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March 2012
Elton john
In his four-decade career, Elton John has sold more than 250 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, John has the best-selling single in Billboard history with "Candle in the Wind 1997,"
The rewritten version of his 1973 original that was released as a tribute to his friend, Princess Diana, when she died. He has more than 50 Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 US albums, 56 Top 40 singles, 16 Top 10 and nine No. 1 hits. He has won six Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Tony Award. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him Number 49 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him as the most successful male solo artist on "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists" (third overall, behind only The Beatles and Madonna). |
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Having been named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1996, John received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for "services to music and charitable services" in 1998. John has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s, and in 1992 established the Elton John AIDS Foundation; a year later, he began hosting his now-famous annual Academy Award Party, which has since become one of the most high-profile Oscar parties in the film industry. Since its inception, the foundation has raised over $200 million; in 2010 alone, the party raised $8 million.
John entered into a civil partnership with David Furnish on 21 December 2005. On Christmas Day 2010, via a surrogate mother, the couple had a son, Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John. While Elton has said "We've had the most incredible year with him. I can't tell you how brilliant this year has been and how much love he's brought us," he and Furnish also worry about the two-dad stigma that can affect the lives of children of gay parents. They've begun preparing for the situations that might arise and how they'll deal with them when they do through counseling, and have said in the press that they're even scrapbooking the events and
circumstances surrounding his creation so that he can understand it once he's old enough. |
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| John is an intriguing figure in many ways. Because he's a longtime champion of gay rights and equality, it stunned more than a few fans when John appeared as the musical act at conservative radio pundit Rush Limbaugh's fourth wedding at The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach in the summer of 2010. Given Limbaugh's conservative ranting and barbs thrown at homosexuals, readers of magazines such as The Advocate and Out were quite upset and didn't stay quiet about it. John later responded to the backlash in an interview, "I felt it my duty to find out what this guy thought. I did that before I played there. I felt there was a real reason for me going." He also added, "There's much more of a person in there than the public knows. I believe dialogue is a way forward. Come on, what era are we living in?" More recently, he made headlines again for dispensing advice on Good Morning America to Madonna before her Super Bowl XLVI halftime performance, saying, "Make sure you lip-sync good. I've never seen a good one." The remark came eight years after he told Q Magazine, in reference to Madonna, "Anyone who lip-syncs in public onstage when you pay $135 to see them should be shot."
So Sir Elton speaks his mind. He's earned the privilege. After weathering personal storms such as drug addiction, an eating disorder and even financial problems, life has evened out for the rock legend and he's enjoying life and the fruits of his labors. Today his life is devoted to all the things he does best—making music, co-parenting his son, and working to support the charities he holds so dear and close to his heart.
For More information and to see Elton John live at the BankAtlantic Center on March 9th, visit bankatlanticcenter.com
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