The 1910 piano on which Elton John composed his first five albums, including his first hit single, "Your Song".
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1967
Sir Elton Hercules John CBE is an English singer-songwriter, composer, pianist, and occasional actor. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriter partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.
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1971
Elton John with Bernie Taupin (left) in 1971. They have collaborated on more than thirty albums to date.
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1971
Elton John on stage in 1971
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1972
Johannes-Brahms-Platz, 20355 Hamburg, Gemany
Elton John at the Musikhalle Hamburg, in March 1972
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1973
Elton John in a flamboyant stage outfit of white suit with feather trim and rhinestone encrusted glasses, circa 1973.
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1974
Wentworth, Surrey, England, United Kingdom
Elton John at his home in Wentworth, Surrey, during a shoot for the cover of 'Elton John's Greatest Hits' 1974.
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1974
Watford, England
Elton John performs at an open-air concert in May 1974 in Watford, England.
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1975
Elton John plays the song "Pinball Wizard" in the rock band The Who's rock opera movie 'Tommy' which was released on March 26, 1975 in the United Kingdom.
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1975
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Elton John performing at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, 1975.
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1975
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California, United States
Cher, Elton John and Diana Ross attend the Rock Awards at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in 1975.
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1975
Elton John on the piano during a live performance in 1975
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1975
Elton John during a Captain Fantastic concert in 1975
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1977
Elton John performs in 1977.
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1977
John performs at Princess Diana’s funeral.
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1979
Dublin, Ireland
Elton John performing live with Ray Cooper in Dublin in 1979.
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1982
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New york, United States
Elton John performs at Madison Square Garden in New York City, August 6, 1982.
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1986
150 Old Park Ln, Mayfair, London W1K 1QZ, UK
Elton John costume from the 1986 Tour de Force Australian concerts, on display in the Hard Rock Cafe, London.
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1996
Modena, Italy
Elton John with Luciano Pavarotti in Modena, 1996
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2007
London, Wembley HA9 0WS, UK
Elton John on piano at the Concert for Diana, commemorating the 10 year passing of Princess Diana, at Wembley Stadium on 1 July 2007.
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2009
Fridtjof Nansens gate 19, 3722 Skien, Norway
Elton John performs at the Skagerak Arena in Skien, June 2009.
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2011
Sydney, Australia
Elton John on World AIDS Day in Sydney, Australia on 1 December 2011
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2012
The Elton John Band performing on 15 March 2012. Left to right: John, Johnstone, Birch, and (not pictured, right), Olsson and Cooper.
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2013
6920 Mannheim Rd, Rosemont, IL 60018, USA
Elton John performing at the Allstate Arena, Chicago in November 2013
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2014
Washington, D.C., USA
Elton John and United States Secretary of State John Kerry discuss AIDS relief and the work of the Elton John AIDS Foundation at the United States Department of State in Washington, D.C., 24 October 2014.
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2017
Twickenham Stoop, London, England, United Kingdom
Elton John performs live at Twickenham Stoop on June 3, 2017 in London.
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2019
Hollywood,California, USA
ir Elton John and Taron Egerton perform onstage during the 27th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party sponsored by IMDb and Neuro Drinks celebrating EJAF and the 91st Academy Awards on February 24, 2019 in West Hollywood,California.
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2019
Cannes, France
Sir Elton John and Taron Egerton attend the photocall for "Rocketman" during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2019, in Cannes, France.
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Elton John with Princess Margaret in the 1970s.
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Twickenham, London, UK
Elton John performing a tribute to the late George Michael at Twickenham, London in June 2017.
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Elton John has had two residencies at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. The first, The Red Piano, ran from 2004 to 2009, and the second, The Million Dollar Piano (sign pictured) ran from 2011 to 2017.
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UK
Elton John often wore elaborate stage costumes as part of the glam rock era in the UK music scene.
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Marylebone Rd, Marylebone, London NW1 5HT, UK
Elton John (known then as Reg Dwight) studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London for five years.
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Woodside , UK
The lined drive to Elton John's home in Woodside in Old Windsor, Berkshire.
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Elton John attending the premiere of The Union at the Tribeca Film Festival.
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Elton John
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Elton John
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Elton John
Achievements
Sir Elton John's coat of arms. Granted to him in 1987, the crest includes piano keys and records. The Spanish motto, "el tono es bueno", combines a pun on the singer's name with the translation "the tone is good". The black, red and gold colours are also those of Watford FC. The steel helmet above the shield faced forwards and with its visor open indicates that John is a knight.
