98 Fun Facts About Elton John

What was Elton John's birth name?

He was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947 and became Elton Hercules John by deed poll in 1972, the middle name borrowed from the horse in Steptoe and Son.

Where in England was Elton John born and raised?

Elton John was born in Pinner, Middlesex, in 1947 and grew up there in a council house with his maternal grandparents, picking out tunes on his grandmother's piano.

Elton John's stage name honours which two members of his former band Bluesology?

Elton Dean and Long John Baldry were Bluesology's saxophonist and singer; Baldry later talked him out of an unhappy engagement, a rescue Elton thanked him for in 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight'.

Elton John won a junior scholarship at 11 to which London music school?

The Royal Academy of Music taught him part-time from 1959 to 1964; he quit shortly before his final exams to chase a career in pop, starting as an errand boy at a music publisher.

What was the title of Elton John's 1969 debut album?

Empty Sky came out in Britain in June 1969 but was not released in America until 1975, so US listeners first met him through his self-titled second album.

Which 1970 single became Elton John's first hit, reaching the UK and US top ten?

'Your Song' reached number eight in the US and number seven in the UK in early 1971; it began as the B-side of 'Take Me to the Pilot' until disc jockeys preferred it and the single was flipped.

At which California club did Elton John play his career-making first American concert on 25 August 1970?

The Troubadour show on 25 August 1970 drew rave newspaper reviews that launched him in America; he came back to the club in 1975 for a run of anniversary concerts.

Which was Elton John's first US Billboard Hot 100 number one?

'Crocodile Rock' topped the Hot 100 for three weeks in February 1973; Elton wrote the nostalgic pastiche after hearing the Australian band Daddy Cool and their hit 'Eagle Rock' on tour in 1972.

'Rocket Man' was the lead single from which 1972 album?

Honky Château takes its name from the Château d'Hérouville, the French country-house studio where it was recorded in January 1972; it became his first US number-one album.

Which science-fiction writer's short story inspired the lyrics of 'Rocket Man'?

Ray Bradbury's 'The Rocket Man', from his collection The Illustrated Man, follows an astronaut whose job keeps him from his family; Taupin has said he took the idea by way of a 1970 Pearls Before Swine song based on the story.

Which actor performed a widely parodied spoken-word version of 'Rocket Man' in 1978?

William Shatner recited it at the Science Fiction Film Awards after an introduction by Bernie Taupin himself; Family Guy later had Stewie deliver his own spoken version.

'Tiny Dancer' opens which 1971 album?

'Tiny Dancer' opens Madman Across the Water; the song has long been linked to Maxine Feibelman, who sewed for the band on tour and married Taupin in 1971, but he has said he was writing about California women in general.

Which 2000 Cameron Crowe film gave 'Tiny Dancer' a second life with a tour-bus singalong scene?

Almost Famous has a touring band at each other's throats make peace by singing along to it on their bus; as a single in 1972, 'Tiny Dancer' had stalled at number 41 in the US.

Which Elton John hit sounds like a concert recording but is a studio track with crowd noise mixed in?

'Bennie and the Jets' was cut in the studio; producer Gus Dudgeon then mixed in applause from a 1972 Elton show at London's Royal Festival Hall, plus whistles from another concert and handclaps.

Which US TV show did Elton John appear on in May 1975, one of the first white artists to do so?

Elton John sang 'Bennie and the Jets' and 'Philadelphia Freedom' on Soul Train in May 1975; the first of those had crossed over to Black radio and charted on Billboard's soul singles list.

Which 1973 double album featuring 'Candle in the Wind' topped the US and UK charts?

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was meant to be recorded in Jamaica, but the studio there was not up to the job, so the band decamped to France and made the album there instead.

Which 1975 album was the first ever to debut at US number one?

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy entered the Billboard 200 at number one in June 1975; the autobiographical album casts Elton as the Captain and Taupin as the Cowboy.

With whom did Elton John duet on the 1976 chart-topper 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart'?

Kiki Dee, signed to Elton's Rocket label, was not in the room: he recorded his vocal in Toronto and she added hers later in London, yet the duet became his first UK number one single.

Which football club did Elton John chair from 1976 to 1987 and again from 1997 to 2002?

Elton John bought Watford in 1976; under his chairmanship the club climbed from the Fourth Division to First Division runners-up in 1983 and reached the 1984 FA Cup Final.

Which manager took Elton's football club from the Fourth Division to top-flight runners-up?

