Elton John Farewell Tour
Elton John has been touring for over 50 years and is now on the final leg of his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour.
Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in England in 1947, he is a multi-award winning, multi-platinum selling pianist, singer and composer. Amongst numerous accolades John has won two Academy Awards, various Grammy and Ivor Novello Awards and in 1994 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 1997 he released a rewritten version of “Candle in the Wind” along with “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” as a tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, achieving the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Diamond certification. John was knighted in 1998 by Queen Elizabeth II.
His life outside music includes the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which he established in 1992, and he is a keen sports fan with a long connection with Watford Football Club.
We look back through The AP’s coverage of a unique and colorful career.
Elton John posing with his lyric writer Bernie Taupin in London, March 5, 1973. (AP Photo/John Glanvill)
Elton John, lies on a pile of 30,000 postcards from fans seeking to pay $25 each for tickets to his upcoming charity concert in Los Angeles, Aug. 5, 1975. (AP Photo/George Brich)
Elton John, second from right, grabs an unidentified photographer from behind as the latter has a scuffle with unidentified member of John's party in downtown Rome, Italy, April 13, 1973. John's drummer Nigel Olsson, has a hold of John's arm. (AP Photo)
Elton John and Mike Burke, president of Madison Square Garden, pose with a plaque awarded to John in New York, Oct. 11, 1977. The pop superstar was inducted in the Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame. (AP Photo/Dave Pickoff)
Elton John tips his hat after having a star dedicated to him in the Walk of Fame along Hollywood Boulevard, Oct. 23, 1975, Los Angeles, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Robbins)
AP story as published in The Abilene Reporter-News on Oct. 12, 1977.
Fans of rock superstar Elton John wait outside a Sam Goody record store where he is signing autographs, Oct. 12, 1977 in New York. (AP Photo/Dan Grossi)
British rock singer Elton John shakes a leg during his first concert in the Soviet Union, May 21, 1979. (AP Photo/Boris Yurchenko)
Except from AP story as appeared in The Daily Argus on Sept. 14, 1980.
Elton John, dressed as Donald Duck, performs before an estimated 200,000 people at a free concert on Saturday, Sept. 13, 1980 in New York’s Central Park. John pounded a white piano and wore several outfits during the concert, which was a benefit for the city parks department. (AP Photo/Steve Sands)
Singer Elton John at the British Airways terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, Saturday, Oct. 16, 1982. (AP Photo/Mario Suriani)
Elton John performs at the piano at New York's Madison Square Garden, Aug. 10, 1976. (AP Photo)
Elton John wears the world's most expensive glasses, during Cartier's concert in Monastir, Tunisia, March 30, 1983. (AP Photo/Alexis Duclos)
Rock star Elton John plays "Tiny Dancer" to the crowd at his first of four nights Oct. 23, 1984 at New York's Madison Square Garden. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Elton John performs at the piano on Sept. 11, 1986 at New York's Madison Square Garden. John is wearing a wig styled as a mohawk. (AP Photo/Corey Struller)
British pop star Elton John, second from left, is seen at the rehearsal studios at Millwall in London, Oct. 31, 1982, with original members of his band. From left to right: Davey Johnstone, guitar; John; Nigel Olsson, drums; and Dee Murray, bass. (AP Photo/Joe Schaber)
British rock singer Elton John poses with his mother, Mrs. Sheila Farebrother in the Kremlin in Moscow, May 27, 1979. The popular singer is currently on tour of the Soviet Union. Man at right is Elton John's stepfather, Fred Farebrother. (AP Photo/Boris Yurchenko)
British rock star Elton John returns a ball during a ping pong match with a 13-year-old Li Dequn, June 1, 1983 in Peking, China. The rock star was beaten 0-2. Elton John is visiting China with Watford Football Club. (AP Photo/Liu Heung Shing)
British pop star Elton John arrives at the Monaco Sporting Club in Monaco with his wife Renate Blauel, Aug. 10, 1984, to attend the annual Red Cross Gala in Monte Carlo. (AP Photo/Herve Merliac)
British rock superstar Elton John, left, poses with his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, July 7, 1987 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
British pop singer Elton John performs at the "For the Love of Children" benefit for children with AIDS and other serious illnesses, at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, July 9, 1988. (AP Photo/Alan Greth)
British rock star Elton John performs before some 90,000 screaming fans in Mexico City's Azteca Stadium, Nov. 14, 1992. The two-hour concert ended with a tribute to the late Freddie Mercury, lead singer of British rock group Queen, who died of AIDS several months ago. (AP Photo/J.L. Magana)
Elton John performs at his concert in the Kremlin Palace of Congresses in Moscow, June 6, 1995. The British rock legend is in Russia for two days. He flew in to Moscow only two hours before the first concert began. (AP Photo/Sergei Karpukhin)
Elton John plays a specially re-written version of his song "Candle in the Wind" during the funeral service for Diana, Princess of Wales, at London's Westminster Abbey on Saturday, Sept. 6, 1997. (Paul Hackett, Pool Photo via AP)
Elton John, new part-owner of the Los Angeles Aztecs, kicks a soccer ball during a photo session at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Ca., March 1, 1976. Looking on in the background are, Lee Atack (8); George Best (11), who recently joined the LA team; and John Mason (16). (AP Photo)
British pop star Elton John, left, and members of the Watford Football Club pose on top of China's Great Wall, June 2, 1987, with the Great Wall Cup, which they won in Shanghai earlier in the week. (AP Photo/Neal Ulevich)
Singer Elton John points to the sketch of Vitas Gerulaitis who downed Bjorn Borg, right, in the first annual Vitas Gerulaitis Youth Foundation Tennis event in New York, Dec. 16, 1981. (AP Photo/Nancy Kaye)
Andy Roddick, left, and Elton John, center, get directions from Billie Jean King, right, during the annual charity tennis event benefiting the Elton John AIDS foundation Monday, Nov. 7, 2005, in Hershey, Pa. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)
Fashion designer Gianni Versace, right, stands with musician Elton John, center, and Versace's sister Donatella after they arrived at New York's Lincoln Center in this February 1993 photo for the Council of Fashion Designers Award Gala. (AP Photo/Andrew Savulich)
The sitting room in Elton John's London home Friday, Sept. 12, 2003. The rock star has decided to auction the contents of this house at Sotherby's in London, Sept. 30, 2003. (AP Photo/Max Nash)
Elton John visits the Elton's Closet shop in New York's Rockefeller Center, Apr. 10, 2006. Nearly 10,000 pieces of clothing from the closets of Sir Elton and David Furnish will be on sale to the public to benefit the Elton John Aids Foundation. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Queen Elizabeth II meets Elton John backstage at The Diamond Jubilee Concert in London on June 4, 2012. (AP Photo / Dave Thompson, Pool)
Musician Elton John and his husband producer David Furnish, left, arrive for the UK Film Premiere of Rocketman at the Odeon Luxe in London, Monday, May 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Elton John, left, and Bernie Taupin, winners of the award for best original song for "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from "Rocketman", pose in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Elton John performs at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
Elton John, left, and actor Channing Tatum perform together during the Revlon Concert for the Rainforest Fund at Carnegie Hall, Tuesday, April 3, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
Musician Elton John performs as part of the Apple Music Festival in London, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016. (Photo by Mark Allan/Invision/AP)
Elton John performs during his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road," tour, Friday, July 15, 2022, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Musician Elton John appears on stage as confetti falls during his concert in New York's Madison Square Garden, Sunday, March 25, 2007. (AP Photo/Jeff Christensen)
Photo editing by Katherine O’Mara.