Elton John: The ever-contemporary pop legend turns 75

Born on March 25,1947 as Reginald Kenneth Dwight, he started as a pub pianist as a teenager and went on to dominate Britain's pop scene in the 1970s, creating a lasting impact on the music industry. In the US, Elton John was one of the first artists to have four records in the Top 10 simultaneously. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him in 1998 for his contributions to music and charity.

Elton John is not very tall. And not a classic beauty either. The pop star has compensated for this from the very beginning: with the most shrill stage outfits, colorful clothes, feather boa, platform shoes and extreme glasses. He started his career at the beginning of the 1970s with a few excellent songs in tow, which wrote together with his lyricist, Bernie Taupin.

Elton John at the piano — an iconic image. Here, the living legend is seen playing "Your Song" at the start of his 2000 British tour. It was his heartfelt breakthrough title in 1970, his first single in the charts, a song that hit the top 10 in the UK and the US. After that, there was no stopping Elton John.

He worked incessantly, releasing three studio albums in 1971 alone. His biggest hits were all produced in the 1970s, "Rocket Man," "Crocodile Rock," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Candle in the Wind." Duets with John Lennon ("Whatever Gets You Through the Night") and Kiki Dee ("Don't Go Breaking My Heart") elevated Elton John to a pop titan.

By 1976, Elton John was flush enough to finance another passion: soccer. He supported the Watford Football Club, a move that catapulted the team from fourth division to the Premier League, and invested in the Los Angeles Aztecs. Above, Irish football legend George Best watches the pop star in action.

An advocate for gay and lesbian rights, he founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in the early 1990s. John helped organize regular charity events — and he participated, too, like in the above 2016 celebrities' charity tennis tournament.

Elton John's best friends included George Michael (right) and Lady Diana. Diana and Elton had one thing in common — the press is — or was — constantly chasing them. Here, the three met at the Live Aid concert in 1985.

Diana and Elton John had a common close friend: fashion designer Gianni Versace. He was murdered in July 1997. At his funeral service in Milan, thousands of mourners gathered — including Princess Diana and Elton John, seen here. Stunned, they bid farewell to their friend. John had no idea that the next stroke of fate would follow only a short time later.

Lady Diana died from injuries suffered in a car crash in August 1997. Elton John then rewrote the lyrics to "Candle in the Wind," a song he originally penned for Marilyn Monroe in the 1970s. Elton John performed the song at Diana's funeral. The recording sold millions of copies and raised millions for charity.

Elton John came out as bisexual in 1976. He married the German sound engineer Renate Blauel in 1984. The marriage lasted four years. Two years after the break-up, Elton John declared his homosexuality.

In 2005, Elton John and David Furnish documented their civil partnership, which was formally converted into a marriage nine years later. "As a gay man I am perfectly happy with my sexuality and my life. I can honestly say that the deepest longings of my heart are satisfied," John said in response to a Scottish cardinal's remarks about homosexuality.

The couple adopted two boys, Zachary Jackson Levon and Elijah Joseph Daniel. Both children have the same surrogate mother — but whether John or Furnish is the biological dad remains a well-kept secret.

Zachary and Elijah have a famous godmother: Lady Gaga. She provides an additional shrill note in the family. She and Elton John are close friends. In February 2016, shown here, the two gave a concert on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood — as a thank-you for supporting his AIDS foundation.

During the COVID lockdown, he recorded a collaborative album, "The Lockdown Sessions," released in October 2021. He pursues his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour of more than 300 gigs worldwide that started in 2018. Discussing his three-quarter century milestone, he told AFP: "I feel unbelievably lucky that at 75 I still love what I do so much — I'm still so energized about music."