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now streaming on
THE list
We rank all of the unforgettable hits, classic
album cuts, and killer collabs
the 50 Greatest Elton John Songs
Terry o'neill / iconic imageS
Elton John has spent nearly six decades writing so many of the world’s favorite songs. He’s a mad genius of pop, whether as the Seventies glam-rock Captain Fantastic, the Eighties balladeer, or the elder statesman we know and love today. Rolling Stone has been with him for the whole rocket ride, chronicling Elton’s highs and lows in reviews, cover stories, deep interviews and more. Take a journey through his one-of-a-kind career, as seen in Rolling Stone.
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album review
‘caribou’
By TOM NOLAN
AUG. 15, 1974
FEATURE
ELTON JOHN: THE FOUR-EYED BITCH IS BACK
By BEN FONG-TORRES
NOV. 21, 1974
FEATURE
Elton John and Bernie Taupin Look Back at ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’
By ANDY GREENE
album review
‘capt. fantastic
and the brown
dirt cowboy’
By JON LANDAU
JULY 17, 1975
album review
‘rock of
the
westies’
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
DEC. 18, 1975
FEATURE
ELTON JOHN:
IT'S LONELY AT
THE TOP
By CLIFF JAHR
OCT. 6, 1976
FEATURE
ELTON’s royal return
By MICK BROWN
june 30, 1977
‘the tumbleweed connection’
By JON LANDAU
FEB. 18, 1971
‘Elton John’
By JOHN MENDELSOHN
NOV. 12, 1970
album review
‘madman across the water’
By ALEX DUBRO
JAN. 20, 1972
Elton John performs “Pinball Wizard” in director Ken Russell’s 1975 big-screen adaptation of the Who’s rock opera Tommy. MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES
Elton takes flight at a Los Angeles stop of the 1975 Captain Fantastic tour. It was his first time with a new band after parting ways with bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson. Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
A portrait of John in 1970, the year he released his self-titled breakthrough album and first played America.
Jack Robinson/ Hulton Archive/Getty Images
album review
album review
Elton lounging in 1974, around the release of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and “The Bitch is Back.”
SSPL/Getty Images
Longtime friends (and soccer fanatics) Elton and Rod Stewart take baths at the Watford football ground in 1973.
Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
Cher, Elton, and Diana Ross backstage at the 1975 Rock Awards in Santa Monica, California.
Mark Sullivan/Contour by Getty Images
the 1970s in photos
album review
‘HONKEY CHATEAU’
By JON LANDAU
AUG. 17, 1972
album review
‘DON'T SHOOT
ME, I'M ONLY THE
PIANO PLAYER’
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
MAR. 15, 1973
album review
‘GOODBYE
YELLOW BRICK
ROAD’
By STEPHEN DAVIS
NOV. 22, 1973
album review
‘Blue
moves’
By ARIEL SWARTLEY
DEC. 30, 1976
album review
‘A SINGLE
MAN’
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
JAN. 25, 1979
album review
‘VICTIM
OF LOVE’
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
DEC. 13, 1979
album review
‘21 at
33’
By KEN TUCKER
JULY 24, 1980
album review
‘the FOX’
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
AUG. 6, 1981
album review
‘JUMP
UP!’
By PARKER PUTERBAUGH
MAY 27, 1982
album review
‘TOO LOW
FOR ZERO’
By DON SHOWY
JUNE 9, 1983
album review
‘ICE
ON FIRE’
By ROB HOERBURGER
JAN. 30, 1986
album review
‘REG STRIKES
BACK’
By HAROLD GOLDBERG
OCT. 6, 1988
COVER STORY
ELTON JOHN
STRIKES BACK, WITHOUT FEATHERS
By SHEILA ROGERS
DEC. 1, 1988
the 1980s in photos
Elton congratulates George Michael on winning the Ivor Novello Songwriter of the Year Award at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel in 1986. Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Elton John performs at Pine Knob Music Theatre outside Detroit during
his Ice on Fire tour in 1986.
Ross Marino/Getty Images
Onstage in Rotterdam, Netherlands, during a tour
in support of The Fox.
Rob Verhorst/Redferns/Getty Images
Elton John at London’s Wembley Stadium in May 1984 for the
FA Final Cup soccer match.
David Graves/Sunday People/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
Elton and ex-wife Renate Blauel at their 1984 wedding ceremony. They divorced four years later. To this day, he feels “huge guilt and regret” about the relationship.
Patrick Riviere/Getty Images
Elton arriving at London’s Heathrow Airport in May 1980, right around the release of 21 at 33.
