Elton John

Singer, songwriter, composer and icon Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947, in Pinner, Middlesex, England. He discovered his passion for music at an early age. He taught himself how to play piano when he was only 4 years old. John soon proved to be a great talent, winning a scholarship to a youth program at the Royal Academy of Music in London.John had a difficult relationship with his father Stanley Dwight, a member of the Royal Air Force. His parents divorced when he was a teenager, and he and his father clashed over his future. John, captivated by the sounds of early rock and roll, wanted to pursue a career in pop music. And much to his father's dismay, John dropped out of school at 17 to follow his dream. He started playing with a group called Bluesology, and he cobbled together his stage moniker from the names of two members of the group.As one of the top acts of the 1970s, John became equally famous for his live shows. He dressed in fabulous, over-the-top costumes and glasses for his elaborate concerts. In an interview with W, John explained that "I wasn't a sex symbol like Bowie, Marc Bolan or Freddie Mercury, so I dressed more on the humorous side, because if I was going to be stuck at the piano for two hours, I was going to make people look at me." In 1976, John hit the top of charts again with "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," his duet with Kiki Dee. He soon decided to take a break from music, focusing his energies on his soccer team in England. Around this time, John also publicly announced that he was bisexual (He later came out as a gay man). At the time, John was ridiculed and taunted for his sexuality. The controversy died down, and he made a triumphant return to music in 1979 with the album A Single Man.ohn received a number of special honors around this time. In 1994, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Queen Elizabeth II made John a Commander of the Order of the British Empire the following year (The queen knighted him several years later, making him officially "Sir Elton John").While he enjoyed all of the recognition and praise, he soon found himself rocked by grief. During the summer of 1997, John lost two good friends—fashion designer Gianni Versace and Princess Diana. He reworked one of his classic songs, "Candle in the Wind," as a tribute to Princess Diana, with the song's proceeds going to a charitable trust established in her honor. "Candle in the Wind 1997" proved to be a tremendous success, selling more than 30 million copies that year.John married his longtime partner David Furnish in a civil ceremony on December 21, 2005 -- the same day the Civil Partnership Act 2004 went into effect. With the help of a surrogate, the couple welcomed their first son, Zachary Furnish-John, in December 2010, and welcomed their second child, Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John, in January 2013. Nine years after their civil ceremony, on December 21, 2014, the couple wed after laws allowing gay marriage took effect the same year in Britain. John was previously married to Renate Blauel from 1984 to 1988.While performing his show "The Million Dollar Piano" at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada in May 2012, John became ill with serious respiratory infection, and was hospitalized in Los Angeles. Following his doctor's recommendation, John canceled the show's last four concerts for 2012. He had to cancel shows during his 2013 European tour as well due to health issues. John canceled the shows in July 2013 to have surgery for an apendix abcess.

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