Elton John
Since 2004 Elton and the band have also undertaken a residency with The Red Piano show at the Caesars Palace Colosseum in Las Vegas, art-directed by the brilliant conceptualist, David LaChapelle.
A former student of the Royal Academy of Music in London, England, the man born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in 1947 left school and immediately began his path in the music industry. His first band, Bluesology, was formed in 1961. He would later take his stage name from the Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean and their charismatic frontman, Long John Baldry.
In 1974 Elton performed on John Lennon’s comeback single Whatever Gets You Through The Night, and later that year was joined by Lennon onstage at New York’s Madison Square Garden. This performance, always cited by Elton as one of the most memorable of his entire career, was to be John Lennon’s final concert.
In 1992 in the USA, and in 1993 in the UK, Elton established the Elton John AIDS Foundation; his pioneering charity dedicated to breakthrough work on behalf of those around the world suffering from HIV and related illnesses. The next year he released the double platinum album The One.
The late 1990s were a time of personal tragedy for Elton, with the loss of his good friends, fashion designer Gianni Versace, and Diana, Princess of Wales. Only one artist can have the biggest selling single of all time, and since 1997 Elton has held that record. It occurred because of a tragic death that echoed around the world, and the millions who saw Elton’s only performance of the song were touched by his struggle for composure on this saddest of occasions. Candle in the Wind 1997, Elton and Bernie’s heartbreaking tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, has sold well over 33,000,000 copies.
In 1998 Elton received a knighthood from HM Queen Elizabeth II for “services to music and charitable services.”
In 2006 he released the autobiographical album The Captain & The Kid, the sequel to Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. 2007 saw the release of Rocket Man -The Definitive Hits, a single CD album or deluxe DVD which features eighteen classic hit songs. Also in 2007, for the first time ever, Elton’s entire back catalogue of nearly 500 tracks (90 singles and 32 albums) became available to download legally.
The release of Rocket Man marked a huge anniversary for Elton – on March 25th, 2007, he celebrated his 60th birthday while breaking his own record with an unmatched 60th concert at the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York. No other entertainer has come close to matching this record.
For more information about Elton John, visit his website.
For more artists and their venues, visit: TiB Concerts
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