WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.940 Welcome to The Deep Dive, the show that's all 00:00:01.940 --> 00:00:03.819 about giving you the shortcut to being genuinely 00:00:03.819 --> 00:00:06.339 well -informed. We dive into the source material, 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:08.919 the biographies, the deep musical analyses, the 00:00:08.919 --> 00:00:11.679 market data, and we pull out the most essential, 00:00:11.960 --> 00:00:14.339 most fascinating nuggets of knowledge for you. 00:00:14.740 --> 00:00:18.980 And today we are taking on a truly massive subject. 00:00:19.140 --> 00:00:22.940 A huge one. We are charting the astonishing decades 00:00:22.940 --> 00:00:25.980 -long journey of a figure who is, I mean, he's 00:00:25.980 --> 00:00:28.019 more than just a musician. He's a complete force 00:00:28.019 --> 00:00:31.730 of nature. Sir Elton Hercules John. Indeed. When 00:00:31.730 --> 00:00:33.289 we talk about Elton John, who was, of course, 00:00:33.289 --> 00:00:35.509 born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, we are talking 00:00:35.509 --> 00:00:37.649 about a global phenomenon, a man who has sold 00:00:37.649 --> 00:00:40.570 over 300 million records worldwide. That number 00:00:40.570 --> 00:00:43.130 is just staggering. It is. And he's a cultural 00:00:43.130 --> 00:00:46.229 icon whose impact goes so far beyond the billboard 00:00:46.229 --> 00:00:49.469 charts. It reaches deep into advocacy, into philanthropy. 00:00:49.810 --> 00:00:52.329 And his status was, you know, really cemented 00:00:52.329 --> 00:00:55.090 just this year, 2024, when he finally completed 00:00:55.090 --> 00:00:58.070 the EJOT. The big one. Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and 00:00:58.070 --> 00:01:00.590 Tony. Exactly. Confirming his total dominance. 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:02.520 across the entire American entertainment spectrum 00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:05.299 And what makes this deep dive so compelling, 00:01:05.500 --> 00:01:07.840 I think, is that his entire success story is 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:09.840 built on one of the most unlikely and, frankly, 00:01:09.939 --> 00:01:12.260 one of the most long -lasting creative partnerships 00:01:12.260 --> 00:01:14.859 in all of music history. With Bernie Taupin, 00:01:14.939 --> 00:01:17.140 his lyricist. Right. It's a partnership that 00:01:17.140 --> 00:01:19.579 completely redefined how you could even create 00:01:19.579 --> 00:01:23.000 music. It sustained for over 50 years and resulted 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:25.939 in just an industrial -level output of classic 00:01:25.939 --> 00:01:28.840 songs. So our mission today is really to peel 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:31.200 back the spectacle, the feathers, the glasses, 00:01:31.260 --> 00:01:34.760 and unpack. the core of that genius. We're going 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:37.519 to trace the steps from a restrictive childhood 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:40.500 and a gifted young piano prodigy named Reggie. 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:43.239 And analyze how his unique musical background 00:01:43.239 --> 00:01:45.939 basically created the sound of the 70s. Exactly. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:48.819 Through the glam rock peaks, the commercial dominance, 00:01:49.019 --> 00:01:51.760 the personal struggles with addiction, and crucially, 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:54.500 the profound transformative impact of his later 00:01:54.500 --> 00:01:56.799 work, especially the Elton John AIDS Foundation. 00:01:57.500 --> 00:01:59.239 Just to give you the listener a sense of the 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:01.459 scale here, here's the hook. Elton John recently 00:02:01.459 --> 00:02:04.299 became the first solo artist to get UK top 10 00:02:04.299 --> 00:02:07.340 singles in six different decades. Six decades. 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:10.199 A streak that started in the 70s and thanks to 00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:12.159 all these modern collaborations is still going 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:14.319 strong today. But the emotional and commercial 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:16.500 high point, it has to be singular. Oh, absolutely. 00:02:16.860 --> 00:02:19.819 His tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, Candle 00:02:19.819 --> 00:02:22.900 in the Wind, 1997. It is the best selling chart 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:26.400 single of all time. We're talking over 33 million 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:34.240 copies. Okay, let's unpack this transition then. 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:37.939 How does a quiet boy from Penner, Middlesex become 00:02:37.939 --> 00:02:41.590 the, you know... flamboyant diamond spectacled 00:02:41.590 --> 00:02:43.689 powerhouse that we all know. Well, it really 00:02:43.689 --> 00:02:46.129 started with this intense psychological contrast 00:02:46.129 --> 00:02:48.389 in his childhood. His early life was really dominated 00:02:48.389 --> 00:02:51.250 by his father, Stanley Dwight. An RAF squadron 00:02:51.250 --> 00:02:53.270 leader. Right. And Stanley Dwight was just he 00:02:53.270 --> 00:02:56.250 was defined by that classic post -war British 00:02:56.250 --> 00:02:59.289 reserve. The sources paint him as highly restrictive, 00:02:59.490 --> 00:03:01.509 totally uninterested in his son's music. He was 00:03:01.509 --> 00:03:04.090 actively pushing him towards a more normal career, 00:03:04.229 --> 00:03:06.550 right? Like banking. Exactly. Banking. The picture 00:03:06.550 --> 00:03:10.159 you get is of a childhood that while not poor, 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:12.879 was emotionally very stifling. There was just 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:16.060 no artistic encouragement from that primary male 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:18.520 figure in his life. But thankfully, Reginald 00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:21.139 had a counterbalance. A huge one. His outgoing 00:03:21.139 --> 00:03:23.800 mother, Sheila Eileen, and especially his very 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:26.800 supportive maternal grandparents. And this created 00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:29.219 the space, you know, the necessary room for his 00:03:29.219 --> 00:03:32.520 truly astonishing musical precociousness to actually 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:35.319 emerge. So he starts messing around on his grandmother's 00:03:35.319 --> 00:03:37.259 piano, which is, you know, a fairly common start 00:03:37.259 --> 00:03:39.639 for a musician. But within a year, his mother 00:03:39.639 --> 00:03:41.819 hears him do something. Well, something extraordinary. 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:44.759 Yes. At about four or five years old, she over... 00:03:44.780 --> 00:03:48.159 hears him picking out the very complex triple 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:51.460 time rhythm of Emil Waldteufel's The Skater's 00:03:51.460 --> 00:03:53.860 Waltz. Entirely by ear. Entirely by ear. This 00:03:53.860 --> 00:03:55.419 is not a simple nursery rhyme. It's a really 00:03:55.419 --> 00:03:57.960 challenging classical waltz. And that moment 00:03:57.960 --> 00:04:01.300 for her just solidified his status as this raw, 00:04:01.340 --> 00:04:04.520 natural talent, a child prodigy whose gifts just 00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:06.840 had to be nurtured. And those gifts get him into 00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:09.680 the absolute highest echelon of musical education. 