By Taya StewartSIR ELTON JOHN

Biography

Sir Elton John

• Born March 27th 1947– Reginald Kenneth Dwight

• Has sold more than 250 million records

• Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II• Inducted to Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame

• Founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation

Childhood• Childhood prodigy. Began playing Piano at age 4.

• Attended The Royal Academy of Music

• At fourteen, started his first band “Bluesology”

Meeting of Lyricist Bernie Taupin• Met during an audition with Liberty Records

• This marked the beginning of one of the most successful writing pairs in history.

• The pair still write together today

Method of writing• Never in the same room with Taupin.

• Worked very quickly.

• John would toss out lyrics if he could not compose a melody quickly.

1970’s John’s rise to fame

• 1970- Second album “Elton John” is released.

• “Your Song” makes U.S. top 10.

• “Tumbleweed Connection” is released and a massive success

Personal struggles

• Battled addictions with drugs and alcohol.

• Suffered from bulimia.• Lost many close friends to the HIV virus.

1976 Rolling Stone interview

Inspiration for songs

• “Philadelphia Freedom”

• “Candle in the Wind”• “Empty Garden”

1970-1990• 1970-2009 At least one charted Billboard hit

• 1987- Undergoes surgery to have vocal nodules removed.

• No longer able to reach falsetto range.

1970-1990• 1990- John loses a dear friend to HIV and resolves to change his life.

• Later that year, enters rehab and has been sober ever since.

Charitable contributions• Founded The Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1993.

• Foundation donates roughly $18 million per year towards AIDS research and treatment.

Charitable contributions• In 1992, John decided to donate all proceeds from his singles to charity.

• The single “Candle in the Wind has sold over 4.9 million copies.

• Released after the death of beloved friend, Princess Diana.

“Candle in the wind”• Lyrics edited by Bernie Taupin.

• Song was performed at Diana’s funeral.

• Number one selling single of all time

• Inducted into the Rock ‘n’Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

• Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998.

• Registered civil partnership with David Furnish in 2005.

• Son Zachary was born via surrogate in 2010.

fatherhood• “Zachary has brought to David and me the most incredible pleasure, and he’s brought us the most incredible sense of responsibility and love.”

summary• Works can be seen on Broadway, Billboard Top 100, and film.

• Bernie Taupin, a key to success• Holds multiple records-– Selling out Madison Square Garden for seven consecutive nights.

– At least one charted hit from 1970-2009.

– Composed the number one selling single of all time.

Bibliography• (n.d.). Retrieved June 29, 2013, from Bio: http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/elton-john.html

• IMDB. (n.d.). Retrieved June 29th, 2013, from http://imdb.com/name/nm0005056/bio

• John, E. (1976, October 7th). Elton John- Lonely at the Top. (C. Jahr, Interviewer)

• John, E. (2012, July 17). Elton John's life a 'Constant Delight'. (T. Watson, Interviewer)

Composition History

“Levon”• Title inspired from Levon Helm of “The Band”.

• Released in 1971. • Peaked at 24 on Billboard 100.

“Rocket man”• Released during a time of space exploration.

• Inspired by short story, “The Rocket Man” by Ray Bradbury.

• Released on album “Honky Cat”

• “Rocket Records” was named after this hit.

“Goodbye yellow brick road”• Also the title of his album released in 1973.

• Some say his best work ever.

• Taupin seemed to write lyrics about himself.

• Included four top fifteen singles.

Bibliography composition history

• Elton John. (n.d.). Retrieved June 29, 2013, from Song Facts: http://www.songfacts.com/artist-elton_john.php

• Elton John- Madman Across the Water. (n.d.). Retrieved June 29, 2013, from All Music: http://www.allmusic.com/album/madman-across-the-water-mw0000190515/awards

• Elton John on the Beach Boys. (n.d.). Retrieved June 29, 2013, from Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame: https://rockhall.com/inductees/the-beach-boys/transcript/elton-john-on-the-beach-boys/

• Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Mixes Craftmanship with Mainstream Pop. (n.d.). Retrieved June 29, 2013, from Yahoo voices: http://voices.yahoo.com/elton-johns-goodbye-yellow-brick-road-mixes-craftmanship-7598866.html?cat=33

Listening guide

“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”• 0:39-Chorus begins– When John sings, “Ahh, ah, ah, ah, Ahh,” he does so using descending contour. Also at this time, another voice is added a third below him integrating harmony to the chorus.

• 1:14-The guitar plays a

descending scale while John sings in ascending contour. This antiphony gives a sense of building up, getting ready for the chorus to begin.

• 2:55-– The crescendo happens at this in the final second half of the chorus. All instruments play at peak volume, until the songs slowly fades out with the last instrument heard being the violin.

“Rocket Man”• 0:00-As custom for Elton John, he begins the song with playing a chord on the piano, and starting with a single voice.

• 3:37- The chorus begins once again to play, but in a coda fashion wrapping up the song. The lyrics, “I think it’s gonna be a long long time.” Are repeated through the remainder of the song, indicating the loneliness and hopelessness the singer feels.

“Levon”• 0:42-Verse one continues with a second voice being added. The voice sounds like it’s been muffled to create a blurred sound with many harmonics. The piano plays it’s complex accompaniment when the singer is silent, allowing the listener to experience both voice and instrument independently from each other.

• 1:49- John sings in union with the violins, “He-shall-be-Le-Von.” This is sung in a descending form, in conjunct intervals.

• 3:47- In this chorus section, you can really notice the contrapuntal style of the song; the multiple melodies playing at the same time. The piano, strings, and brass, are all playing in different melodic lines. There is such a flow and roundness to the sound, but it is interesting that there really isn’t a clear harmony that is so standard in popular songs.