Sir Elton Hercules John CBE is an English singer-songwriter, composer, pianist, and occasional actor. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriter partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.
Elton John plays the song "Pinball Wizard" in the rock band The Who's rock opera movie 'Tommy' which was released on March 26, 1975 in the United Kingdom.
Elton John and United States Secretary of State John Kerry discuss AIDS relief and the work of the Elton John AIDS Foundation at the United States Department of State in Washington, D.C., 24 October 2014.
ir Elton John and Taron Egerton perform onstage during the 27th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party sponsored by IMDb and Neuro Drinks celebrating EJAF and the 91st Academy Awards on February 24, 2019 in West Hollywood,California.
Sir Elton John's coat of arms. Granted to him in 1987, the crest includes piano keys and records. The Spanish motto, "el tono es bueno", combines a pun on the singer's name with the translation "the tone is good". The black, red and gold colours are also those of Watford FC. The steel helmet above the shield faced forwards and with its visor open indicates that John is a knight.
Elton John has had two residencies at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. The first, The Red Piano, ran from 2004 to 2009, and the second, The Million Dollar Piano (sign pictured) ran from 2011 to 2017.
Sir Elton Hercules John is one of the most highly acclaimed and successful solo artists of all time. He has achieved 35 gold and 25 platinum albums, has sold more than 250 million records worldwide, and holds the record for the biggest selling single of all time. Over the five decades since his career began in 1969, Elton has played more than 3,000 concerts worldwide.
Background
Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947, in Pinner, Middlesex, the eldest child of Stanley Dwight (1925–1991) and only child of Sheila Eileen and was raised in a council house by his maternal grandparents, in Pinner. His parents married in 1945, when the family moved to a nearby semi-detached house.
Both of John's parents were musically inclined, his father having been a trumpet player with the Bob Millar Band, a semi-professional big band that played at military dances. The Dwights were keen record buyers, exposing John to the popular singers and musicians of the day, and John remembers being immediately hooked on rock and roll when his mother brought home records by Elvis Presley and Bill Haley & His Comets in 1956.
Elton John's mother, though also strict with her son, was more vivacious than her husband, and something of a free spirit. With Stanley Dwight uninterested in his son and often physically absent, John was raised primarily by his mother and maternal grandmother. When his father was home, the Dwights would have terrible arguments that greatly distressed their son. When John was 14, they divorced. His mother then married a local painter, Fred Farebrother, a caring and supportive stepfather whom John affectionately referred to as "Derf", his first name in reverse.
Education
Elton John started playing the piano at the age of three, and within a year, his mother heard him picking out Winifred Atwell's "The Skater's Waltz" by ear. After performing at parties and family gatherings, at the age of 7 he took up formal piano lessons. He showed musical aptitude at school, including the ability to compose melodies, and gained some notoriety by playing like Jerry Lee Lewis at school functions. At the age of 11, he won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. According to one of his instructors, John promptly played back, like a "gramophone record", a four-page piece by Handel that he heard for the first time.
For the next five years, he attended Saturday classes at the Academy in central London, and has stated that he enjoyed playing Chopin and Bach and singing in the choir during Saturday classes, but that he was not otherwise a diligent classical student. "I kind of resented going to the Academy", he says. "I was one of those children who could just about get away without practising and still pass, scrape through the grades." He has claimed that he would sometimes skip classes and ride around on the Tube. Several instructors have testified that he was a "model student", and during the last few years, he was taking lessons from a private tutor in addition to his classes at the Academy.
John was educated at Pinner Wood Junior School, Reddiford School and Pinner County Grammar School, until the age of 17, when he left just prior to his A-Level examinations to pursue a career in the music industry.
As John’s musical talent grew, he became frustrated with Baldry’s domination of Bluesology. He tried out for lead vocalist positions with King Crimson and Gentle Giant, but was rejected by both bands.
A crucial juncture in John’s career was when he answered an ad for songwriters run by Liberty Records. Answering the same ad was Bernie Taupin, who Liberty teamed up with John to write commercial jingles as well as songs for artists such as Engelbert Humperdinck and Lulu. Before long, John and Taupin began to feel stifled creatively, and they began working together on their own songs, primarily romantic ballads. Most of their early work was done through mail correspondence, and they didn’t meet face to face for many months after they started working together. Taupin wrote the lyrics first, then John would compose music for them with remarkable speed - sometimes in less than an hour. During his years of composing with Taupin, John often took as little as two days to compose songs for an entire album.