00:04:10.270 --> 00:04:13.009 At age 11, he wins a junior scholarship to the 00:04:13.009 --> 00:04:15.930 Royal Academy of Music in London. And he attended 00:04:15.930 --> 00:04:18.769 Saturday classes there for five years. But here's 00:04:18.769 --> 00:04:22.110 the contradiction, right? This incredibly rigorous 00:04:22.110 --> 00:04:25.550 classical training, it sets the foundation for 00:04:25.550 --> 00:04:29.149 his entire sound. He hated it. He admitted to 00:04:29.149 --> 00:04:31.269 resenting the routine. And what's fascinating 00:04:31.269 --> 00:04:34.829 here is this collision of genius and rebellion. 00:04:34.970 --> 00:04:38.259 His technical skill was just undeniable. There's 00:04:38.259 --> 00:04:39.740 that great story from one of his instructors. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:42.480 Right. The instructor at the RAM noted that after 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:44.920 hearing a four -page handle piece just one time, 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:47.500 young Reg Dwight could play it back instantly. 00:04:47.980 --> 00:04:50.779 He compared his recall to a gramophone record. 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:53.699 That's just pure musical intellect at work. It 00:04:53.699 --> 00:04:56.279 is. But despite that, he admitted he was the 00:04:56.279 --> 00:04:58.079 kind of student who was so naturally gifted he 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:00.339 could just coast by. He didn't practice. He'd 00:05:00.339 --> 00:05:02.240 often skip the lessons entirely. And what would 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:04.360 he do instead? He'd just ride the London Underground. 00:05:04.600 --> 00:05:06.750 He just found it more interesting. That is such 00:05:06.750 --> 00:05:09.189 a revealing detail. I mean, he had the ability 00:05:09.189 --> 00:05:11.850 to master the structure of classical music, which 00:05:11.850 --> 00:05:14.009 you can hear later in his complex chord changes, 00:05:14.110 --> 00:05:17.370 the arpeggios, but he completely rejected the 00:05:17.370 --> 00:05:19.670 discipline of it. That restlessness, that refusal 00:05:19.670 --> 00:05:23.220 to be conventional. It's exactly what explodes 00:05:23.220 --> 00:05:25.959 later as that wild stage persona. The spectacle, 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:29.639 the feathers, the giant glasses. It was the eruption 00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:32.399 of an energy that had been suppressed by a restrictive 00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:35.259 father and this really rigid music education. 00:05:35.620 --> 00:05:37.959 But before the spectacle... You know, he had 00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:40.240 to pay his dues. He had to pay the bills. So 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:42.879 by age 15, he's working as Reggie, the resident 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:45.639 pianist at the Northwood Hills Hotel Pub. Right, 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:48.259 just playing popular standards. And that experience, 00:05:48.420 --> 00:05:51.100 playing to a live, non -academic audience, that 00:05:51.100 --> 00:05:52.800 was the other half of his musical education, 00:05:53.120 --> 00:05:55.579 the practical, populous side. Which leads him 00:05:55.579 --> 00:05:59.000 to his first professional band in 1962, Bluesology. 00:05:59.379 --> 00:06:02.980 Yes. And they eventually got big enough to back... 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:06.720 touring American R &B artists, people like Patti 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:09.939 LaBelle and the Bluebells. This exposure, this 00:06:09.939 --> 00:06:13.600 immersion in American R &B, soul, gospel music, 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:16.779 that, alongside his classical training, is the 00:06:16.779 --> 00:06:20.040 core creative fusion that defines Elton John. 00:06:20.259 --> 00:06:21.819 Absolutely. You just have to think about that 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:24.779 combination. The structural complexity of Bach 00:06:24.779 --> 00:06:27.860 and Handel layered over the driving, passionate 00:06:27.860 --> 00:06:30.379 rhythm of someone like Little Richard and gospel 00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:32.720 music. That is the engine of the Rocketman sound 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:35.279 right there. But the true genesis of the global 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:38.949 icon. That happened in 1967 when that engine 00:06:38.949 --> 00:06:41.370 finally found its fuel. It's lyricist. Bernie 00:06:41.370 --> 00:06:43.230 Taupin. And the beginning of the John Taupin 00:06:43.230 --> 00:06:45.350 partnership is genuinely bizarre. I mean, it's 00:06:45.350 --> 00:06:47.550 so strange. John answered an ad in the paper 00:06:47.550 --> 00:06:49.889 from Liberty Records looking for new musical 00:06:49.889 --> 00:06:52.740 talent. Completely separately, Bernie Taupin 00:06:52.740 --> 00:06:55.319 answers the exact same ad, but as a lyricist. 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:57.399 So when John arrives at the record company, he's 00:06:57.399 --> 00:07:00.339 apparently almost mute from nervousness. He can't 00:07:00.339 --> 00:07:02.480 even articulate what it is he does. So what happens? 00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:05.720 The A &R manager, a guy named Ray Williams, he 00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:09.860 just, he simply hands John an unopened envelope 00:07:09.860 --> 00:07:12.879 full of Taupin's poems and lyrics. They had never 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:15.319 met. They hadn't spoken. Not at all. John just 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:17.560 takes the lyrics home, puts music to them, sends 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:20.560 them back to Taupin. And that was the start. 00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:23.319 And that immediately established their, I mean, 00:07:23.339 --> 00:07:26.420 revolutionary, totally non -confrontational and 00:07:26.420 --> 00:07:29.399 astonishingly efficient writing method. A method 00:07:29.399 --> 00:07:31.779 that's lasted over five decades. They work entirely 00:07:31.779 --> 00:07:34.240 separately. Taupin writes the lyrics, sometimes 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:36.040 in less than an hour, focusing on narratives 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:38.160 and characters. He gives them to John. Who then 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:40.540 sets the music. And John often takes less than 00:07:40.540 --> 00:07:42.899 half an hour to write the entire melody and arrangement. 00:07:43.019 --> 00:07:45.660 It's just, it's incredible. It is. But wait. 00:07:45.930 --> 00:07:48.389 50 years and not a single professional argument. 00:07:48.470 --> 00:07:50.790 That sounds almost too good to be true for a 00:07:50.790 --> 00:07:53.329 creative relationship. Was there ever a concern 00:07:53.329 --> 00:07:56.350 that this physical and creative separation meant 00:07:56.350 --> 00:07:58.689 they missed out on that spark, that competitive 00:07:58.689 --> 00:08:01.050 collaboration that fueled partnerships like, 00:08:01.089 --> 00:08:03.709 say, Lennon and McCartney? That's a great point. 00:08:03.790 --> 00:08:06.290 But the separation is precisely why it works 00:08:06.290 --> 00:08:08.610 so well. They understood their distinct roles 00:08:08.610 --> 00:08:11.689 perfectly. Toppin provides the emotional core, 00:08:11.910 --> 00:08:14.889 the story. And John provides the harmonic and 00:08:14.889 --> 00:08:17.930 melodic complexity. Exactly. They never argue 00:08:17.930 --> 00:08:20.410 because John receives the lyrics as a finished 00:08:20.410 --> 00:08:23.110 product. It's a prompt for his musical genius. 