Elton John

Early life and education

Reginald Kenneth Dwight was born on 25 March 1947 in Pinner, Middlesex (now part of the London Borough of Harrow), the eldest child of Stanley Dwight (1925–1991) and only child of Sheila Eileen (née Harris; 1925–2017), who had married in 1945. He was raised in a council house in Pinner where his maternal grandparents lived. When he was six, the family moved to a nearby semi-detached house. He was educated at Pinner Wood Junior School, Reddiford School and Pinner County Grammar School, until he was 17, when he left just before his A-Level examinations to pursue a career in music.

Influences

John has said he remembers being immediately hooked on rock and roll when his mother brought home records by Elvis Presley and Bill Haley & His Comets in 1956. He also stated of when he was growing up: "I heard Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, and that was it. I didn't ever want to be anything else. I'm more of a Little Richard stylist than a Jerry Lee Lewis, I think. Jerry Lee is a very intricate piano player and very skillful, but Little Richard is more of a pounder." John was inspired by keyboardists in the 1960s such as Zoot Money, Graham Bond, Georgie Fame, Rod Argent and Gary Brooker. He described Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys as "the biggest influence on my songwriting ever". He also cited Ray Charles, the Beatles, the Band,...

Candle In the Wind

"Candle in the Wind" is a song written by British musician Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally written in 1973, in honour of Marilyn Monroe, who had died 11 years earlier.

Legacy

This version was ranked No. 347 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004. In 2010, the ranking dropped to No. 356.

Bennie And The Jets

"Bennie and the Jets" is a song written by British musician Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. The song first appeared on the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album in 1973.

"Bennie and the Jets" has been one of John's most popular songs and was performed during his appearance at Live Aid.

Song composition

The song tells of "Bennie and the Jets", a fictional band of whom the song's narrator is a fan. In a 2014 Rolling Stone interview, Taupin said, "I saw Bennie and the Jets as a sort of proto-sci-fi punk band, fronted by an androgynous woman, who looks like something out of a Helmut Newton photograph."

Production

Despite sounding like a live recording, the song was recorded in studio with live sound effects added later. Producer Gus Dudgeon explained:

North American single release

The song was the closing track on side one of the double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, and John was set against releasing it as a single, believing it would fail. CKLW in Windsor, Ontario, began heavy airplay of the song and it became the No. 1 song in the Detroit market. This attention caused other American and Canadian Top 40 stations to add it to their playlists as well. As a result, the song peaked at No. 1 on the US singles chart in 1974. In the US, it was certified Gold on 8 April 1974 and Platinum on 13 September 1995 by the RIAA, and had sold 2.8 million copies by August 1976.

Music video

In May 2017, the music video for "Bennie and the Jets" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival as a winner of Elton John: The Cut, a competition organised in partnership with AKQA, Pulse Films, and YouTube in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of his songwriting relationship with Bernie Taupin. The competition called upon independent filmmakers to submit treatments for music videos for one of three Elton John songs from the 1970s, with each song falling within a specific concept category. "Bennie and the Jets" was designated for the choreography category, and was directed by Jack Whiteley and Laura Brownhill. The video was influenced by early cinema and the work of Busby Berkeley, portraying characters as participants on a talent show...

Tiny Dancer

"Tiny Dancer" is a song written by British musician Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally released on John's 1971 album Madman Across the Water as its opening track, and was later produced and released as a single in 1972.

Background and writing

With lyrics written by Bernie Taupin, the song was first featured as the opening track to John's album Madman Across the Water (1971). The song's lyrics were inspired by Taupin's first visit to the US in 1970, and were intended to capture the spirit of California, where he found the women he met highly contrasted with those whom he had known in his home country of England. Taupin also stated in a 1973 interview in Rolling Stone that the song is about Maxine Feibelman, his wife at the time. In 2019, Feibelman said, "I knew [the song] was about me. I had been into ballet as a little girl and sewed patches on Elton's jackets and jeans", referring to the song's description of a "seamstress for the band".

Music video

In May 2017, an official music video for "Tiny Dancer" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival as a winner of Elton John: The Cut, a competition organised in partnership with AKQA, Pulse Films, and YouTube in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of his songwriting relationship with Taupin. The competition called upon independent filmmakers to submit treatments for music videos for one of three Elton John songs from the 1970s, with each song falling within a specific concept category. "Tiny Dancer" was designated for the live-action category, with the competition won by Max Weiland. The video was filmed in Los Angeles, and features scenes of various residents driving around the city, including performer Marilyn Manson and Iris Karina.

Covers

In 2002, Ben Folds covered the song live at the Newport Music Festival in Newport, Rhode Island.