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)
Postcards From Richard Nixon
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The common sense I sometimes lack
Has opened up a seismic crack
We've fallen in and I can't pull back
And I guess we'll have to stay
In open arms we put our trust they put us on a big red bus
Twin spirits soaking up a dream
After years that were long and lean
We're finally on our way
[Chorus:]
And Richard Nixon's on his knees he's sent so many overseas
He'd like to know if you and me could help him in some way
A little camouflage and glue to mask the evil that men do
A small diversion caused by two, pale kids come to play
And we heard Richard Nixon say "welcome to the USA"
Neither of us understood the way things ticked in Hollywood
We just loaded in and grabbed the bat
With little room to swing a cat
And pretty soon we were where it's at
Or so the papers say
And all around us suntanned teens, beauty like we'd never seen
Our heroes led us by the hand
Through Brian Wilson's promised land
Where Disney's God and he commands
Both mice and men to stay
[Chorus]
In a bright red Porsche on Sunset I saw Steve McQueen
I guess he's just about the coolest guy I've ever seen
And for you and me that speeding car is how it's going to be
I see no brakes just open road and lots of gasoline
Oh we heard Richard Nixon say, welcome to the USA
The common sense I sometimes lack
Has opened up a seismic crack
We've fallen in and I can't pull back
Pale kids come to play
And we heard Richard Nixon say, I've gotta go but you can stay
Pale kids come to play
And we heard Richard Nixon say, I've gotta go but you can stay...
"Postcards From Richard Nixon" is a song by Elton John from his 2006 album, "The Captain & The Kid." The song tells the story of Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin's early experiences when they first arrived in America in the early 1970s. The song references Richard Nixon, the President of the United States at the time, who is used as a metaphor for America itself. The song has a nostalgic quality about it, reflecting on the innocence and naivety of the two young men as they embarked on their journey.
The first verse of the song talks about how they arrived in America with open arms, and how their lack of understanding about the realities of America's political and social climate led them to fall into a "seismic crack." They realize that they have become a part of something they cannot return from easily. In the chorus, Nixon is depicted as a man who has sent many young people overseas to fight in the Vietnam War, asking for the help of these two "pale kids." The "camouflage and glue" metaphor is used to refer to the perception management that the government often employs to hide the true nature of their actions.
The second verse references Hollywood and the music industry, which both Elton John and Bernie Taupin struggled to understand when they first arrived in America. However, they were quickly swept up in the excitement and glamour of the industry. The chorus is repeated again, and the song ends with a mention of Steve McQueen and the open road.
Line by Line Meaning
We heard Richard Nixon say, welcome to the USA
We were welcomed to the USA by Richard Nixon
The common sense I sometimes lack
I don't always have common sense
Has opened up a seismic crack
My lack of common sense has caused a major problem
We've fallen in and I can't pull back
We're stuck in this problem and can't get out
And I guess we'll have to stay
We have no choice but to deal with the consequences and stay
In open arms we put our trust they put us on a big red bus
We trusted them completely and they helped us get started on our journey
Twin spirits soaking up a dream
We were two like-minded individuals pursuing a dream together
Fuel to feed the press machine
Our actions and story were being used to create news and fuel media coverage
After years that were long and lean
We had struggled for years before finally succeeding
We're finally on our way
We had finally achieved success and were moving forward
And Richard Nixon's on his knees he's sent so many overseas
Richard Nixon had sent many people overseas and was now asking for our help
He'd like to know if you and me could help him in some way
Richard Nixon was requesting our assistance
A little camouflage and glue to mask the evil that men do
He wanted us to cover up the bad things that people do
A small diversion caused by two, pale kids come to play
We were being asked to create a distraction to help hide the truth
Neither of us understood the way things ticked in Hollywood
We didn't really understand how things worked in Hollywood
We just loaded in and grabbed the bat
We jumped right in and took action
With little room to swing a cat
There wasn't much opportunity to do anything
And pretty soon we were where it's at
We quickly found ourselves in the heart of the action
Or so the papers say
That's at least what the newspapers reported
And all around us suntanned teens, beauty like we'd never seen
There were attractive, suntanned teenagers all around us
Our heroes led us by the hand
Our idols were guiding and showing us the way
Through Brian Wilson's promised land
We were taken to Brian Wilson's ideal world
Where Disney's God and he commands both mice and men to stay
Disney's influence is so great that even men and mice have to obey
In a bright red Porsche on Sunset I saw Steve McQueen
I saw Steve McQueen driving a bright red Porsche on Sunset Boulevard
I guess he's just about the coolest guy I've ever seen
I thought Steve McQueen was incredibly cool
And for you and me that speeding car is how it's going to be
We were headed straight for success, just like Steve McQueen's speeding car
I see no brakes just open road and lots of gasoline
We were pushing full steam ahead with no intention of slowing down
Pale kids come to play
We were young and inexperienced
And we heard Richard Nixon say, I've gotta go but you can stay
Richard Nixon had to leave but we were welcome to stay in the USA
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BERNIE TAUPIN, ELTON JOHN
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.....