00:08:23.550 --> 00:08:25.550 He's famously said that if he couldn't come up 00:08:25.550 --> 00:08:27.829 with music for a set of lyrics quickly, he'd 00:08:27.829 --> 00:08:29.930 just toss them and move on. So the process was 00:08:29.930 --> 00:08:33.090 rapid, instinctive, not labored over. Right. 00:08:33.500 --> 00:08:36.059 This separation just removed all that competitive 00:08:36.059 --> 00:08:39.159 argumentative friction that so often derails 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:41.379 creative partnerships. It created this, well, 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:43.360 this industrial level output that was incredibly 00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:46.259 harmonious. It sounds less like two musicians 00:08:46.259 --> 00:08:48.659 collaborating and more like a high performing 00:08:48.659 --> 00:08:51.259 creative supply chain. But before that supply 00:08:51.259 --> 00:08:53.899 chain could fully kick into gear, original Dwight 00:08:53.899 --> 00:08:56.159 needed an image to match the magnitude of the 00:08:56.159 --> 00:08:58.320 songs. And so the transformation was literal. 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:01.659 Reginald Kenneth Twight officially became Elton 00:09:01.659 --> 00:09:04.539 John, a name he chose as a homage to two of his 00:09:04.539 --> 00:09:07.159 bluesology bandmates. Saxophonist Elton Dean 00:09:07.159 --> 00:09:10.879 and vocalist Long John Baldry. That's them. The 00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:14.179 name change was legally cemented in 1972, but 00:09:14.179 --> 00:09:17.399 he added a middle name that is, well, it's maybe 00:09:17.399 --> 00:09:20.220 the most hilariously anti -spectacle reference 00:09:20.220 --> 00:09:23.360 possible. Hercules. Hercules. And it's not named 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:25.559 after the Greek hero. No, it's after a horse 00:09:25.559 --> 00:09:27.860 in the popular British sitcom Steptoe and Son. 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:31.500 It is for a future knight and companion of honor 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:33.500 who would perform for presidents and royalty. 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:37.080 That origin story is wonderfully, almost comically 00:09:37.080 --> 00:09:39.840 mundane. It just anchors the whole superstar 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:42.659 persona in this very British working class sense 00:09:42.659 --> 00:09:44.340 of humor. The moment that partnership really 00:09:44.340 --> 00:09:46.299 found its footing, the commercial output just 00:09:46.299 --> 00:09:49.039 became an avalanche. Their first album, Empty 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:51.840 Sky, came out in 1969, but the blueprint for 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:54.179 global dominance. That was established with the 00:09:54.179 --> 00:09:57.259 self -titled album Elton John in 1970. That album 00:09:57.259 --> 00:09:59.440 is absolutely pivotal. It introduced the enduring 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:02.519 formula, blending the power of these gospel -chorded 00:10:02.519 --> 00:10:05.039 mid -tempo rockers with the poignancy of deeply 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:07.600 emotional piano -driven ballads. And it gave 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:10.100 the world his first major hit single, the classic 00:10:10.100 --> 00:10:13.840 Your Song. Your Song. is the perfect illustration 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:16.240 of that dual heritage we were just talking about. 00:10:16.580 --> 00:10:19.340 Taupin's lyrics are so simple, honest, direct. 00:10:19.620 --> 00:10:22.120 How wonderful life is while you're in the world. 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:24.799 But John's musical setting just elevates it far 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:27.840 beyond a simple ballad. The sophisticated sweeping 00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:30.720 chord changes, the elegant piano runs, you can 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:33.399 hear his classical training all over it. It transforms 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:36.480 a simple love song into something truly transcendent. 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:39.139 And the crucial element that launched his career 00:10:39.139 --> 00:10:42.700 globally was the American debut. In August 1970, 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:45.659 he performed a now legendary concert at the Troubadour 00:10:45.659 --> 00:10:48.200 in Los Angeles. The critical buzz around that 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:50.960 show was just immediate and overwhelming. It 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:53.279 captivated the U .S. market instantly. And it 00:10:53.279 --> 00:10:55.399 wasn't just critical praise. The commercial momentum 00:10:55.399 --> 00:10:58.360 was relentless. When Honky Chateau was released 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:01.559 in 1972, featuring classics like Rocketman and 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:04.379 Honky Kat, it became his first U .S. number one 00:11:04.379 --> 00:11:07.000 album. And this wasn't a fluke. This was the 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:09.240 start of an unprecedented, almost unbelievable 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:13.289 statistical streak. Yes, that album began an 00:11:13.289 --> 00:11:17.110 incredible run of seven consecutive U .S. number 00:11:17.110 --> 00:11:19.690 one albums, a feat that just firmly established 00:11:19.690 --> 00:11:22.070 him as the commercially dominant force in the 00:11:22.070 --> 00:11:24.950 1970s rock landscape. Seven in a row. Seven. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:27.879 And to put that in perspective, six of the albums 00:11:27.879 --> 00:11:29.559 he released in that short period were listed 00:11:29.559 --> 00:11:32.659 on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 greatest 00:11:32.659 --> 00:11:35.320 albums of all time. The quality was absolutely 00:11:35.320 --> 00:11:37.379 matching the quantity. The hits just came so 00:11:37.379 --> 00:11:39.460 fast, it's almost hard to keep track. Don't shoot 00:11:39.460 --> 00:11:42.759 me, I'm boy. Only the piano player in 73 gave 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:44.879 us Crocodile Rock, his first U .S. Billboard 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:48.360 Hot 100 No. 1. But the album that truly codified 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:50.820 his artistry and his whole image was the double 00:11:50.820 --> 00:11:52.960 album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, later that 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:56.649 year. Ah, goodbye. Yellow Brick Road, that cemented 00:11:56.649 --> 00:11:59.870 his status as a full -blown glam rock icon. It 00:11:59.870 --> 00:12:02.529 was a stylistic and thematic triumph featuring 00:12:02.529 --> 00:12:05.090 huge singles like Benny and the Jets and, of 00:12:05.090 --> 00:12:06.690 course, the original version of Candle in the 00:12:06.690 --> 00:12:09.090 Wind. It was the perfect marriage of his musical 00:12:09.090 --> 00:12:11.870 complexity with the whole theatrical zeitgeist 00:12:11.870 --> 00:12:14.870 of the early 70s and the visuals. The visuals 00:12:14.870 --> 00:12:17.129 were inseparable from the sound. Oh, absolutely. 00:12:17.370 --> 00:12:20.009 When we talk about glam rock, we're talking about 00:12:20.009 --> 00:12:22.009 more than just clothing. It was performance art. 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:26.179 A statement. And John's stage persona was just 00:12:26.179 --> 00:12:29.519 elaborate, over the top, and constantly evolved. 