Eventually John cut a demo of one of their songs, which was rejected by Liberty but attracted the interest of Beatles music publisher Dick James. James signed the pair to a songwriting contract that gave them an income of about ten pounds (or $25) a week in 1968. The move would prove a gold mine for James, who owned all John-Taupin songs until 1975. By 1968 John and Taupin had shifted to a more rock-and-roll mode. Their first song with James was “I’ve Been Loving You,” which was produced by former Bluesology guitarist - and later guitarist for John - Caleb Quaye. John’s 1969 single “Lady Samantha” on the Philips label sold poorly. Next he recorded the album Empty Sky in a London basement at a cost of just $1200, but that release also generated little interest. Attention came John’s way with the release of the Elton John LP in 1969. The album features a lush sound with elaborate string arrangements scored and arranged by Paul Buckmaster. Critics lauded the album, although some thought it was overproduced. By the summer of 1970, with the touching ballad “Your Song” from the album climbing the charts in England and the United States, John was on his way to stardom.
John’s fame accelerated rapidly after he began performing in the United States for the first time in 1970, starting with a gig at the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles. He hid his shyness on stage by assuming an outrageous stage personality, wearing outlandish clothes and leaping around as he played the piano. The result was electric, and he became a pop sensation as he performed in other rock halls across the United States. His increasing visibility also helped his album move up the charts on the American hit parade. By the time John returned to England, he was a major star there as well.
John’s next album, Tumbleweed Connection, was centered on a theme of the historical American South and West. It featured less heavy orchestration then the previous album, and was also well-received. After his Friends soundtrack album for the film of the same name proved somewhat of a dud in 1971, John returned to the Top 10 with Madman Across the Water. Then he struck major gold with Honky Chateau in 1972, which demonstrated a greater range of John’s talents and contained the mega-hits “Rocket Man” and “Honky Cat.” John proved adept at making hits out of any kind of song, from heartfelt ballads to whimsical ditties. Meanwhile, his concert attire grew more and more bizarre, as he pranced on the stage wearing everything from huge feather boas to simulated astronaut suits. A trademark of the performer was his seemingly endless collection of crazy eyeglasses, which by the early 1970s was estimated to be worth some $40,000.
John continued his pop reign in the early 1970s with his 1973 release Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only the Piano Player, whose “Crocodile Rock” earned the singer his first number-one American hit. One of the most endearing melodies of the album, and perhaps his career, was the number-two hit “Daniel.” By this time any new release by John resulted in a stampede to the record stores. His next album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, sold two million copies in the United States within six months of its release in the fall of 1973. That album produced another number-one hit with “Bennie and the Jets.” Throughout this period John’s band remained stable, consisting of bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson. David Johnson came on board as guitarist in 1972.
After the release of Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy in 1975 - which became the first LP to enter the U.S. charts at the number-one position - there was a change in personnel in John’s band, with Johnston remaining and the addition of Quaye, Roger Pope, and bassist Kenny Pasarelli for his 1975 album Rock of the Westies.
Citing exhaustion as a factor, John curtailed his busy concert schedule as well as his composing after 1976. Strains in the John-Taupin partnership began to develop following the release of Blue Moves in 1976, and Taupin began working with other musicians. John worked with lyricist Gary Osborne for his 1978 release A Single Man, but the album featured no Top 20 singles. He soon returned to live performances after this album hit the stores, and teamed up with Taupin again for 1980’s 21 at 33, which brought him back into the Top 10 with the number-three hit “Little Jeannie.” That release turned out to be his last on MCA, as he switched to Geffen Records in 1981.
The next few years were quiet by John standards and short on hits, but he still drew big crowds to his concert appearances. MTV helped him regain his high profile by extensive play of a video for “I’m Still Standing” from his Too Low for Zero LP in 1983. In 1984 he claimed that he was through with touring, but then changed his mind again. He continued to churn out hits through much of the 1980s with songs such as “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” in 1984, “Nikita” in 1986, “Candle in the Wind” in 1987, and “Don’t Wanna Go On with You Like That” in 1988. Although he had a throat operation in early 1987, it seemed to have minimal effect on his singing or career. He made a break from his overindulgent past in 1988 when he arranged with Sotheby’s to auction off his theatrical costumes, much of his memorabilia, and his massive record collection.
