The rapid release of Tumbleweed Connection established a pattern of frequent releases that John maintained throughout his career. Throughout the fall, Elton John continued to climb the charts on the strength of the Top Ten single "Your Song." John followed it quickly in late 1970 with the concept album Tumbleweed Connection, which received heavy airplay on album-oriented radio in the U.S., helping it climb into the Top Ten. In August, he gave his first American concert at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, which received enthusiastic reviews, as well as praise from Quincy Jones and Leon Russell. Released in the summer of 1970, Elton John made inroads in America, where it appeared on MCA's Uni subsidiary. In June of 1969, he released his debut album for DJM, Empty Sky, which received fair reviews, but no sales.įor his second album, John and Taupin hired producer Gus Dudgeon and arranger Paul Buckmaster, who contributed grandiose string charts to Elton John. Usually, these songs were more rock- and radio-oriented than the tunes he and Taupin were giving to other vocalists, yet neither of his early singles for Philips, "I've Been Loving You Too Long" and "Lady Samantha," sold well. By the summer of 1968, he had begun recording singles for release under his own name. In the meantime, John recorded cover versions of current hits for budget labels to be sold in supermarkets. Over the next two years, the duo wrote for pop singers like Roger Cook and Lulu. John would then write music without changing the words, sometimes completing the songs in under a half-hour. The pair collaborated at a rapid rate, with Taupin submitting batches of lyrics - he often wrote a song an hour - every few weeks. John and Taupin were hired by Dick James to become staff songwriters at his fledgling DJM in 1968. By the time the two met six months later, Dwight had changed his name to Elton John, taking his first name from Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean and his last from John Baldry. Dwight wrote music for Taupin's lyrics and began corresponding with him through mail. Though he failed his Liberty audition, he was given a stack of lyrics left with the label courtesy of Bernie Taupin, who had also replied to the ad. He failed his lead vocalist auditions for both King Crimson and Gentle Giant before responding to an advertisement by Liberty Records. Dwight became frustrated with Baldry's control of the band and looked for other groups to join. In 1966, Bluesology became Long John Baldry's supporting band as they toured cabarets throughout England. By 1965, Bluesology was backing touring American soul and R&B musicians like Major Lance, Doris Troy, and the Bluebells. In 1961, he joined his first band, Bluesology, and divided his time between playing with the group, giving solo concerts at a local hotel, and running errands for a London publishing house. After studying for six years, he left school with the intention of breaking into the music business. He began playing piano at the age of four, and when he was 11, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music.
The son of a former Royal Air Force trumpeter, John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in 1947. His versatility, combined with his effortless melodic skills, dynamic charisma, and flamboyant stage shows, became his calling cards many of his songs became contemporary pop standards. Over the ensuing decades, he delved into soul, disco, and country, as well as classic pop balladry, progressive rock, and even musical theater, writing songs for Disney's The Lion King and collaborating with Tim Rice on Aida. John's earliest records were part of the moody, introspective post-60s singer/songwriter movement yet once he had a hit with "Your Song," the pianist revealed he could also craft Beatles-like pop and pound out rockers with equal aplomb.
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He had a Billboard Top 40 hit single every year between 19, a sign that he knew how to both change with the times and mold the times to fit him. As "Your Song," "Rocket Man," "Crocodile Rock," "Daniel," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," and "Bennie and the Jets"-songs John wrote with his lifelong collaborator Bernie Taupin-climbed into the Top Ten on either side of the Atlantic, John was inescapable during the first half of the '70s, five years that turned out to be the first act in a remarkable career that kept him at the top of the charts for decades. Elton John exploded like a supernova in the early 1970s, generating headlines and hits with ease.