00:12:29.720 --> 00:12:32.519 This was the era of the peacock. Exactly. He 00:12:32.519 --> 00:12:35.059 was so heavily influenced by the genre's focus 00:12:35.059 --> 00:12:38.799 on costuming and theatricality. We see the famously 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:41.200 outrageous spectacles, including that legendary 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:44.279 pair that reportedly cost $5 ,000 and spelled 00:12:44.279 --> 00:12:46.600 out his name in lights. And the costumes. Everything 00:12:46.600 --> 00:12:49.899 from the Statue of Liberty to the iconic Donald 00:12:49.899 --> 00:12:52.639 Duck outfit. It was his outlet. It was the complete 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:54.860 and total rejection of the restrictive life he'd 00:12:54.860 --> 00:12:57.360 grown up in. The shy boy from Pinner was now 00:12:57.360 --> 00:12:59.799 demanding that the world look at him, literally 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:02.220 shining a spotlight on his own name. That success, 00:13:02.340 --> 00:13:04.700 of course, translated into power and money, and 00:13:04.700 --> 00:13:08.340 John leveraged it brilliantly. In 1974, he formed 00:13:08.340 --> 00:13:10.940 his own label, the Rocket Record Company. Signing 00:13:10.940 --> 00:13:13.960 acts like Neil Sedaka and Kiki D. But the biggest 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:15.840 financial move was his own personal recording 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:18.639 contract. A huge deal with MCA Records that year. 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:22.840 An astonishing $8 million contract. And to underline 00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:25.220 just how massive that valuation was for the mid 00:13:25.220 --> 00:13:28.960 -70s, MCA reportedly took out a staggering $25 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:33.220 million insurance policy on his life. Wow. That 00:13:33.220 --> 00:13:36.019 kind of action shows you the label viewed him 00:13:36.019 --> 00:13:38.559 not just as an artist, but as an irreplaceable, 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:41.259 highly valued asset. His sudden absence would 00:13:41.259 --> 00:13:43.399 have been a catastrophic financial loss for them. 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:46.399 It fundamentally shifted the power dynamic between 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:49.399 a major label and a star artist. That financial 00:13:49.399 --> 00:13:51.740 and creative stature also opened the door to 00:13:51.740 --> 00:13:53.759 some, you know, once -in -a -lifetime collaborations. 00:13:54.259 --> 00:13:56.639 In 1974, he worked with John Lennon covering 00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:59.659 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. And Lennon made 00:13:59.659 --> 00:14:01.940 a bet with him. Right. Lennon promised he'd perform 00:14:01.940 --> 00:14:04.440 live with John's band if their collaboration 00:14:04.440 --> 00:14:06.500 helped Lennon's own song, Whatever Gets You Through 00:14:06.500 --> 00:14:09.279 the Night, hit number one. It did. So Lennon 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:11.320 kept his promise. He joined John on stage at 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:14.230 Madison Square Garden in November 1974. And this 00:14:14.230 --> 00:14:16.350 performance is so historically significant because 00:14:16.350 --> 00:14:18.789 it turned out to be John Lennon's last major 00:14:18.789 --> 00:14:22.549 live public appearance before he died. Just incredible. 00:14:22.970 --> 00:14:25.870 And the cinematic spectacle continued with the 00:14:25.870 --> 00:14:29.769 rock opera Tommy in 1975. Pete Townsend recruited 00:14:29.769 --> 00:14:33.169 him to play the local lad. And he performed this 00:14:33.169 --> 00:14:36.309 blistering piano rock version of Pinball Wizard, 00:14:36.470 --> 00:14:38.690 which became a huge charting success in its own 00:14:38.690 --> 00:14:40.950 right, especially in the UK. But the capstone 00:14:40.950 --> 00:14:43.629 of this golden era was probably his most critically 00:14:43.629 --> 00:14:46.909 revered work, Captain Fantastic and The Brown 00:14:46.909 --> 00:14:50.710 Dirt Cowboy in 1975. A deeply autobiographical 00:14:50.710 --> 00:14:53.090 album, it charts the early days of his struggle 00:14:53.090 --> 00:14:55.549 and the partnership with Taupin. It contained 00:14:55.549 --> 00:14:58.279 Someone Saved My Life Tonight. which chronicled 00:14:58.279 --> 00:15:00.899 a very dark, early personal crisis for him. And 00:15:00.899 --> 00:15:03.120 crucially, the album made history. It did. It 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:05.360 was the first album ever to debut at number one 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:07.379 in the U .S., and it held that position for seven 00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:09.860 weeks. That feat alone just demonstrates the 00:15:09.860 --> 00:15:11.820 unparalleled commercial machine he'd become. 00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:14.720 But that level of intense, high -octane creative 00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:17.259 and commercial output is almost impossible to 00:15:17.259 --> 00:15:19.840 sustain. And as the critics noted, that intensity 00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:22.139 eventually led to a pretty critical psychological 00:15:22.139 --> 00:15:24.879 and professional crash. And that crash really 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:27.639 manifested in the late 70s. The pressure cooker 00:15:27.639 --> 00:15:30.960 just led to burnout, and in November 1977, John 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:33.179 announced a temporary retirement from performing. 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:35.580 He scaled back his collaboration with Taupin, 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:38.159 right? He did. He briefly worked with lyricist 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:40.860 Gary Osborne on the album A Single Man in 78, 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:44.679 which gave him the modest UK hit Song for Guy. 00:15:45.179 --> 00:15:47.980 But this whole period was a significant deceleration 00:15:47.980 --> 00:15:50.779 after that seven -year sprint of just total dominance. 00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:53.279 Even during this professional scaling back, though, 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:57.379 he remained a cultural pioneer. In 1979, he became 00:15:57.379 --> 00:15:59.820 one of the first major Western artists to tour 00:15:59.820 --> 00:16:02.620 the Soviet Union and Israel. Accompanied by percussionist 00:16:02.620 --> 00:16:05.299 Ray Cooper. And that wasn't just a concert tour. 00:16:05.460 --> 00:16:08.059 It was a major cultural and diplomatic moment. 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:10.299 It was breaking down borders during the Cold 00:16:10.299 --> 00:16:13.669 War through the power of rock and roll. The 1980s 00:16:13.669 --> 00:16:15.809 saw him begin a professional resurgence, though. 00:16:15.909 --> 00:16:18.350 He went back to his roots, reunited with Bernie 00:16:18.350 --> 00:16:21.350 Taupin, and the result was the 1983 album Too 00:16:21.350 --> 00:16:23.809 Low for Zero. And this album was a massive return 00:16:23.809 --> 00:16:26.610 to form. It delivered these enduring hits like 00:16:26.610 --> 00:16:29.669 the defiant anthem I'm Still Standing. And I 00:16:29.669 --> 00:16:31.370 guess that's why they call it the blues, which 00:16:31.370 --> 00:16:33.850 featured a beautiful contribution from Stevie 00:16:33.850 --> 00:16:36.389 Wonder on harmonica. And the live shows returned 00:16:36.389 --> 00:16:39.769 to that colossal, almost overwhelming scale. 