Reginald Kenneth Dwight is the birth name of Elton John. Elton John got his name by taking the first names of two of the bandmates he performed with in the mid-to-late sixties band, "Bluesology". The bandmates in question are singer "Long" John Baldry, and saxophonist Elton Dean.

Elton John answered an advert in "New Music Express" in 1967 which was seeking new talent to work for Liberty Records. Also answering this advert was budding lyricist Bernie Taupin. Their potential was spotted and the pair were teamed up.

Elton John's music career is really quite long. His first solo hit was "Your Song" in 1970, which catapulted him to superstardom. Upon his arrival in the USA for the first time, he was greeted off the plane by none other than John Lennon. Lennon then proceded to literally fall at Elton's feet, much to the astonishment, pride, and embarassment of the young star. Elton was a huge admirer of The Beatles and was totally overwhelmed.

Elton's exciting and daring piano style, unique singing, and Taupin's brilliant lyrics have produced some of the greatest songs of all time; Your Song, Someone Saved My Life Tonight, Candle In The Wind, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and Rocket Man, to name only a tiny proportion of their output.

The sheer volume of music that was produced in their early years dwarfs artists of today. It was not unusual for there to be two new Elton John albums released in a single year. Elton John achieved unprecedented commercial success. Not only was he the first artist to have an album enter the American charts at number one, he was also the second person to do so...with his following album!

The success of the John-Taupin team is almost unrivalled in the music industry. They are still working together, and their latest album was the highly acclaimed 2001 album, "Songs From The West Coast".

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