Today is Sir Elton John's 73rd birthday!
The English singer, songwriter, pianist and composer was born in the Pinner area of London in 1947, and released his debut album Empty Sky in 1969. Since then, he's sold more than 300 million records, making him one of the best-selling artists in the history of recorded music.
John has a long list of honors and accolades, including inductions in the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1992) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1994). He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1995) and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, who recognized him for his charitable work (1998).
John has been an advocate in the fight against AIDS since the 80s. He established the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, which has since raised more than $400 million to provide support for HIV prevention, educational programs and direct care to people all over the world.
In 2007, John celebrated his 60th birthday with a sold-out show at one of his favorite venues, Madison Square Garden. It was also the 60th time the Rocket Man had performed at the arena!
The festivities began with a welcome introduction by former President Bill Clinton before John took the stage for a felicitous performance of "Sixty Years On."
He dazzled the crowd with a 33-song setlist of career-spanning songs, which included everything from the 70s to the early 80s like "High Flying Bird," "Holiday Inn," "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" and "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters."
He played "Ballad of a Well-Known Gun" for the first time since 1972, and brought back "Better Off Dead," "Levon," "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)," "Roy Rogers," "Philadelphia Freedom" and "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" for the first time that year.
Halfway through the set, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg and Bernie Taupin joined John on stage to wish him a happy birthday. Check it out:
The second half of the show resumed with back-to-back hits like "Bennie and the Jets," "Tiny Dancer," "I'm Still Standing," "The Bitch Is Back," "Crocodile Rock" and "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" before John ultimately closed out the show with a two-song encore of"Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" and "Your Song."
Take a look at the full setlist and some videos from the performance below!
Elton John had to postpone his upcoming North American leg of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour due to the coronavirus outbreak. Check out our list of postponed concerts that we are updating daily!
In lieu of a live show, John is performing a "living room concert" for coronavirus relief this Sunday (March 29th), joining the likes of Billie Joe Armstrong, Alicia Keys, Billie Eilish and Mariah Carey. Dubbed the iHeart Living Room Concert for America, the livestream will pay tribute to health professionals and first responders battling the coronavirus outbreak. Read more about it here.
