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)
Daniel
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can see the red taillights headin' for Spain
Oh, and I can see Daniel wavin' goodbye
God, it looks like Daniel
Must be the clouds in my eyes
They say Spain is pretty, though I've never been
Well, Daniel says it's the best place he's ever seen
Lord, I miss Daniel
Oh, I miss him so much
Oh, Daniel, my brother, you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal?
Your eyes have died, but you see more than I
Daniel, you're a star in the face of the sky
Oh, Daniel, my brother, you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal?
Your eyes have died, but you see more than I
Daniel, you're a star in the face of the sky
Daniel is travelin' tonight on a plane
I can see the red taillights headin' for Spain
Oh, and I can see Daniel wavin' goodbye
God, it looks like Daniel
Must be the clouds in my eyes
Oh God, it looks like Daniel
Must be the clouds in my eyes
The song "Daniel" by Elton John is a melancholic ballad about a man named Daniel who is traveling by plane to Spain. The opening lines of the song convey the singer’s melancholic thoughts as he watches the red taillights of the airplane disappear. He also feels like he cannot properly see his brother waving goodbye due to the clouds in his eyes. The song evokes a sense of distance and separation, as the singer misses his brother and wonders what he is feeling as he travels.
Elton John describes the beauty of Spain through second-hand accounts from Daniel, who has previously been there. Despite never having been to Spain himself, the singer feels like he knows the country because of Daniel’s stories. The chorus of the song highlights the age gap between the two brothers, as the singer addresses Daniel as “my brother, you are older than me”. He wonders if his brother still feels the pain of old scars, although he is unable to see it because of the cloud in his eyes. He holds his older brother in high esteem and sees him as a star in the sky.
The song ends just as it begins, with Elton John watching the plane with Daniel flying away, suggesting that there are things that are out of our control and that we cannot help but ruminate and feel melancholic about them.
Line by Line Meaning
Daniel is travelin' tonight on a plane
Daniel is flying to Spain tonight.
I can see the red taillights headin' for Spain
The plane's red taillights can be seen going towards Spain.
Oh, and I can see Daniel wavin' goodbye
The singer can see Daniel waving goodbye as the plane takes off.
God, it looks like Daniel
Must be the clouds in my eyes
The singer is unsure because the clouds are obstructing the view.
They say Spain is pretty, no, I've never been
The singer has never been to Spain but has heard that it's beautiful.
Well Daniel says it's the best place that he's ever seen
Daniel has been to Spain and thinks it's the best place he's ever been to.
Oh, and he should know, he's been there enough
Since Daniel has been to Spain many times, he would have a good idea of how it is.
Lord, I miss Daniel
Oh, I miss him so much
The singer misses Daniel a lot.
Oh, Daniel, my brother, you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal?
Your eyes have died, but you see more than I
Daniel, you're a star in the face of the sky
The singer refers to Daniel as his brother and asks if he still feels the pain of past emotional wounds. Even though Daniel has lost the ability to see, he has gained insight that the singer doesn't possess. The singer sees Daniel as a shining star.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Vladimir Cort, Elton John, Bernie Taupin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Peter Harthen
on Sacrifice
not like todays crap
Peter Harthen
on Sacrifice
Even at 56 years old, this music still sounds so good to me, how music should sound.....