Elton John

Elton John was first known as Reginald Kenneth Dwight, a product of Pinner, in Middlesex, England. Some of his best-known work appears on the albums 'Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player' (1973), 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' (1973) , and 'Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy' (1973). He has also composed and performed the soundtracks to several movies, including “The Lion King” (1994), “The Road to El Dorado” (2000), and “Gnomeo & Juliet” (2011).

John's debut album “Empty Sky” was brought out by DJM Records in 1969, and produced by Steve Brown, of DJM’s staff.

From the days of the work on this album in 1968-69 until well into the 21st century, Elton John was half of a smoothly functioning partnership with lyricist Bernie Taupin. For example, that first album included the sing “Better Off Dead,” with lyrics that Taupin seems to have intended to show a folksy streak: “If the thorn of a rose is a thorn in your side/ then you’re better off dead if you haven’t yet died.” Taupin is reported to have been surprised at the music that John composed for such words. Given the buoyancy of the music, the words end up sounding like something from a comic opera.