Elton John
Elton is the third most successful artist in the history of the American charts, behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles. He has had 56 top 40 singles in the United States, a total second only to Elvis Presley. He achieved seven #1 albums in the three-and-a-half-year period from 1972 to 1975 — a period of concentrated success surpassed only by the Beatles.
Elton was born on March 25, 1947, in Pinner, Middlesex, United Kingdom, and given the name Reginald Kenneth Dwight. At the age of three he astonished his family by sitting at the piano and playing The Skater’s Waltz by ear. At the age of 11 he was awarded a scholarship as a Junior Exhibitor at the Royal Academy of Music and he attended the Academy on Saturday mornings for the next four years.
Besides his knighthood, Elton’s landmark awards include Best British Male Artist BRIT Award, 1991; Songwriters Hall of Fame (with Bernie Taupin), 1992; Officer of Arts & Letters (France) 1993; induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1994; Polar Music Prize, 1995; MusiCares Person of the Year, 2000; Kennedy Center Honor, 2004; Billboard Magazine Legend of Live Award, 2006; Songwriters Hall of Fame Johnny Mercer Award (with Bernie Taupin), 2013; BRITs Icon Award, 2013; Rockefeller Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, 2013 and the Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative Leadership Award, 2013. In 2002, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Royal Academy of Music and in 2004 he became a Fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters and Composers.
Elton has won 12 Ivor Novello Awards between 1973 and 2000, has been nominated for a Grammy Award 11 times (winning in 1986, 1991, 1994, 1997 and 2000), and received the Grammy Legend Award in 2001. Three of his albums have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, including his 1970 eponymous album. Elton has 3 Oscar Award nominations (winning in 1995), and a Tony Award (with 4 nominations) for Best Original Score for Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida in 2000.
Engagement in Cultural Diplomacy
Humanitarian Causes and Philanthropic Donations
After losing his close friends like Freddie Mercury and teenager Ryan White to AIDS, Sir Elton John decided to set up a foundation for the disease, first in the United States in 1992, and subsequently in the United Kingdom in 1993. While functioning as separate organisations, both the Elton John AIDS Foundation in the UK and the USA pursue the common goals of empowering people infected, affected and at risk of HIV/AIDS. Elton John supports over a hundred humanitarian organisations: AIDS LIFE, American Foundation for AIDS Research, American Foundation for Equal Rights, Andre Agassi Foundation for Education, Andy Roddick Foundation, Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Bridge School, Caudwell Children, Children's Tumor Foundation, Cinema For Peace and many others.