Graham Taylor had won the Fourth Division title with Lincoln City the year before Elton hired him in 1977; five years later the club was in the top flight, and he went on to manage England.

As which cartoon character did Elton John dress for part of his 1980 Central Park concert?

Elton John played part of the Central Park show on 13 September 1980 dressed as Donald Duck; the concert also reunited him with Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson, the bassist and drummer of his original band.

In 1979, Elton John became one of the first Western pop artists to tour which country?

The Soviet Union shows in May 1979, in Leningrad and Moscow with only percussionist Ray Cooper, led to A Single Man becoming his first album released there officially; earlier records had been smuggled in.

Whom did Elton John marry on Valentine's Day 1984?

Renate Blauel, a German sound engineer he met in the studio while making Too Low for Zero in 1983, married him on 14 February 1984; they divorced in 1988.

Which song, in 1990, finally gave Elton John his first solo UK number one single?

'Sacrifice' had stalled at number 55 in 1989; after DJ Steve Wright began playing it on Radio 1, it was reissued with 'Healing Hands' and went to number one in June 1990.

Whose live duet with Elton John on 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me' topped the UK and US charts?

George Michael brought Elton on as a surprise guest at Wembley Arena in March 1991; the recording topped the UK chart that December and the US chart in February 1992.

With which lyricist did Elton John write the songs for Disney's The Lion King?

Tim Rice, who had finished Aladdin's lyrics with Alan Menken after Howard Ashman's death, wrote the words; three of the film's songs were nominated for Best Original Song at the 1995 Oscars.

Which song won Elton John his first Academy Award?

'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' was first planned as a comic number for Timon and Pumbaa; Elton objected, it was reworked as Simba and Nala's love song, and it won the 1995 Oscar for Best Original Song.

Elton John shared 'Bohemian Rhapsody' with which rock singer at the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert?

Axl Rose joined Elton and the surviving members of Queen for the song at Wembley Stadium; in 1994 the Guns N' Roses singer also inducted him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The original 1973 'Candle in the Wind' was a tribute to whom?

Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson, is the subject: the opening line 'Goodbye Norma Jean' became 'Goodbye England's rose' when Taupin rewrote it for Princess Diana in 1997.

Where in London did Elton John give his only public performance of 'Candle in the Wind 1997'?

Westminster Abbey heard it once, at Diana's funeral on 6 September 1997; Elton went back to singing the original at his concerts and never performed the rewritten words again.

Which song is the only physical single to have outsold 'Candle in the Wind 1997'?

White Christmas, in Bing Crosby's 1942 recording, has sold an estimated 50 million copies; Elton's tribute sold 33 million and gave its royalties to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.

Elton John won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Original Score for which Broadway musical?

Aida won the 2000 Tony for Best Original Score, an award that The Lion King's stage score had lost to Ragtime two years earlier.

Which 2000 British film set during the miners' strike did Elton John turn into a stage musical?

Billy Elliot moved Elton to write the musical's songs because, he said, Billy was 'like me': his own father had also struggled to accept a son's artistic ambitions. Lee Hall, who wrote the film, supplied the words.

Elton John's 1998 knighthood honoured his services to music and to what else?

Charity was the other half of the citation: he had founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, and Queen Elizabeth II knighted him on 24 February 1998.

Who plays Elton John in the 2019 biopic Rocketman?

Taron Egerton, who had shared scenes with Elton in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, sang the songs himself; their duet '(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again' won Elton his second Oscar.

Which pop star's Elton John collaboration 'Cold Heart' hit number one in Australia in 2021?

Dua Lipa sang on the Pnau remix, which stitches together lines from four Elton songs; it topped the Australian and UK charts and led The Lockdown Sessions album.

Which pop star made her return to music on the 2022 Elton John duet 'Hold Me Closer'?

Britney Spears was suggested by Elton's husband; Elton has said he hoped a hit would give her more confidence after her conservatorship ended.

What was the name of Elton John's final tour, at the time the highest-grossing tour ever?

Farewell Yellow Brick Road ran from September 2018 to a final show in Stockholm in July 2023, grossing over $900 million; its Glastonbury Pyramid Stage set was the last UK date.

Which award, won in 2024, completed Elton John's EGOT?

An Emmy for his concert special Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium completed the set, but he was not there to collect it: knee trouble kept him away from the ceremony.

What is Elton John's husband David Furnish's profession?

Filmmaker David Furnish directed the 1997 documentary Tantrums & Tiaras about Elton; they became civil partners on 21 December 2005, the first day English law allowed it, and married nine years later to the day.

