 At 33
1980 Milestones
1980 Lady Samantha
1980 The Very Best Of Elton John
1981 The Album
1981 The Fox
1981 The Best of Elton John Volume One
1981 The Best of Elton John Volume Two
1982 Jump Up
1983 Too Low For Zero
1983 The New Collection
1983 The New Collection Volume Three
1984 Breaking Hearts
1984 The Superior Sound Of Elton John
1985 Ice On Fire
1986 Leather Jackets
1986 Your Songs
1987 Live In Australia With The Melbourne Symphony
1987 Elton John Greatest Hits Volume Three
1988 Reg Strikes Back
1989 Sleeping With The Past
1989 The Complete Thom Bell Sessions
1990 The Collection
1991 To Be Continued
1992 The One
1992 Rare Masters
1992 Song Book
1993 Duets
1993 Elton John Greatest Hits Volume Three
1994 Reg Dwight's Piano Goes Pop
1994 The Lion King Soundtrack
1995 Made In England
1996 Love Songs
1997 The Big Picture
1999 Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida
1999 The Muse Soundtrack
1999 Live at the Ritz
2000 The Road To El Dorado Soundtrack
2000 One Night Only
2001 Songs From the West Coast
2004 Peachtree Road


Dates and other miscellaneous facts taken from one of the following sites:

  • http://www.eltonjohn.com
  • http://wallofsound.go.com/artists/eltonjohn/content/discography.html
  • http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=132

Everybody knows I'm desperately in love with Miss Piggy 1

I remember Elton John from The Muppet Show, and my Mom's old eight track tapes. With his crazy sunglasses and famous excess he is an icon I have grown up with. I have always enjoyed his music, and own more of his albums than I care to count. He brings an eccentric appeal to his live performances, and the two shows I have been to remain my best concert experiences ever. Whether seeking a ballad or just something fun, Elton is always a safe bet. His songs have been rehashed, covered, and sampled but never with the same overindulgent flair.

Reginald Kenneth Dwight, known to the world as Elton John, was born on March 25,1947 in Pinner, Middlesex, England. At the age of four his parents, Sheila and Kenneth Dwight, started taking young Reginald to piano lessons. This launched a talent that led him to be considered by many the most successful rock pianists in the world. He is now one of the richest men in Britain and one of the world's best known pop stars.

Elton was a gifted musician from an early age, and won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music when he was eleven, and attended the Academy until he was fifteen. His love of performing and of rock n roll were also apparent early on, at age thirteen he performed at his parents' dinner parties and wore glasses so he could look like his idol, Buddy Holly. The glasses which would one day become an important part of his look at that time ruined his perfect vision. By wearing the prescription glasses, he caused himself to become nearsighted.2

In 1960, Elton, along with a few friends, formed a band called the Corvettes, which eventually evolved into Bluesology. As Bluesology they performed backing vocals for such singers as Patti LaBelle and Doris Troy. Elton played keyboard and organ with the band as well as performing some vocals. In 1967 Elton quit Bluesology shortly after meeting lyricist Bernie Taupin,whom he actually met afterthey had both been turned down for a job at Liberty Records. It was around this time was that Reg Dwight renamed himself Elton Hercules John. He adopted the name after his friend Elton Dean and Long John Baldry.

Elton and Bernie began collaborating almost immediately and were signed to a recording contract in 1968. Their first album, Empty Sky came out in 1970, but their first hit (Your Song) would not come until the release of their second album Elton John. Elton made his American concert debut at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, on August 25, 1970, and by 1975 he had a place on the Hollywood Star on the Walk Of Fame, near the front of Mann's Chinese Theater.

Despite his immense success, Elton John had entered an emotionally difficult phase in his life. While he remained one of pop's most newsworthy figures, he openly admitted his bisexuality and personal insecurities concerning his weight and baldness to Rolling Stone. This show of vulnerability seemed to only strengthen his popularity in the late 1970's. Elton became an icon of that decade by always wearing outrageous costumes and a different pair of glasses for each appearance.

By the early 1980's Elton's record sales were down significantly, and did not improve until the release of Too Low For Zero in 1983, which scaled the charts along with the single I'm Still Standing. During this time Elton also had some serious trouble with the press. The Sun newspaper made serious allegations against the singer, which prompted a libel suit. Elton eventually accepted a large settlement, the amount of which was never disclosed. The 80's were also marked by Elton's marriage to Renate Blauel (a German sound engineer) in 1984 and their divorce in 1988. By the end of the 80's Elton seemed more serious and his last album of the decade (Sleeping With the Past) conveyed that feeling.

By the end of 1990 it was clear Elton's struggles were not to end with the previous decade. In December 1990 he checked himself into a drug and alcohol rehab center in Chicago, where he battled cocaine and alcohol addictions. His troubles with the British press weren't over either, in 1992 the Sunday Mirror reported an alleged incident with regard to bulimia. Once again Elton filed a suit and won a substantial settlement. During the mid 1990's Elton once again went public with his private problems, confessing his addictions as well as openly admitting to being homosexual. He made said in an interview that "There is nothing wrong with going to bed with someone of your own sex. People should be very free with sex, they should draw the line at goats."3 Despite his personal problems Elton's career flourished in the 1990's.

In 1994 Elton was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame by Axl Rose, and in In 1997 Elton sang Candle In The Wind 1997 at Princess Diana's funeral, a song he and Bernie had rewritten for her. It was the b-side to the hit Something About The Way You Look Tonight and is now the all-time best selling single in history. The 1990's were also marked with several other achievements. One was the formation of the Elton John Aids Foundation in 1992. The foundation was created after his friend, Ryan White died of the disease. All the profits from Elton's singles are now donated to this foundation. As of 2002 this foundation has raised over 32 million dollars and distributed over 28 million of this4.The other was when in 1998 Elton was given the honorary title of Knight Bachelor making him "Sir Elton John, CBE" by the Queen of England. The award was for his contribution to music and to charitable services.

Throughout the years Elton John has kept the friendship and admiration of his friends and peers. He remains an outstanding songwriter and a fine pianist, and together with the Beatles and Rolling Stones is one of Britain's most successful artists. Along with his success in his native Britain, accordin to the Recording Industry Association of America he holds the title of second highest selling solo recording artist of all time in the the United States. Time and again he has successfully ridden out the storms caused by media intrusions into his private life, always coming out of it more popular than ever. Above all he is still able to maintain a sense of humor about himself in down-to-earth fashion, aware of all his eccentricities.

Here am I, a pudgy little man in outrageous gear, leaping at a piano!3


* For a great discography look to the node by Mitchevious
Notes

1John, Elton John In His Own Words, 46.
2Heatley, Elton John: The Life and Music of a Legendary Performer, 21.
3John, Elton John In His Own Words, 3.
4 www.ejaf.com

Bibliography

Heatley, Michael, Elton John: The Life and Music of a Legendary Performer.London:Clb Pub, 1998.
John, Elton. Elton John In His Own Words. New York:Omnibus Press, 1997.

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