00:16:40.379 --> 00:16:44.019 In 1980, he performed a free concert for an estimated 00:16:44.019 --> 00:16:48.379 400 ,000 fans in Central Park. And yes, the Donald 00:16:48.379 --> 00:16:51.639 Duck costume made a return appearance. The spectacle 00:16:51.639 --> 00:16:55.179 was officially back. He also became inextricably 00:16:55.179 --> 00:16:57.740 linked to the rising awareness of the AIDS crisis. 00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:00.759 At Live Aid in 1985, he was a central figure, 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:03.700 performing a duet with Kiki D, introducing George 00:17:03.700 --> 00:17:05.940 Michael to sing Don't Let the Sun Go Down on 00:17:05.940 --> 00:17:08.839 Me. But the crucial, tangible contribution came 00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:11.700 in 1986. Yes, when he co -recorded the highest 00:17:11.700 --> 00:17:14.500 charting single of the decade with Dionne Warwick, 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:16.900 Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder. That's what 00:17:16.900 --> 00:17:18.940 friends are for. And that track was explicitly 00:17:18.940 --> 00:17:21.779 dedicated to raising funds for HIV AIDS research. 00:17:22.019 --> 00:17:23.859 OK, here's where it gets really interesting and 00:17:23.859 --> 00:17:25.980 where the sources reveal the true depth of the 00:17:25.980 --> 00:17:27.839 struggle that was paralleling all his public 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:30.240 success. Throughout the late 70s and all through 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:33.119 the 80s, John was struggling profoundly with 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:35.559 severe drug and alcohol addiction, as well as 00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:38.599 bulimia. It was a period of intense crisis, a 00:17:38.599 --> 00:17:41.400 spiral, he's described himself. The sources say 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:43.500 the turning point came through his exposure to 00:17:43.500 --> 00:17:46.180 profound human struggle outside of his own famous 00:17:46.180 --> 00:17:48.640 bubble. Right. He credits his relationship with 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:51.180 the family of Ryan White, the teenage AIDS victim 00:17:51.180 --> 00:17:53.880 who so bravely advocated for greater public awareness. 00:17:54.500 --> 00:17:56.720 He credits that relationship with helping him 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:59.619 recognize the severity of his own situation and 00:17:59.619 --> 00:18:01.930 forcing him toward recovery. And thankfully, 00:18:02.089 --> 00:18:05.529 he has been clean and sober since 1990. That 00:18:05.529 --> 00:18:08.029 journey toward sobriety then profoundly impacted 00:18:08.029 --> 00:18:11.349 his next creative chapter. His 1992 album, The 00:18:11.349 --> 00:18:14.109 One, was the first he recorded entirely sober. 00:18:14.349 --> 00:18:16.809 He spoke really openly about how difficult that 00:18:16.809 --> 00:18:19.009 transition was. He admitted he was so used to 00:18:19.009 --> 00:18:21.769 the haze of alcohol or drugs defining his creative 00:18:21.769 --> 00:18:24.470 process. So making The One was really an act 00:18:24.470 --> 00:18:27.089 of sheer creative grit. He was proving to himself 00:18:27.089 --> 00:18:29.549 and to the world that the genius wasn't dependent 00:18:29.549 --> 00:18:32.640 on the addiction. Exactly. And this album marks 00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:35.160 a real thematic shift toward clarity and deeper 00:18:35.160 --> 00:18:37.559 emotional honesty, which really paved the way 00:18:37.559 --> 00:18:39.559 for his work in musical theater. And what a shift 00:18:39.559 --> 00:18:42.039 that was. His transition into musical theater 00:18:42.039 --> 00:18:44.039 in the mid -90s was effectively the beginning 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:46.660 of a second, massively successful career for 00:18:46.660 --> 00:18:50.500 him. In 1994, he partnered with lyricist Tim 00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:53.259 Rice for the music of the Disney animated film 00:18:53.259 --> 00:18:55.660 The Lion King. That partnership was just pure 00:18:55.660 --> 00:18:58.259 gold. He won an Academy Award for Can You Feel 00:18:58.259 --> 00:19:00.519 the Love Tonight, which became this timeless 00:19:00.519 --> 00:19:02.920 standard. And the soundtrack itself was a commercial 00:19:02.920 --> 00:19:06.240 monster. certified diamond by 1999 for selling 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:08.740 15 million copies. And he didn't just write pop 00:19:08.740 --> 00:19:11.900 songs for a movie. He wrote these enduring theatrical 00:19:11.900 --> 00:19:14.400 anthems that adapted beautifully for the stage 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:16.500 production. He immediately followed that success 00:19:16.500 --> 00:19:19.319 into the pure Broadway sphere with Ada in 1999, 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:22.400 again with Tim Rice. And that resulted in him 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:24.960 winning the Tony Award for Best Original Score 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:28.380 and a Grammy for Best Musical Show Album. He 00:19:28.380 --> 00:19:30.680 was now fully established as a theatrical heavyweight. 00:19:30.779 --> 00:19:33.220 But perhaps his most personally resonant theatrical 00:19:33.220 --> 00:19:36.059 success was Billy Elliot the Musical in 2005. 00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:39.059 He said he was moved to write the music for that 00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:42.119 story after identifying so deeply with the main 00:19:42.119 --> 00:19:44.920 character, a sensitive boy from a challenging 00:19:44.920 --> 00:19:47.519 non -artistic background, fighting to pursue 00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:49.930 his passion. That show was an international sensation. 00:19:50.289 --> 00:19:54.730 It ran for 4 ,566 performances in London and 00:19:54.730 --> 00:19:58.170 generated over $800 million globally. It just 00:19:58.170 --> 00:20:00.970 proved his theatrical appeal extended way beyond 00:20:00.970 --> 00:20:04.029 the Disney brand. As the 90s wore on, however... 00:20:04.250 --> 00:20:06.670 Another tragedy struck, bringing his professional 00:20:06.670 --> 00:20:09.069 and personal life into this really painful focus. 00:20:09.329 --> 00:20:11.930 The death of his friend, designer Gianni Versace, 00:20:12.089 --> 00:20:14.589 followed just weeks later by the death of Diana, 00:20:14.769 --> 00:20:18.630 Princess of Wales, in August 1997. The collective 00:20:18.630 --> 00:20:21.150 grief was just immense, and John, who was a close 00:20:21.150 --> 00:20:23.130 friend of Diana's, knew he needed to contribute 00:20:23.130 --> 00:20:25.650 something meaningful. So he asked Bernie Taubman 00:20:25.650 --> 00:20:29.130 to revise the lyrics of their 1973 track, Candle 00:20:29.130 --> 00:20:31.150 in the Wind. Which was originally about Marilyn 00:20:31.150 --> 00:20:33.990 Monroe. Right, and Taupin completely reworked 00:20:33.990 --> 00:20:35.990 the lyrics to reflect the England's Rose narrative. 00:20:36.170 --> 00:20:38.589 And the result was just. It was a piece of cultural 00:20:38.589 --> 00:20:41.289 history. He performed the rewritten version Candle 00:20:41.289 --> 00:20:44.690 in the Wind 1997 only once, live at Diana's funeral 00:20:44.690 --> 00:20:47.480 in Westminster Abbey. And that singular performance 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:50.700 was the catalyst for the single becoming the 00:20:50.700 --> 00:20:52.960 best -selling chart single of all time. We have 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:54.920 to reiterate those staggering figures because 00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:57.960 they're more than just sales data. Over 33 million 00:20:57.960 --> 00:21:00.920 copies sold globally. And every single penny 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:04.480 of the proceeds, about 55 million pounds, was 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:06.859 donated directly to Diana's various charities. 