What is the title of Elton John's 2019 autobiography?

Me was ghostwritten by the music critic Alexis Petridis; among its stories is a dinner party of Elton's where Richard Gere and Sylvester Stallone nearly came to blows over Princess Diana.

Why did the teenage Elton John start wearing glasses he did not need?

He wore horn-rimmed glasses to imitate Buddy Holly although his sight was normal; the lenses then damaged his eyes, so before long he needed glasses for real.

Which relative of Elton John scored in the 1959 FA Cup Final before breaking his leg in the match?

His cousin Roy scored Nottingham Forest's opening goal against Luton Town and was carried off with a broken leg after 33 minutes; Forest played on with ten men and still won 2-1.

Which former Beatle joined Elton John on stage at Madison Square Garden in 1974 after losing a bet?

John Lennon had doubted that 'Whatever Gets You thru the Night', with Elton on piano, would reach number one; when it did, he paid up on Thanksgiving night in his last major concert appearance.

As which French king did Elton John dress for his 50th birthday party in 1997?

Elton John arrived at his 1997 party at Hammersmith Palais dressed as Louis XIV, in a towering powdered wig and a train so large he had to be delivered in a removal van.

Which photographer created the staging for Elton John's Las Vegas show The Red Piano?

David LaChapelle conceived The Red Piano with Elton for Caesars Palace in 2004; booked for 75 shows over three years, the residency kept running until 2009.

Elton John's 1975 hit 'Philadelphia Freedom' was a tribute to a team in which sport?

His friend Billie Jean King was player-coach of the World Team Tennis side the Philadelphia Freedoms.

Which California club in the North American Soccer League counted Elton John as a part-owner?

The Los Angeles Aztecs sold Elton a stake in November 1975; within months the club had signed George Best, who joined for the 1976 season.

Which rapper duetted with Elton John at the 2001 Grammys and later had him as a mentor in getting sober?

Eminem performed 'Stan' with Elton singing Dido's part, an answer to critics of his lyrics. Years later Elton phoned him once a week to check on his recovery.

Which future Strictly Come Dancing judge appears as a dancer in Elton John's 1983 video for 'I'm Still Standing'?

Bruno Tonioli was a jobbing dancer when the clip was shot around Cannes and Nice; two decades on he was judging both Strictly and America's Dancing with the Stars.

Which Hollywood actor wanders alone through a mansion, lip-syncing, in the 2001 video for Elton John's 'I Want Love'?

Robert Downey Jr. mimes the whole number while walking through Greystone Mansion; the director shot 16 takes and used the last because he looked so relaxed.

At which American ballpark did Elton John play two October 1975 concerts in a sequined baseball uniform?

Dodger Stadium hosted both nights, and the glittering team uniform Bob Mackie designed for them became his most enduring stage costume.

Which crooner's 1942 recording is the only physical single to outsell Elton John's 'Candle in the Wind 1997'?

Bing Crosby's 'White Christmas' is the one single ahead of it, while Elton's 1997 release is the biggest seller since charts began in the 1950s.

Which singer-songwriter joined Elton John on 'Merry Christmas', a 2021 charity duet that topped the UK singles chart?

Ed Sheeran shared the duet, which gave its UK profits to both men's charities; a spoof about sausage rolls, made with LadBaby, then replaced it at number one.

Which Indiana teenager's death from AIDS in 1990 moved Elton John to get sober and start his own foundation?

Ryan White, a haemophiliac infected by a contaminated blood treatment, had Elton at his bedside in his last days. Elton was a pallbearer, cleaned himself up that year and launched the charity in 1992.

Which American performer remade 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' with Elton John as a 1994 dance single?

RuPaul took the other half of the duet in a remake produced by disco pioneer Giorgio Moroder, and the pair performed it together at the 1994 Brit Awards.

In which animated sitcom did Elton John voice himself in 1999, after his private plane makes an emergency landing?

The Simpsons grounded his jet in Springfield with a faulty chandelier, and he recorded a new version of one of his ballads so Apu could serenade his wife Manjula.

Which fellow piano-playing star toured with Elton John on the long-running 'Face to Face' concerts from 1994?

Billy Joel and Elton revived the joint tour on and off until March 2010, a pairing described as the longest-running concert tandem in pop history.

Which song by the Who did Elton John perform in the 1975 film Tommy, perched on boots over four feet tall?

Pinball Wizard made him the film's cocky world champion of the game, a part he had at first turned down; David Essex was among those considered to replace him.

