John was raised in the Pinner suburb of London and learned to play piano at an early age, forming the blues band Bluesology in 1962. After leaving Bluesology in 1967 to embark on a solo career, John met Taupin after they both answered an advert for songwriters. For two years, they wrote songs for other artists, and John worked as a session musician for artists. John released his debut album Empty Sky in 1969, and a year later formed the Elton John Band and released his first hit single, "Your Song".
John's critical success was at its peak in the 1970s when he released a streak of chart-topping albums in the US and UK, which began with Honky Château (1972) and culminated with Rock of the Westies (1975). John continued his success in the 1980s and 1990s, having several hit singles and albums in both decades, and has continued to record new music since then. He has also had success in musical films and theatre, composing music for The Lion King, Aida, and Billy Elliot the Musical. In 2018, John began his ongoing farewell tour Farewell Yellow Brick Road, which is scheduled to conclude in 2023. The 2019 biopic Rocketman dramatized his life and career.
Outside of music, John is an HIV/AIDS charity fundraiser and has been involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s. He established the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, which has raised over £300 million since its inception, and a year later he began hosting his annual Foundation Academy Awards Party, which has since become one of the biggest high-profile Oscar parties in the Hollywood film industry. John was the chairman and director of Watford F.C, from 1976 to 1987, and again from 1997 to 2002, and is an honorary life president of the club. From the late 1970s to the late 1980s, John developed a severe addiction problem to drugs and alcohol but has been sober since 1990. He entered into a civil partnership with Canadian filmmaker David Furnish in 2005; they married after same-sex marriage became legal in England and Wales in 2014.
John has sold over 300 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. He has more than fifty Top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart and US Billboard Hot 100, including nine number-ones in the UK and US, as well as seven consecutive number-one albums in the US. His tribute single "Candle in the Wind 1997", a rewritten version of his 1974 single in dedication to Princess Diana, sold over 33 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling chart single of all time. In 2021, John became the first solo artist with UK Top 10 singles across six decades.
John has received numerous awards, including five Grammy Awards, five Brit Awards; including for Outstanding Contribution to Music; two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, a Disney Legend Award, and the Kennedy Center Honor. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and is a fellow of The Ivors Academy. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music and charitable services in 1998 and was appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) in 2020.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_John
Solo studio albums
Empty Sky (1969)
Elton John (1970)
Tumbleweed Connection (1970)
Madman Across the Water (1971)
Honky Château (1972)
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (1973)
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
Caribou (1974)
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975)
Rock of the Westies (1975)
Blue Moves (1976)
A Single Man (1978)
Victim of Love (1979)
21 at 33 (1980)
The Fox (1981)
Jump Up! (1982)
Too Low for Zero (1983)
Breaking Hearts (1984)
Ice on Fire (1985)
Leather Jackets (1986)
Reg Strikes Back (1988)
Sleeping with the Past (1989)
The One (1992)
Made in England (1995)
The Big Picture (1997)
Songs from the West Coast (2001)
Peachtree Road (2004)
The Captain & the Kid (2006)
The Diving Board (2013)
Wonderful Crazy Night (2016)
Regimental Sgt. Zippo (2021)
Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ain't nothing like the real thing
Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby
Ain't nothing like the real thing
I got your picture hangin' on the wall
But it can't see or come to me when I call your name
I realize it's just a picture inside a frame
I read your letters when you're not near me
But they don't move me, and they don't groove me
Like when I hear your sweet voice whispering in my ear
I play the game, a fantasy
I pretend I'm not in reality
I need the shelter of your arms to comfort me
I got some memories to look back on
And though they help me when you're gone
I'm well aware nothin' can take the place of you being there
No other sound is quite the same as your name
No touch can do half as much to make me feel better
So let's get together
Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby
Ain't nothing like the real thing
Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby
Ain't nothing like the real thing
In the song "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," Elton John expresses his longing for a lover who is not physically present. The singer is aware that while he has a picture of his lover hanging on the wall and letters from her that he can read when she's not around, these items cannot replace the warmth and comfort he feels from her physical presence. He realizes that these substitutes are just a way for him to live in a fantasy and avoid the reality of being without her.
The verse, "I'm well aware nothin' can take the place of you being there," encapsulates the song's theme. Throughout the song, Elton John voices the idea that nothing can replace the real thing, the actual presence of his lover. He recognizes that no other touch or sound can do half as much to make him feel better. Ultimately, the singer's message is that the virtual or imagined substitute for the real thing is really no substitute at all.
Overall, "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" is a statement about the importance of genuine intimacy and the limitations of technology and other forms of communication. The singer acknowledges that people use virtual substitutes to ease the pain of separation, but ultimately, nothing can take the place of genuine human connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby
Nothing can compare to the genuine article, my love.
I got your picture hangin' on the wall
I have a photograph of you proudly displayed on my wall.
But it can't see or come to me when I call your name
However, it is just an image and cannot respond to me or come to my side when I call out for you.
I realize it's just a picture inside a frame
I am aware that the photo is just an object inside a boundary and does not possess life or emotion.
I read your letters when you're not near me
When you are not by my side, I read the messages you send me.
But they don't move me, and they don't groove me
However, they do not stir or excite me like your physical presence does.
Like when I hear your sweet voice whispering in my ear
For instance, when I hear your enticing voice murmuring in my ear.
I play the game, a fantasy
To cope with your absence, sometimes I engage in a make-believe state of mind.
I pretend I'm not in reality
I trick myself into believing that I am not living in the present moment or existing in reality.
I need the shelter of your arms to comfort me
What I truly crave is the embrace of your arms to provide me solace.
I got some memories to look back on
There are some memories of us together that I cherish and reminisce upon.
And though they help me when you're gone
These recollections are helpful to me when you are not here with me.
I'm well aware nothin' can take the place of you being there
However, I understand that nothing can replace your actual presence by my side.
No other sound is quite the same as your name
No other auditory sensation is equivalent to hearing someone say your name.
No touch can do half as much to make me feel better
No other physical contact can provide me with the same degree of emotional relief and comfort.
So let's get together
Therefore, let us reunite and be with one another once again, my darling.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ffrhtn2
excellent version by an unlikely duo - but it worked superbly :)
@arsenjaho8069
"Duets" album from Elton John was a genius project. But unfortunately it was one of the most underrated albums in the history of pentagram! Except of this video there was also the gem "True love", but and the other songs that never were released as singles, were magnificient too.
@limptreedepablo4370
a brilliant video a good duet
@valeriozecchinelli2555
Meravigliosa me la sentivo sempre sul treno quando tornavo a casa durante il servizio militare
@polyprinz
Love Marcy....
@massimoarnaboldi3177
Bella canzone,me la ricordo negli anni '90...😀🎖️
@GuitarlosCarlos
HEY MARCY - REMEMBER THE NIGHT AT THE BBC TELEVISION CENTER WHEN ELTON GOT HIS IVOR NOVELLO LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
@user-kf1ge6px1n
Эта песня и её образ чем-то мне напомнил Лизу Стенсфилд , которая стала легендой в 1989г...
Не могу понять до конца чем!?
@stephaneabe9592
Marvin gaye and tammy terrell legend
@alanfox4172
on a par with marvin and tammi