Victor Crawshaw/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
album review
‘the
one’
By JIM FABER
JUNE 22, 1992
album review
‘MADE
IN ENGLAND’
By PETER GALVIN
MAY 4, 1995
album review
‘THE
BIG PICTURE’
By DAVID FRICKE
DEC. 19, 1997
FEATURE
ELTON John at 50: my life
as a man
By EDMUND WHITE
JULY 10, 1997
the 1990s in photos
Elton (dressed as King Louis XIV) at his 50th-birthday celebration at London’s Hammersmith Palais, alongside future husband David Furnish. UK Press via Getty Images
Elton and Axl Rose perform “Bohemian Rhapsody” at the 1992 Freddie
Mercury memorial concert.
Jim Steele/Popperfoto/Getty Images
Madonna and Elton strike a pose backstage at the
1995 BRIT Awards.
Duncan Raban/Popperfoto/Getty Images
Elton performing “Candle in the Wind 1997” at the funeral of Princess Diana, on Sept. 6, 1997. It became one of the most successful singles in the history of the music industry.
Anwar Hussein/WireImage
DreamWorks chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, Vice President Al Gore, Andy Spahn of DreamWorks, First Lady Hillary Clinton, and Elton goofing around in the White House on Feb. 5, 1998.
Diana Walker/Contour by Getty Images
album review
‘SONGS FROM
THE WEST COAST’
By BARRY WALTERS
SEPT. 17, 2001
album review
‘THE CAPTAIN
AND THE KID’
By CHRISTIAN HOARD
SEPT. 18, 2006
FEATURE
sir bitch
is back
By DAVID WILD
NOV. 25, 2004
FEATURE
Elton john:
my life in 20 songs
By CAMERON CROWE
OCT. 10, 2013
FEATURE
Bernie taupin on 48 years writing with elton john and their new LP
By ANDY GREENE
NOV. 17, 2015
album review
‘the
UNION’
By DAVID FRICKE
OCT. 13, 2010
album review
‘THE
DIVING BOARD’
By ALAN LIGHT
SEPT. 13, 2013
album review
‘WONDERFUL
CRAZY NIGHT’
By DAVID FRICKE
FEB. 15, 2016
COVER STORY
musicians on musicians: elton john & lana del rey
By PATRICK DOYLE
OCT. 24, 2019
FEATURE
ELTON JOHN’S ESSENTIAL ALBUMS
By ROB SHEFFIELD
MARCH 23, 2017
FEATURE
Elton John’s Magical Mystery Movie: Inside The Making of ‘Rocketman’
By ANDY GREENE
MAY 13, 2019
FEATURE
Elton John talks new rarities box set, life during the pandemic
By ANDY GREENE
OCT. 30, 2020
the 2000s in photos
Dua Lipa and Elton John at the Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party on April 25, 2021. David M. Benett/Getty Images for the Elton John AIDS Foundation
Eminem and Elton perform “Stan” at the 2001 Grammy Awards. They became close friends in the years that followed, and Eminem credited Elton with helping him kick his drug habit. Dave Hogan/Getty Images
Elton, husband David Furnish, and their two sons, Zachary and Elijah, at a 2014 Elton John AIDS Foundation event.
Gareth Cattermole/Elton John AIDS Foundation/WireImage
Taron Egerton, Elton, and David Furnish on the set of
the biopic Rocketman.
David Appleby/Paramount Pictures
A victorious Elton at his 2020 Academy Awards party on the night he won “Best Original Song” for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” from the Rocketman soundtrack.
