Long before Elton John was mesmerizing stadium and arena crowds with one-of-a-kind performances he was known as Reginald Dwight, a young boy from Pinner, Middlesex, England, who began playing piano at age 3. At 11 he earned a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music and subsequently joined his first band, Bluesology (originally called the Corvettes), in 1962. By 1967 Dwight was penning songs for other artists with Bernie Taupin and legally changed his name to Elton John, taking Elton from Bluesology sax player Elton Dean and John from singer Long John Baldry.

John and Taupin's songwriting partnership spawned John's 1969 debut album, Empty Sky (which was initially released in the UK), and 1970's Elton John, the latter of which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and garnered a GRAMMY nomination for Album Of The Year. That same year John was nominated for Best New Artist. He gained more fans with consecutive hit albums, including 1970's Tumbleweed Connection (No. 5), 1971's Madman Across The Water (No. 8) and his first No. 1 album, 1972's Honky Chateau. John subsequently released six albums to top the Billboard 200, from 1973's Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player to 1975's Rock Of The Westies.

John's popularity continued to soar in the next decade with hits such as 1980's "Little Jeannie" and 1981's "Blue Eyes" and "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)," the latter of which was written for his late friend, John Lennon. In 1986 "That's What Friends Are For," a collaboration with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder, garnered John his first career GRAMMY for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. His subsequent projects included a GRAMMY- and Oscar-winning performance of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" for The Lion King, holiday albums and collaborations with artists such as Pnau, Leon Russell and Ed Sheeran, among others.

In 2010 John released The Union, a duets album with Russell that spawned the GRAMMY-nominated track "If It Wasn't For Bad." In 2011 John launched "The Million Dollar Piano," a residency in Las Vegas continuing until 2014.

John has won five GRAMMYs to date. In 2000 he was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year for his philanthropic efforts. Three of his recordings have been inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, including his 1970 self-titled album, which was inducted in 2013.