FEBRUARY 24, 1998 – England’s Queen Elizabeth II knighted Elton John during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace with his mother Sheila in attendance. Even though he was erroneously announced as “Sir John Elton,” the singer later maintained “They don’t come any bigger than this.”
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (b. March 25, 1947 as Reginald Kenneth Dwight in Pinner, Middlesex, England) is one of the entertainment industry’s most highly acclaimed and successful solo artists of all time. At the age of three he astonished his family by sitting at the piano and playing the French composer Émile Waldteufel piece from 1882 “Les Patineurs Valse” (aka “The Skater’s Waltz”) by ear. He has achieved 37 gold and 27 multi-platinum albums, has sold more than 250 million records worldwide, and holds the record for the best-selling single of all time with “Candle in the Wind”. Since 1969, Elton has played more than 3,500 concerts in over 80 countries in nearly five decades.
