Elton John - The "Rocket Man" Singer Celebrates His 73rd Birthday

Mar 24, 2020

In honor of Elton John's 73rd birthday, we collected some interesting facts about the accomplished musician.

• He Is A Knight: In 1998 Elton John was actually knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for his services to charity. He now carries the title of Knight Bachelor for "services to music and charitable services."
• He Has Famous Godchildren: Elton John and his husband David Furnish have several godchildren. For example Sean Lennon, the son of John Lennon, or Brooklyn Beckham, the son of David and Victoria Beckham. The godmother of her own two sons, Zachary and Elijah, however, is none other than superstar Lady Gaga.

• His Outfits Tend To be Over The Top: The singer loves to wear crazy outfits on stage. During his career, he has already performed as the statue of liberty, Mozart, the Eiffel Tower, and Donald Duck among many other things.
• Elton John Is Not His Actual Name: The singer was originally born with the name Reginald Kenneth Dwight. He later named himself Elton John after the saxophonist Elton Dean and the singer Long John Baldry. But that's not all: he also chose ‘Hercules’ as his new middle name.

• “Candle in the Wind” Is His Best-Selling Single: In 1973 Elton John originally wrote the song in honor of actress and singer Marilyn Monroe. But after his dear friend Princess Diana passed away in 1997 he re-released the single as a tribute to her. Which caused the record to be sold more than 33 million times so far, according to Forbes.
• Elton John On Broadway: The musician looks back on a successful Broadway career. In 1994 he did the music for the Disney movie The Lion King, which was later turned in to a Broadway production that ended up being the highest-grossing Broadway show of all time, according to the Playbill. But that’s not all, Elton John also wrote the music for other musicals such as Billy Elliot, Aida or Lestat.

• He Names His Pianos: Elton John’s trademark instrument is definitely the piano. What most people don’t know however is that he actually names his pianos, mostly choosing names of female singers such as Aretha Franklin or Diana Krall, according to Daily Express.
• He Owns More Than 250,000 Pairs Of Glasses: This might sound insane but in 2010 the musician revealed that he owns about a quarter of a million pairs of glasses, according to a Daily Mail report.

Are you a fan of Elton John? If so, did you already know all of these facts about him or did you learn something new? Let us know in the comments and be sure to pass this article along to your friends and family, so they can all wish Elton John a happy birthday!