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BIOGRAPHY
Elton John
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In 1981, Elton John signed with Geffen Records, and throughout the decade he continued to produce gold albums, each of which contained at least one top-forty single. However, while his career remained successful, John's personal life was in a state of turmoil. He had become addicted to cocaine and alcohol, and he struggled with substance abuse throughout the 1980s. After announcing his bisexuality in 1976, John was afraid to reveal his homosexuality and, in 1984, he married Renate Blauel. Four years later, he was divorced and, after a playing a record-breaking five nights at Madison Square Garden in 1988, Elton John auctioned off all of his costumes and memorabilia, effectively breaking with his past.
In 1991, Elton John announced his sobriety and his homosexuality, and also established the Elton John AIDS Foundation. As the first celebrity to befriend AIDS patient Ryan White, John has tirelessly given of his time and energy in contributing to the fight against AIDS. Since the early 1990s, John has continued to release successful albums and singles on a yearly basis, reestablishing himself as one of pop music's most consistent performers, even as he devoted more and more time to his philanthropic efforts.
In 1994, John collaborated with Tim Rice to create the music for Disney's "The Lion King," which earned him an Academy Award for best original song. Three years later, Elton John once again came to global attention, with the deaths of two close friends in less than two months of each other. Shortly after attending the funeral for murdered fashion designer Gianni Versace with Princess Diana, John performed at the internationally televised memorial service for the princess herself, playing a revised version of his hit single, "Candle in the Wind." His recording of the single, with all proceeds going to charity, became the fastest-selling single of all time. Four months later, HRH Queen Elizabeth II named the fifty-year-old Elton John a Knight of the British Empire.
The subject of an unsparing 1997 documentary, TANTRUMS AND TIARAS, made by his partner David Furnish, John has made peace with both himself and his persona, becoming a perfect role model for millennial pop culture. Flamboyant yet sober, the philanthropic celebrity continues a pop music phenomenon, even as he embraces his new spiritual ethos. The metamorphosis of John through the decades has seemed to mirror the popular mood, even as the talented singer continues to help define what the world likes to hear.
Further Readings
Source: ST. JAMES ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POPULAR CULTURE. 5 vols. St. James Press, 2000. Reprinted by permission of The Gale Group.
Top banner photos: Elton John in performance at the Royal Opera House. |
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Members of the Royal Academy of Musical Theatre Choir. |
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Young cellist with the Royal Academy of Music Orchestra. |
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