00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:09.599 It stands as perhaps the most potent example 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:12.339 of an artist leveraging their fame for massive, 00:21:12.500 --> 00:21:15.759 immediate philanthropic impact. We really haven't 00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:18.599 seen a single song achieve that kind of cultural 00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:21.440 weight since. As he moved toward the 2000s, John 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:23.960 adopted a new model for live performance. He 00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:26.259 semi -retired from the punishing global tours 00:21:26.259 --> 00:21:29.400 and settled into these monumental Las Vegas residencies. 00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:32.000 He started with the red piano from 2004 to 2009, 00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:34.700 and later the million -dollar piano from 2011 00:21:34.700 --> 00:21:37.940 to 2018 at Caesars Palace. It was a stage he 00:21:37.940 --> 00:21:40.000 occasionally shared with Celine Dion. And this 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:42.359 period really illustrates his strategic business 00:21:42.359 --> 00:21:45.099 mind. Absolutely. The residencies are financially 00:21:45.099 --> 00:21:47.019 rewarding. They're much less punishing on the 00:21:47.019 --> 00:21:49.539 physical body. And they allow the artist to control 00:21:49.539 --> 00:21:52.160 the entire environment completely, creating this 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:55.680 massive sustained revenue stream without constant 00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:58.259 global travel. The narrative of the global superstar 00:21:58.259 --> 00:22:00.859 began to shift back to global touring in 2018, 00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:03.980 though, when Elton John launched the enormous 00:22:03.980 --> 00:22:06.900 Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour. And this wasn't 00:22:06.900 --> 00:22:10.160 just a final tour. It was a monumental global 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:13.579 epic. initially planned for over 300 concerts 00:22:13.579 --> 00:22:15.880 worldwide. And the reason for the retirement 00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:18.599 was very clear and very family -focused. Yes, 00:22:18.599 --> 00:22:20.380 he wanted to prioritize spending time with his 00:22:20.380 --> 00:22:22.640 children and his husband. He made it very clear 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:24.799 he was retiring from the touring lifestyle, not 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:27.319 from music. He emphasized he would still do The 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:30.089 Odd Show and possibly record another album. It 00:22:30.089 --> 00:22:33.150 signals this remarkable humanizing shift, choosing 00:22:33.150 --> 00:22:35.509 domestic life over the endless road, especially 00:22:35.509 --> 00:22:38.349 after decades of intense travel that was, for 00:22:38.349 --> 00:22:40.789 a time, fueled by addiction. The tour, which 00:22:40.789 --> 00:22:42.710 was delayed by the COVID pandemic and some of 00:22:42.710 --> 00:22:45.190 his own health issues, finally concluded in Stockholm 00:22:45.190 --> 00:22:49.410 in July 2023. At the time it ended, it had shattered 00:22:49.410 --> 00:22:51.730 records. It became the highest grossing tour 00:22:51.730 --> 00:22:55.069 ever, solidifying his commercial legacy one last 00:22:55.069 --> 00:22:58.490 time, though that record was pretty swiftly surpassed 00:22:58.490 --> 00:23:01.309 by Taylor Swift's Erez tour. The timing of the 00:23:01.309 --> 00:23:03.609 tour also allowed for some major retrospective 00:23:03.609 --> 00:23:06.970 moments. The 2019 biopic Rocketman, starring 00:23:06.970 --> 00:23:10.089 Taron Egerton, was released to huge critical 00:23:10.089 --> 00:23:12.769 acclaim. And John and Tappan proved they still 00:23:12.769 --> 00:23:15.390 had the fire. They won their second Academy Award, 00:23:15.630 --> 00:23:17.789 this time for the new song written for the film, 00:23:17.930 --> 00:23:20.369 I'm Gonna Love Me Again. And that was followed 00:23:20.369 --> 00:23:23.029 by the release of his brutally honest autobiography, 00:23:23.170 --> 00:23:25.910 Me, later that same year. Now, if we connect 00:23:25.910 --> 00:23:28.450 this to the bigger picture, one of the most remarkable 00:23:28.450 --> 00:23:30.869 creative pivots of his entire career happened 00:23:30.869 --> 00:23:33.089 during the pandemic lockdown. Instead of just 00:23:33.089 --> 00:23:36.490 retreating, he released the 2021 album The Lockdown 00:23:36.490 --> 00:23:38.930 Sessions. This was such a deliberate, strategic 00:23:38.930 --> 00:23:41.769 and profoundly insightful move. He basically 00:23:41.769 --> 00:23:44.029 embraced his earliest roots as a session musician, 00:23:44.309 --> 00:23:46.890 a skill set he'd honed long before he was a star. 00:23:47.069 --> 00:23:49.029 And he worked remotely with this breathtaking 00:23:49.029 --> 00:23:52.170 array of modern artists. And in doing so, he 00:23:52.170 --> 00:23:54.410 proved his relevance by submitting his foundational 00:23:54.410 --> 00:23:57.190 style to contemporary production methods. The 00:23:57.190 --> 00:23:59.410 list of collaborators is just proof of his creative 00:23:59.410 --> 00:24:03.130 agility. Dua Lipa, Lil Nas X, Miley Cyrus, Gorillaz, 00:24:03.349 --> 00:24:05.970 Nicki Minaj, and even a return collaboration 00:24:05.970 --> 00:24:08.869 with Stevie Wonder. He said about the process, 00:24:09.309 --> 00:24:11.109 I realized there was something weirdly familiar 00:24:11.109 --> 00:24:13.609 about working like this. I'd come full circle. 00:24:13.730 --> 00:24:16.289 I was a session musician again. And it was still 00:24:16.289 --> 00:24:19.509 a blast. And that pivot immediately created history. 00:24:20.039 --> 00:24:22.220 The collaboration with Dua Lipa, Cold Heart, 00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:25.579 the now remixed hit number one in the UK. And 00:24:25.579 --> 00:24:27.579 that single officially made him the first solo 00:24:27.579 --> 00:24:30.720 artist to land UK top 10 singles in six different 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:34.019 decades. It directly connected his 70s hits to 00:24:34.019 --> 00:24:36.720 the modern era of electronic pop. He also became 00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:39.519 the oldest artist at 74 to top the charts in 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:41.140 Australia. He didn't just maintain relevance, 00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:43.299 he became a chart -topping kingmaker for others. 00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:45.400 He had two number one Christmas hits with Ed 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:47.640 Sheeran. Merry Christmas and the comedy version, 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:51.039 Sausage Rolls for Everyone. And critically, in 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:54.380 2022, he helped launch Britney Spears' return 00:24:54.380 --> 00:24:58.119 to music with Hold Me Closer, which was her triumphant 00:24:58.119 --> 00:25:01.200 first release after the termination of her conservatorship. 00:25:01.220 --> 00:25:03.799 His enduring appeal culminated in his headline 00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:06.440 performance at the Glastonbury Festival in June 00:25:06.440 --> 00:25:10.099 2023. And that performance drew the festival's 00:25:10.099 --> 00:25:13.640 largest ever TV audience in the UK. Just monumental. 