In which 2017 spy comedy does Elton John play himself, held captive by the boss of a drug cartel?

Kingsman: The Golden Circle has the villain Poppy kidnap him, and he ends up helping the agents destroy her robotic attack dogs.

Which 2011 animated film had Elton John as executive producer and a soundtrack built around his songs?

Gnomeo & Juliet retells Shakespeare with feuding garden gnomes, and its new number 'Hello Hello' picked up several best original song nominations.

In which African language does Lebo M sing the celebrated opening chant of Elton John's first Lion King song?

Zulu is the language of the South African composer's opening call, after which Carmen Twillie sings the lead; the film's carefree catchphrase number is the one in Swahili.

Which 2000 DreamWorks animated adventure features songs by Elton John, who also performs them as its singing narrator?

The Road to El Dorado reunited the Lion King songwriting team with composer Hans Zimmer, and its cast list credits Elton as The Singing Narrator.

Which hit film comedy became a stage musical with music by Elton John, opening in London's West End in 2024?

The Devil Wears Prada first played Chicago in 2022, then was reworked for London's Dominion Theatre, where Vanessa Williams took the role of Miranda Priestly.

Which music legend plays the harmonica solo on Elton John's 1983 hit 'I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues'?

Stevie Wonder guested on the Too Low for Zero single, which reached number four in the US, and two years later sang beside Elton on an AIDS charity record.

Which singer led 'That's What Friends Are For', the 1985 AIDS charity single featuring Elton John and Gladys Knight?

Dionne Warwick fronted the one-off group billed as her 'Friends', and the record raised more than $3 million for the American Foundation for AIDS Research.

Which late rapper's 2005 UK number one 'Ghetto Gospel' is built on a sample of Elton John's 'Indian Sunset'?

Tupac Shakur had been dead for nearly nine years when the single topped the UK chart for three weeks; Elton said he would never know how the two recordings had been melded.

Which British singer's reggae-tinged cover of 'Rocket Man' reached the UK top twenty in 1991?

Kate Bush took her version to number 12, and two decades later invited Elton to sing with her on 'Snowed in at Wheeler Street' for her album 50 Words for Snow.

Which English music festival did Elton John headline in June 2023, closing the UK leg of his farewell tour?

Glastonbury gave him the Pyramid Stage on its closing Sunday night, and he called it the most fitting send-off he could give his British fans.

Elton John's long-time manager John Reid also managed which British rock band from 1975 to 1978?

Queen were on Reid's books for three years, which is why he turns up as a character in both the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody and the 2019 film about Elton.

Elton John's 1973 single 'Step into Christmas' was mixed as a homage to the festive records of which producer?

Phil Spector's 'Wall of Sound' was imitated with heavy compression, a nod to the Christmas records he made with groups such as the Ronettes.

Which celebrity plays a young, 1970s-era Elton John in the video for 'This Train Don't Stop There Anymore'?

Justin Timberlake dons outfits typical of Elton's glam years in the clip, while Paul Reubens, the man behind Pee-wee Herman, plays his manager.

Which actor plays lyricist Bernie Taupin, Elton John's writing partner, in the 2019 biopic Rocketman?

Jamie Bell found fame as the boy dancer in the film Billy Elliot, the story Elton went on to turn into a stage musical.

At which Las Vegas resort did Elton John perform his residency 'The Million Dollar Piano' from 2011?

Caesars Palace staged the show in its Colosseum theatre, where it ran until May 2018; it was his second Las Vegas residency.

Elton John is believed to own one of the world's largest private collections of which art form?

Photography is his great collecting passion, and in 2024 London's Victoria and Albert Museum showed works from his holdings in an exhibition titled Fragile Beauty.

Members of which American band sing backing vocals on Elton John's 1974 single 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me'?

The Beach Boys' Carl Wilson and Bruce Johnston sing on the chorus alongside Toni Tennille, with trumpets echoing Wilson's high notes.

Which soul singer's 1970 cover of Elton John's 'Border Song' climbed far higher on the US chart than his original?

Aretha Franklin took it to number 37 on the Hot 100 after Elton's own single stalled at 92, and the two sang it together on her 1993 television special.

Which comedian's finger-pistol joke at a party gave Elton John the title 'Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player'?

Groucho Marx had ribbed him all evening, calling him 'John Elton', and the album cover repays the compliment with a poster for the Marx Brothers film Go West.

Elton John played session piano on 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother', a 1969 hit for which British band?