John began revealing to the public that he had been abusing drugs and alcohol for many years, and he sought treatment for his addictions at the Parkside Lutheran Hospital starting in 1990. Two years later he started up the Elton John Aids Foundation and stated that he would give all royalties from his single sales to AIDS research. A more restrained John still captivated the fans, as he proved with his number-eight charting album The One in 1992. He and Taupin secured a major publishing arranged with Wagner/Chapel Music that year for a price tag estimated at $39 million. A collaboration with lyricist Tim Rice on songs for The Lion King in 1994 won John new legions of fans, as well as an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The next year he embarked on a 41-concert world tour, seeming to have a renewed source of performance energy.
On 15 September 1997, John appeared at the Music for Montserrat charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London, performing "Your Song", "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" and "Live Like Horses" solo before finishing with "Hey Jude" alongside fellow English artists Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler and Sting. In November 1997, John performed in the BBC's Children in Need charity single "Perfect Day", which reached number one in the UK.
In August 2003, he scored his fifth UK number one single when "Are You Ready for Love" topped the charts. Returning to musical theatre, John composed music for a West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical in 2005 with playwright Lee Hall. Opening to strong reviews, the show won four Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical. The eleventh longest-running musical in West End history, the London production ran through April 2016, after 4,566 performances. Billy Elliot has been seen as of December 2015 by over 5.25 million people in London and nearly 11 million people worldwide (on Broadway, in Sydney, Melbourne, Chicago, Toronto, Seoul, the Netherlands and São Paulo, Brazil etc.), has grossed over $800 million worldwide and is the winner of over 80 theatre awards internationally.
In 2009, John accepted Jerry Cantrell's invitation to collaborate with his band Alice in Chains. John played the piano in the song "Black Gives Way to Blue", a tribute to the band's late lead singer, Layne Staley, which was the title track and closing song in the album Black Gives Way to Blue, released in September 2009.
Elton John performed a piano duet with Lady Gaga at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. On 6 June 2010, John performed at the fourth wedding of conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh for a reported US$1 million fee. Eleven days later, and 17 years to the day after his last previous performance in Israel, he performed at the Ramat Gan Stadium; this was significant because of other then-recent cancellations by other performers in the fallout surrounding an Israeli raid on Gaza Flotilla the month before.
In February 2013, John performed a duet with singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. Later in 2013 he collaborated with rock band Queens of the Stone Age on their sixth studio album ...Like Clockwork, contributing piano and vocals on the song "Fairweather Friends". He stated that he was a fan of frontman Josh Homme's side project, Them Crooked Vultures, and had contacted Homme via phone call, asking if he could perform on the album.
On 24 January 2018, it was announced that John would be retiring from touring and would soon embark on a three-year farewell tour.
Sir Elton John was born in a family that was likely Anglican. But religion is not something that Sir Elton John continued in his life. As a prominent gay celebrity, he has frequently commented on religion for being anti-LGBT. Calling organized religion out for turning people into “really hateful lemmings” he seems to have no problem stating his displeasure.
Sir Elton John has also made several quixotic comments about religion. He has called Jesus “a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man.”
Politics
Sir John has gotten himself into politics a few times, but it’s mostly about gay stuff. In his native Britain, Elton is a spokesperson for a program called Kaeleidoscope. The goal of this program is to encourage gay tolerance in Commonwealth countries (countries formerly controlled by the British Empire). Shockingly, being gay is a crime in 38 out of the 54 Commonwealth countries.
Views
In 2008, John stated he preferred civil partnerships over marriage for gay people. However, by 2012, John had changed his position and become a staunch supporter of same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom. He was quoted as saying: "There is a world of difference between calling someone your 'partner' and calling them your 'husband'. 'Partner' is a word that should be preserved for people you play tennis with, or work alongside in business. It doesn't come close to describing the love that I have for David, and he for me. In contrast, 'husband' does." In 2014, he claimed Jesus would have been in favour of same-sex marriage.
"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."
"And I trusted someone to look after me on the business side of life."
"There just aren't many people in the world with balls that big and talent that awesome."
"People should be very free with sex, but they should draw the line at goats."
“Cause what the hell is wrong with expressing yourself, trying to be me?”
"If you write great songs with meaning and emotion, they will last for ever because songs are the key to everything."