00:25:14.220 --> 00:25:16.700 And in a great nod to his career, he performed 00:25:16.700 --> 00:25:19.299 Pinball Wizard live for the first time in over 00:25:19.299 --> 00:25:21.839 10 years during that set. Now, before we move 00:25:21.839 --> 00:25:23.940 on to the man behind the spectacle, we have to 00:25:23.940 --> 00:25:25.880 mention the recent very somber news regarding 00:25:25.880 --> 00:25:27.859 his health. Health has been a factor for him 00:25:27.859 --> 00:25:29.720 in recent years. Yeah, he required hip surgery 00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:32.599 in 2021. He battled walking pneumonia in 2020. 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:35.240 But in September 2024, he revealed that a severe 00:25:35.240 --> 00:25:38.099 eye infection he contracted in July tragically 00:25:38.099 --> 00:25:40.259 resulted in him being left blind in his right 00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:42.539 eye and with only limited vision in his left. 00:25:42.859 --> 00:25:45.059 This is a severe health setback for an artist 00:25:45.059 --> 00:25:47.180 whose entire life revolves around reading music 00:25:47.180 --> 00:25:49.579 and engaging visually with his audience. Moving 00:25:49.579 --> 00:25:52.019 beyond the music, John's biography is just characterized 00:25:52.019 --> 00:25:54.819 by these deeply public moments of vulnerability 00:25:54.819 --> 00:25:58.079 and advocacy, especially around his identity 00:25:58.079 --> 00:26:00.619 and his relationships. His personal life saw 00:26:00.619 --> 00:26:03.440 several key and sometimes contradictory relationships 00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:06.519 in his early career. He was briefly engaged to 00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:09.180 his first lover, a secretary named Linda Woodrow. 00:26:09.319 --> 00:26:11.380 She's the one immortalized in the song Someone 00:26:11.380 --> 00:26:14.779 Saved My Life Tonight. Exactly. The song recounts 00:26:14.779 --> 00:26:16.920 that painful realization that he needed to end 00:26:16.920 --> 00:26:19.259 the relationship just two weeks before the wedding. 00:26:19.740 --> 00:26:22.640 Fifty years later, he quietly provided her with 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:25.259 financial assistance for medical fees, showing 00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:27.279 that complicated history still mattered to him. 00:26:27.660 --> 00:26:30.099 His first significant gay relationship began 00:26:30.099 --> 00:26:33.680 after his American debut in 1970 with his manager, 00:26:33.859 --> 00:26:37.000 John Reed. Reed managed his career until 1998, 00:26:37.299 --> 00:26:39.380 but the personal relationship ended after five 00:26:39.380 --> 00:26:41.900 years. Then, in a moment he later described as 00:26:41.900 --> 00:26:44.420 living a lie, he had a brief marriage to a German 00:26:44.420 --> 00:26:48.279 recording engineer, René Blau, from 1984 to 1988. 00:26:48.680 --> 00:26:51.599 That marriage ended in divorce, and the details 00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:54.619 surrounding their relationship later led to Blau 00:26:54.619 --> 00:26:57.220 suing him over passages in his autobiography, 00:26:57.339 --> 00:27:00.279 Me, though that case was settled in 2020. John 00:27:00.279 --> 00:27:03.200 came out as bisexual in 1976, but later publicly 00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:06.680 identified as gay in 1992. And his defining relationship 00:27:06.680 --> 00:27:10.119 began in 1993 with the Canadian filmmaker David 00:27:10.119 --> 00:27:12.259 Furnish. And they were groundbreaking advocates 00:27:12.259 --> 00:27:14.740 for marriage equality in the UK. They were among 00:27:14.740 --> 00:27:17.299 the very first couples to form a civil partnership 00:27:17.299 --> 00:27:20.599 on the day the act came into force in 2005. And 00:27:20.599 --> 00:27:23.000 they subsequently married in 2014 when same -sex 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:24.799 marriage was legalized in England and Wales. 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:28.279 They now have two sons born via surrogacy, Zachary 00:27:28.279 --> 00:27:31.759 born in 2010 and Elijah in 2013. And John has 00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:33.880 been a very vocal supporter of full same -sex 00:27:33.880 --> 00:27:36.170 marriage rights. He often emphasizes that he 00:27:36.170 --> 00:27:38.430 prefers the term husband over the more ambiguous 00:27:38.430 --> 00:27:40.869 partner. Right. He famously said partner is a 00:27:40.869 --> 00:27:42.849 word best preserved for someone you play tennis 00:27:42.849 --> 00:27:45.009 with. His experience has profoundly influenced 00:27:45.009 --> 00:27:47.890 his often controversial views on religion. He 00:27:47.890 --> 00:27:49.750 has characterized the Roman Catholic Church's 00:27:49.750 --> 00:27:53.119 views on homosexuality as just ignorance. He 00:27:53.119 --> 00:27:55.720 once stated that religion has always tried to 00:27:55.720 --> 00:27:58.480 turn hatred toward gay people and even declared 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:01.539 he would ban religion completely because of its 00:28:01.539 --> 00:28:04.339 capacity to turn people into hateful lemmings. 00:28:04.460 --> 00:28:07.140 It's a fierce advocacy driven by his personal 00:28:07.140 --> 00:28:09.900 journey toward acceptance. And this raises a 00:28:09.900 --> 00:28:11.920 really important question. How does an artist 00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:14.480 translate that immense personal struggle and 00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:17.480 passion into a global life -saving organization? 00:28:18.099 --> 00:28:20.380 For Elton John, the answer is the Elton John 00:28:20.380 --> 00:28:24.119 AIDS Foundation or EJ. which has become a core 00:28:24.119 --> 00:28:26.700 element of his identity, really beyond the music. 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:29.200 The foundation was founded in 1992, directly 00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:31.700 following the tragic deaths of two close friends. 00:28:32.019 --> 00:28:35.180 The Youth Aid spokesman Ryan White in 1990 and 00:28:35.180 --> 00:28:37.940 his fellow music titan Freddie Mercury in 1991. 00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:40.839 Those losses provided the profound emotional 00:28:40.839 --> 00:28:43.160 focus he needed to channel his immense energy 00:28:43.160 --> 00:28:45.480 and influence into advocacy. It connected his 00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:47.980 own recovery from addiction to a larger, life 00:28:47.980 --> 00:28:50.599 -saving mission. The scale of EJF's impact is 00:28:50.599 --> 00:28:53.150 just staggering. Since its inception, the foundation 00:28:53.150 --> 00:28:56.109 has raised over $600 million for HIV -related 00:28:56.109 --> 00:28:59.109 programs in 55 countries. It funds prevention, 00:28:59.410 --> 00:29:02.009 works to eliminate prejudice, and provides essential 00:29:02.009 --> 00:29:04.910 services. And his ability to leverage his celebrity 00:29:04.910 --> 00:29:07.829 for fundraising is just unparalleled. His annual 00:29:07.829 --> 00:29:10.289 Academy Awards party has become one of the highest 00:29:10.289 --> 00:29:13.309 profile Oscars events in Hollywood. It's raised 00:29:13.309 --> 00:29:16.569 over $200 million alone since it began. And his 00:29:16.569 --> 00:29:19.029 annual white tie and tiara ball has consistently 00:29:19.029 --> 00:29:22.029 raised millions more. It demonstrates a level 00:29:22.029 --> 00:29:24.750 of sustained fundraising power that very few 00:29:24.750 --> 00:29:27.230 other celebrities can match. Even just recently, 00:29:27.309 --> 00:29:33.549 in 2023, EJF donated $125 ,000 via United24 to 00:29:33.549 --> 00:29:36.630 purchase