Michael Kovac/Getty Images for EJAF
Elton recording his contribution to an all-star rendition of Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven,” created to benefit victims of the 2005 tsunami in Southeast Asia. Kevin Winter/Getty Images
CONCERT REVIEW
A winning
bet
By DAVID WILD
JUNE 28, 1990
COVER STORY
elton john, one year on
By DAVID FELTON
JUNE 10, 1971
elton
presented by
COVER STORY
elton john,
one year on
By DAVID FELTON
JUNE 10, 1971
album review
‘Elton John’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘THE
TUMBLEWEED
CONNECTION
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘Elton John’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘THE
TUMBLEWEED
CONNECTION’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘MADMAN
ACROSS THE
WATER’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
COVER STORY
elton john,
one year on
By DAVID FELTON
JUNE 10, 1971
album review
‘GOODBYE
YELLOW BRICK
ROAD’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘CARIBOU’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
ELTON’s royal return
COVER STORY
elton john: THE ROLLING STONE INTERVIEW
By DAVID FELTON
album review
‘CARIBOU’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘BLUE
MOVES’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘A SINGLE
MAN’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘BLUE
MOVES’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘A SINGLE
MAN’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
FEATURE
ELTON JOHN: THE FOUR-EYED BITCH IS BACK
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
feature
Elton John and Bernie Taupin Look Back at ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’
By ANDY GREENE
JUNE 10, 1971
album review
‘BLUE
MOVES’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘A SINGLE
MAN’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘VICTIM OF
LOVE’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘BLUE
MOVES’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘A SINGLE
MAN’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘VICTIM OF
LOVE’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
feature
ELTON’s royal return
By MICK BROWN
JUNE 30, 1977
COVER STORY
elton john,
one year on
By DAVID FELTON
JUNE 10, 1971
album review
‘too low
for zero’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘ice on
fire’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘reg
strikes back’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
COVER STORY
ELTON JOHN STRIKES BACK, WITHOUT FEATHERS
By MICK BROWN
JUNE 30, 1977
album review
‘CAPT. FANTASTIC
AND THE BROWN
DIRT COWBOY’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘ROCK OF
THE WESTIES’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
FEATURE
ELTON JOHN:
IT'S LONELY AT THE TOP
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
FEATURE
SIR BITCH
IS BACK
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
FEATURE
ELTON JOHN: MY LIFE IN 20 SONGS
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘THE
ONE’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘MADE IN
ENGLAND’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
album review
‘THE
BIG PICTURE’
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
FEATURE
ELTON JOHN:
MY LIFE AS
A MAN
By MICK BROWN
JUNE 30, 1977
FEATURE
BERNIE TAUPIN ON 48 YEARS WRITING WITH ELTON JOHN AND THEIR NEW LP
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
FEATURE
BERNIE TAUPIN ON 48 YEARS WRITING WITH ELTON JOHN AND THEIR NEW LP
By JON LANDAU
NOVEMBER 12, 1970
COVER STORY
MUSICIANS ON MUSICIANS: ELTON JOHN AND LANA DEL REY
By PATRICK DOYLE
OCT. 24, 2019
Photos From top, left to right: Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images; David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images; Val Wilmer/Redferns/Getty Images; Robert Knight Archive/Redferns/Getty Images; Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; Everett Collection; Ross Marino/Getty Images; Albert Foster/Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Getty Images; PA Images/Getty Images; Rick Diamond/Getty Images; Kerry Marshall/Getty Images; Mick Hutson/Redferns/Getty Images; Courtesy Universal Music Group; Rob Hoffman; Ryan McGinley for Rolling Stone; Rocky Widner/FilmMagic; David Appleby/Paramount Pictures; Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation
THE 1970s IN PHOTOS
Cher, Elton, and Diana Ross backstage at the 1975 Rock Awards in Santa Monica, California.
Mark Sullivan/Contour by Getty Images
Longtime friends (and soccer fanatics) Elton and Rod Stewart take baths at the Watford football ground in 1973.
Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
Elton lounging in 1974, around the release of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and “The Bitch is Back.”
SSPL/Getty Images
A portrait of John in 1970, the year he released his self-titled breakthrough album and first played America.
Jack Robinson/ Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Elton takes flight at a Los Angeles stop of the 1975 Captain Fantastic tour. It was his first time hitting the road with a new band after parting ways with bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson. Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Elton John performs “Pinball Wizard” in director Ken Russell’s 1975 big-screen adaptation of the Who’s rock opera Tommy. MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES
THE 1980s IN PHOTOS
Elton performs at Pine Knob Music Theatre outside Detroit during his Ice on Fire tour in 1986.
Ross Marino/Getty Images
Elton congratulates George Michael on winning the Ivor Novello Songwriter of the Year Award at London's Grosvenor House Hotel in 1986. Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Elton arriving at London's Heathrow Airport in May 1980, right around the release of 21 at 33.
Victor Crawshaw/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
Elton and ex-wife Renate Blauel at their 1984 wedding ceremony. Patrick Riviere/Getty Images
Elton John at London's Wembley Stadium in May 1984 for the FA Final Cup soccer match. David Graves/Sunday People/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
THE 1980s IN PHOTOS
Madonna and Elton strike a pose backstage at the 1995 BRIT Awards. Duncan Raban/Popperfoto/Getty Images
Elton and Axl Rose perform “Bohemian Rhapsody” at the 1992 Freddie Mercury memorial concert.
Jim Steele/Popperfoto/Getty Images
Elton (dressed as King Louis XIV) at his 50th-birthday celebration at London’s Hammersmith Palais, alongside future husband David Furnish. UK Press via Getty Images
DreamWorks chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, Vice President Al Gore, Andy Spahn of DreamWorks, First Lady Hillary Clinton, and Elton goofing around in the White House on Feb. 5, 1998. Diana Walker/Contour by Getty Images
Elton performing “Candle in the Wind ’97” at the funeral of Princess Diana, on Sept. 6, 1997. ANWAR HUSEEIN/WIREIMAGE
Madonna and Elton strike a pose backstage at the 1995 BRIT Awards. Duncan Raban/Popperfoto/Getty Images