Happy 75th Birthday Elton John: Performing Live At Outside Lands 2015

Elton John celebrates his 75th birthday today. In honor of the milestone for the legendary pianist, singer-songwriter and performer, JamBase takes a look at his early career as well as a concert at Outside Lands 2015 for this edition of Full Show Friday.

Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947 in Pinner, Middlesex, England. Elton’s skill as a musician was evident from an early age, using his keen ear to pick up classical pieces and play them on the piano immediately. But also ​​heavily influenced by rock pianists Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, it was the blues and rock ‘n’ roll that appealed to the boy who would become Elton Hercules John.

In 1962, Elton formed a band called Bluesology while working for a music publishing company as well as playing solo piano gigs in London. In the mid-1960s, Bluesology found moderate success supporting American R&B acts like the Isley Brothers and Patti LaBelle. Bluesology would also back up English blues musician Long John Baldry for a stint. But it was the fateful answering of an advertisement in the New Musical Express that would lead the fledgling musician to legendary status.

John began working as a composer for Liberty Records led by Ray Williams. The A&R head sent Elton a bevy of lyrics written by Bernie Taupin, who had responded to the same ad. Without meeting Taupin, Elton composed music for the lyrics. The two would finally meet in 1967, launching one of the most brilliant and successful songwriting tandems of all time. Around the same time, the pianist began going by the name Elton John, coupling the “John” from Long John Baldry with the name of Bluesology’s sax player, Elton Dean.

While John and Taupin would begin writing songs for DJM, it wasn’t long before Elton’s talent as an artist in his own right was noticed and he began making records. John released his debut album, Empty Sky, in 1969 but it was his 1970 single and instant classic “Your Song” that began Elton’s stunning string of hits that continues to this day.

Many of those hits were on full display when Elton John brought the aptly named All The Hits Tour to San Francisco’s famed Golden Gate Park at the 2015 Outside Lands Festival on August 9, 2015. The storied showman took the stage to “The Bitch Is Back” from his landmark 1974 album, Caribou, and proceeded to treat the audience to a string of classics like “Bennie And The Jets,” “Candle In The Wind,” “Levon,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Daniel” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” among others.

Elton would also deliver a gorgeous solo piano intro to “Rocket Man” and filled the latter half of the festival closing set with more favorites like the aforementioned “Your Song” and “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.” John would bring the house down with the rocker “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” before returning to encore with “Crocodile Rock.”

To celebrate Elton John’s 75th birthday, watch the iconic artist perform at Outside Lands in 2015 below: