Biography
Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947 in Pinner, Middlesex, England[1]. He began playing piano on his grandmother's instrument and won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at age eleven, attending Saturday classes for about five years[1].
As a teenager he played in a pub, and in 1962 he formed the band Bluesology, which backed touring American soul acts and later Long John Baldry[1]. In 1967 he answered a newspaper advertisement placed by a record label and was handed an envelope of lyrics by Bernie Taupin, beginning one of pop's longest-running songwriting partnerships[1]. He joined DJM Records as a staff songwriter in 1968, and his US career took off after a 1970 appearance at the Troubadour in Los Angeles[1].
References
- Elton John (Wikipedia) — Biographical background on Elton John's early life and career.