By Brandon Engel When Elton John released his first album quietly in 1969 to relatively solid success, few could have expected that the timid singer/songwriter from a working-class family would become Sir Elton John, the most successful male solo artist in the world, LGBT icon, and one of the public biggest voices in the fight against AIDS. To help celebrate the release of his upcoming 31st studio album The Diving Board, let’s take a look at that long and winding road that led a young Reginald Dwight to become Sir Elton John.
After his first album release in 1969, John followed with two albums in 1970 and the release of his first hit single, “Your Song”. His star steadily rose during 1971 when he released Tumbleweed Connection, but his 1972 album, Honky Chateau is what really shot him to the top. The album hit #1 in the U.S., and began his record-breaking run as the first artist to ever have seven consecutive #1 albums in America. His over-the-top personality and outrageous stage costumes captivated audiences across the globe, but by the time the 70’s ended his success began to wane.
During the 80’s, Elton produced a few hit singles like “Little Jeannie”, “Nikita”, and “That’s What Friends Are For”, which raised funds for AIDS research. Having fully come out of the closet as gay (not bisexual as he had previously stated) in 1988, John slowly became familiar with a new disease gripping the LGBT community. That disease was, of course, AIDS and John saw its impact in both the LGBT community but also the world as a whole and vowed to do whatever he could to help. He made the decision to publicly support the family of Ryan White, the poster child for HIV/AIDS in the 80’s after having contracted it from a blood transfusion. John helped the family move from their frequently vandalized home and spent the last week of White’s life with him in the hospital. After White’s death in 1990, and of John’s friend Freddie Mercury in 1992 (also of an AIDS-related illness) John founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which has since raised over $300 million to help the fight against AIDS. It was shortly after the creation of his charity that he met his longtime partner David Furnish.
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