vital biochemistry analyzers for Ukrainians 00:29:36.630 --> 00:29:39.069 living with HIV. And beyond philanthropy and 00:29:39.069 --> 00:29:41.329 music, we can't overlook his other great passion, 00:29:41.490 --> 00:29:43.890 football. John's long -term association with 00:29:43.890 --> 00:29:46.009 Watford Football Club provided this grounding 00:29:46.009 --> 00:29:48.549 local element to his celebrity. He became chairman 00:29:48.549 --> 00:29:51.720 and director in 1976. investing large sums of 00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:53.700 his own money to help the club rise three divisions 00:29:53.700 --> 00:29:55.500 into the English First Division. And while he 00:29:55.500 --> 00:29:57.500 stepped down as chairman in 2002, he's still 00:29:57.500 --> 00:29:59.480 the honorary life president. They even named 00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:01.799 the Sir Elton John stand at Vicarage Road in 00:30:01.799 --> 00:30:04.180 his honor. A tribute he called one of the greatest 00:30:04.180 --> 00:30:07.500 days of my life. which suggests that local communal 00:30:07.500 --> 00:30:10.480 recognition meant just as much to him as the 00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:12.839 global stardom. Financially, his success has 00:30:12.839 --> 00:30:15.200 resulted in an estimated fortune of around 320 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:18.519 million as of 2019. This wealth supported some 00:30:18.519 --> 00:30:22.569 famously extravagant tastes. The sources note 00:30:22.569 --> 00:30:25.069 he admitted to spending a truly mind boggling 00:30:25.069 --> 00:30:27.509 two hundred and ninety three thousand pounds 00:30:27.509 --> 00:30:30.690 on flowers alone in a 20 month period. Flower 00:30:30.690 --> 00:30:33.509 flowers. He is also a very serious patron of 00:30:33.509 --> 00:30:35.490 the arts. He owns one of the world's largest 00:30:35.490 --> 00:30:37.589 and most significant private photography collections. 00:30:37.849 --> 00:30:39.769 His political engagement has been consistent, 00:30:39.950 --> 00:30:42.450 though sometimes bipartisan in its effect. While 00:30:42.450 --> 00:30:44.890 he generally identifies as Labor Democrat and 00:30:44.890 --> 00:30:47.529 supported Hillary Clinton, he's been very critical 00:30:47.529 --> 00:30:50.269 of Brexit's impact on touring musicians. And 00:30:50.269 --> 00:30:52.170 interestingly. Despite once calling President 00:30:52.170 --> 00:30:54.190 George W. Bush the worst thing that ever happened 00:30:54.190 --> 00:30:56.910 to America, he later praised Bush as the president 00:30:56.910 --> 00:30:58.990 who had done the most globally to combat AIDS. 00:30:59.150 --> 00:31:01.349 It demonstrates his ability to separate the political 00:31:01.349 --> 00:31:04.089 platform from the humanitarian action. Absolutely. 00:31:04.269 --> 00:31:06.809 Yeah. And that work earned him the National Humanities 00:31:06.809 --> 00:31:10.240 Medal from President Joe Biden in 2022. Finally, 00:31:10.339 --> 00:31:13.140 John is still completely unafraid to stake out 00:31:13.140 --> 00:31:15.960 controversial public positions, even now. In 00:31:15.960 --> 00:31:18.480 December 2024, he went public with his strong 00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:21.119 opposition to cannabis legalization. Calling 00:31:21.119 --> 00:31:23.819 it one of the greatest mistakes of our time and 00:31:23.819 --> 00:31:26.059 citing his own past struggles with drug addiction 00:31:26.059 --> 00:31:28.579 as the reason he felt compelled to speak out 00:31:28.579 --> 00:31:31.319 on it. And illustrating his stance against modern 00:31:31.319 --> 00:31:34.440 media chaos in December 2022, he publicly left 00:31:34.440 --> 00:31:37.200 Twitter or X over concerns that the platform 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:39.980 was allowing misinformation to flourish unchecked. 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:42.119 He remains a person who is willing to take a 00:31:42.119 --> 00:31:44.500 public stand on issues that affect him personally, 00:31:44.680 --> 00:31:48.039 whether it's AIDS, same sex rights or drug policy. 00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:50.059 So what does this all mean when we look at the 00:31:50.059 --> 00:31:52.759 sweep of this incredible career? Our deep dive 00:31:52.759 --> 00:31:55.039 really reveals a journey that's defined by spectacular 00:31:55.039 --> 00:31:58.180 transformation and duality. We saw the transition 00:31:58.180 --> 00:32:00.559 from the quiet, classically trained Reginald 00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:02.720 Dwight, whose abilities were restricted by his 00:32:02.720 --> 00:32:06.400 surroundings, to Sir Elton Hercules John, a global 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:09.200 icon defined by unparalleled commercial success 00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:12.200 across six decades. And that foundational analysis 00:32:12.200 --> 00:32:15.400 of his sound, that unique synthesis of rigorous 00:32:15.400 --> 00:32:18.440 classical training and the visceral energy of 00:32:18.440 --> 00:32:21.279 American rock and roll and gospel music, that's 00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:23.819 what made him so distinctive. That musical intellect 00:32:23.819 --> 00:32:26.400 supported Bernie Taupin's populist lyrics perfectly. 00:32:26.920 --> 00:32:29.759 It resulted in a 50 -year partnership that was 00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:32.299 harmonious precisely because they worked in such 00:32:32.299 --> 00:32:35.220 productive isolation. And all of that achievement 00:32:35.220 --> 00:32:38.940 is underscored by his profound, multimillion 00:32:38.940 --> 00:32:41.519 -dollar commitment to philanthropy, catalyzed 00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:44.140 by personal recovery and the fight against AIDS. 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:46.680 It's just an incredible body of work built on 00:32:46.680 --> 00:32:49.500 endurance, reinvention and personal growth. But 00:32:49.500 --> 00:32:51.940 it's his late career strategic genius that is 00:32:51.940 --> 00:32:54.460 perhaps the most illuminating thing for me. Indeed. 00:32:54.759 --> 00:32:57.180 John has managed to stay utterly relevant well 00:32:57.180 --> 00:32:59.779 into his 70s, not by trying to mimic youth culture, 00:32:59.859 --> 00:33:02.420 but by actively seeking out and embracing collaboration 00:33:02.420 --> 00:33:05.099 with younger artists like Dua Lipa and Lil Nas 00:33:05.099 --> 00:33:07.779 X. This process, as he described it, was simply 00:33:07.779 --> 00:33:10.460 returning to his original job. the session musician. 00:33:10.759 --> 00:33:13.619 He became the musical chameleon who could pivot 00:33:13.619 --> 00:33:16.400 from writing Tony Award winning Broadway scores 00:33:16.400 --> 00:33:19.039 to topping the charts by submitting his foundational 00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:22.140 piano and voice to contemporary electronic and 00:33:22.140 --> 00:33:25.150 rap production. So what does his deliberate ability 00:33:25.150 --> 00:33:28.769 to return to that simple foundational session 00:33:28.769 --> 00:33:31.849 musician mode late in his career tell us about 00:33:31.849 --> 00:33:34.529 the true nature of creative genius and endurance? 00:33:34.950 --> 00:33:37.250 Well, it tells us that true creative genius isn't 00:33:37.250 --> 00:33:39.730 about being irreplaceable, but about being utterly 00:33:39.730 --> 00:33:43.029 adaptable. He proved that sometimes the greatest 00:33:43.029 --> 00:33:45.369 act of power is the humility of going back to 00:33:45.369 --> 00:33:47.130 the beginning, back to the bench, where that 00:33:47.130 --> 00:33:49.869 spark of creation first ignited in order to conquer 00:33:49.869 --> 00:33:52.250 the future. It's just a remarkable model for 00:33:52.250 --> 00:33:53.559 sustained. artistic relevance.