"Sometimes when I’m flying over the Alps I think, ‘That’s like all the cocaine I sniffed."
Personality
John came out as bisexual in a 1976 interview with Rolling Stone. Tortured by constant depression, Elton John gradually began to use alcohol and drugs. He underwent a treatment program for drug addiction and bulimia.
Physical Characteristics:
Elton John has blue eyes and red hair. His height is about 172 centimeters.
Quotes from others about the person
Joshua Pickard: ''John was the flamboyant star that pop music needed - he was a person around whom the music could gravitate and be allowed to coexist with his flashy personality. And it was precisely this mainstream-baiting behavior that caused many people to take notice in the first place. His music was intimate and introspective when it needed to be and loud and gaudy when it wanted to be. But above all, it had style and character and was never less than fascinating.''
Axl Rose: "For myself as well as for many others no-one has been there more for inspiration than Elton John. When we talk of great rock duos like Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, John (Lennon) and Paul (McCartney), Mick (Jagger) and Keith (Richards), I like to think of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Also tonight I think that Elton should be honoured for his great work and contribution in the fight against AIDS. And also his bravery in exposing all the triumphs and tragedies of his personal life."
Vladimir Putin: "Elton John is an extraordinary person, a distinguished musician, and millions of our people sincerely love him, regardless of his sexual orientation."
Interests
Elton John likes Indian food.
Politicians
Hillary Clinton
Writers
Frank L. Baum
Artists
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe
Jason Kenny, Geraint Thomas, Laura Trott, Richard Kilty
Music & Bands
Elvis Presley, Bill Haley & His Comets, Ray Charles, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis
Connections
In the late 1960s, Elton John was engaged to be married to his first lover, secretary Linda Woodrow, who is mentioned in the song "Someone Saved My Life Tonight". He married German recording engineer Renate Blauel on 14 February 1984, in Darling Point, Sydney, with speculation that the marriage was a cover for his homosexuality. John came out as bisexual in a 1976 interview with Rolling Stone, but after his divorce from Blauel in 1988, he told the magazine he was "comfortable" being gay.
1986 - Elton John - Outstanding Contribution to Music;
1991 - Elton John - Best British Male;
1995 - Elton John - Outstanding Contribution to Music;
1998 - Elton John - Freddie Mercury Award;
2013 - Elton John - Brits Icon.
1986 - Elton John - Outstanding Contribution to Music;
1991 - Elton John - Best British Male;
1995 - Elton John - Outstanding Contribution to Music;
1987 - "That's What Friends Are For" - Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal;
1992 - "Basque" - Best Instrumental Composition;
1995 - "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" - Best Male Pop Vocal Performance;
1998 - "Candle in the Wind 1997" - Best Male Pop Vocal Performance;
1999 - Elton John - Grammy Legend Award;
2001 - Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida - Best Musical Show Album.
1987 - "That's What Friends Are For" - Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal;
1992 - "Basque" - Best Instrumental Composition;
1995 - "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" - Best Male Pop Vocal Performance;
1998 - "Candle in the Wind 1997" - Best Male Pop Vocal Performance;
1999 - Elton John - Grammy Legend Award;
2001 - Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida - Best Musical Show Album.
1974 - "Daniel" - Best Song Musically and Lyrically;
1977 - "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" - The Best Pop Song;
1979 - "Song for Guy" - Best Instrumental or Popular Orchestral Work;
1986 - Elton John - Outstanding Contribution to British Music;
1986 - "Nikita" - Best Song Musically and Lyrically;
1991 - "Sacrifice" - Best Song Musically and Lyrically;
1995 - "Circle of Life" - Best Song Included in Film;
1998 - "Candle in the Wind 1997" - Best Selling UK Single;
2000 - Elton John - International Achievement in Musical Theater;
2007 - "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" - Most Performed Work.
1974 - "Daniel" - Best Song Musically and Lyrically;
1977 - "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" - The Best Pop Song;
1979 - "Song for Guy" - Best Instrumental or Popular Orchestral Work;
1986 - Elton John - Outstanding Contribution to British Music;
1986 - "Nikita" - Best Song Musically and Lyrically;
1991 - "Sacrifice" - Best Song Musically and Lyrically;
1995 - "Circle of Life" - Best Song Included in Film;
1998 - "Candle in the Wind 1997" - Best Selling UK Single;
2000 - Elton John - International Achievement in Musical Theater;
2007 - "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" - Most Performed Work.