Sir Elton John is a multiple Grammy Award-winning English pop/rock singer-songwriter, composer and pianist. He has released more than thirty albums in a career spanning almost five decades.

Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25^th March 1947 in Pinner, Middlesex, John took an interest in music – particularly rock and roll music – from a very young age. He started playing piano at the age of three and took up formal lessons at seven. At the age of 11, he won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, and by his mid-teens he had a regular gig as a pianist in a nearby pub – the Northwood Hills Hotel. He also briefly joined a band called Bluesology.

After changing his name to Elton John (an homage to his bandmates Elton Dean and Long John Baldry) he met and began working with the lyricist Bernie Taupin – a collaboration that continues today. Together they became song writers for various artists, including Lulu and Roger Cook, and John also appeared as a session musician for artists like The Scaffold and The Hollies. Then, in 1969, Elton John released his debut solo album Empty Sky. This was quickly followed by his breakthrough self-titled album, which reached the Top 5 in the UK, produced the smash hit single Your Song and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 1971 Grammy Awards.

Since then, Elton John has set dozens of pop music records. He has scored an unprecedented 56 Top 40 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, including the classics Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, I’m Still Standing, Nikita, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me and Can You Feel the Love Tonight. His 1997 re-recording of the single Candle in the Wind has sold over 37 million copies worldwide – making it the biggest selling single of all time. To date, Elton John has sold more than 250 million records around the world, and is one of the most commercially successful music artists ever.