The Hollies paid him just £12 for his work on the ballad, and he was hired again to play on their next single.

In which Caribbean country did Elton John abandon the first sessions for his 1973 double album after studio problems?

Jamaica appealed because the Rolling Stones had just recorded there, but a poor piano and sound system, plus upheaval around a Frazier–Foreman title fight in Kingston, drove the band out.

Which producer did Elton John hire in 1970 after hearing his work on David Bowie's 'Space Oddity'?

Gus Dudgeon won such trust that Elton often left the studio once his piano and vocal were recorded, leaving him to build the orchestral sound of the 1970s albums.

Which guitarist joined Elton John's band in 1972 and played his 3,000th show with him in 2019?

Davey Johnstone reached the milestone in Saskatoon, Canada, on Elton's final world tour, having rarely missed one of his albums or tours since 1982.

Which 1978 instrumental did Elton John write alone on the day his label's teenage messenger died in a motorcycle crash?

Song for Guy honours 17-year-old Guy Burchett; it is the only instrumental Elton ever released as a single, and it reached number four in the UK.

Which Elton John song, first cut with a Philadelphia soul producer in 1977, became a UK number one in 2003?

Are You Ready for Love was made with the producer behind hits for the Spinners and the Stylistics, and topped the chart after Sky Sports used it in a football advert.

Which 1970 Elton John album is steeped in the American Old West, though its writers had not yet visited the US?

Tumbleweed Connection grew out of Bernie Taupin's love of Westerns, and its cover photo of a rural railway station was actually taken in England.

Which flamboyant British film director, who cast Elton John in Tommy, also directed his 1985 'Nikita' video?

Ken Russell scripted the clip as Elton's doomed courtship of an East German border guard at a Berlin crossing, and had him briefly put on his towering Tommy boots again.

Elton John's 1973 hit 'Daniel' was inspired by a magazine article about a wounded veteran of which war?

The Vietnam War veteran in the article wanted to escape the attention he got on coming home; a final verse was cut from the record, which left listeners guessing at the story.

With which American singer-songwriter did Elton John make the 2025 album Who Believes in Angels?

Brandi Carlile had already sung with him on the theme to his 2024 documentary Never Too Late, and their joint record entered the UK album chart at number one.

Which 1974 Elton John album is named after the Colorado ranch studio where part of it was recorded?

Caribou was recorded in about nine days, under pressure to finish before a Japanese tour, yet it still produced the hit 'The Bitch Is Back'.

Which veteran producer, knighted the year before, produced Elton John's 'Candle in the Wind 1997'?

George Martin, famed for his years with the Beatles, added a string quartet and woodwind to balance Elton's piano and voice.

Elton John sang and played piano on 'Ordinary Man', a 2020 rock ballad by which heavy metal veteran?

Ozzy Osbourne looks back over his own life and career in the ballad, whose line-up also features Slash on guitar.

Elton John co-wrote and played piano on 'I Don't Feel Like Dancin'', a 2006 hit for which American band?

Scissor Sisters shared the writing credit with him, and the single became their first top-ten hit in many countries, reaching number one in nine.

Which US president surprised Elton John with the National Humanities Medal after a White House concert?

Joe Biden made the surprise presentation in 2022, adding to American honours that already included a Kennedy Center Honor in 2004.

Which country star duetted with Elton John on 'Written in the Stars', a single from his late-1990s stage musical?

LeAnn Rimes sang it for the concept album of his ancient-Egypt love story, and her following even carried the duet onto a Canadian country chart.

Which publisher, co-founder of the Beatles' Northern Songs, signed Elton John and Bernie Taupin as staff songwriters?

Dick James took the pair on as untried unknowns, and for about two years they wrote material for other artists, among them Lulu, before Elton's own records took off.

Under which pair of joke pseudonyms did Elton John and Bernie Taupin write 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart'?

Ann Orson and Carte Blanche took the credit for a number meant as an affectionate pastiche of the Motown duets Marvin Gaye recorded with Tammi Terrell and Kim Weston.

Which Australian dance act spliced Elton John's 1970s songs into the 2012 album Good Morning to the Night?

Pnau, whom Elton had mentored for five years, built each piece from fragments of several old recordings, giving him his first UK number-one album since 1990.

Which opera star sang in his native language on Elton John's 1996 UK top-ten single 'Live Like Horses'?

Luciano Pavarotti sings parts of the verses and choruses in Italian on the single, which reached number nine; the album version is Elton alone.