Elton John is known throughout the music world as a true icon, but what was his first ever song?
Elton John’s first song was titled ‘Scarecrow‘, and was recorded in 1967. This song was actually written, composed and performed before he was even named Elton John, and predates his first album by more than two years.
Read on to learn more about the impressive history of Elton John.
Humble Beginnings
Elton John was born and grew up in council properties throughout the fifties and early sixties. He attended public school and experienced some struggles with his biological father. At the age of fourteen, his parents divorced and his mother remarried.
In interviews, John has explained that his father tried to push him away from anything creative. His desire was for his son to embark on a more practical, conventional career. However, both of John’s parents were musical fans, both playing and regularly enjoying big band and rock’n’roll tracks.
Elton John’s earliest clashes with music came when he began playing his grandmother’s home piano, learning music by ear. The young Elton quickly adopted an affinity for music, and started taking occasional piano lessons from age seven.
This early skill earned John a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. Seizing the opportunity, John attended weekend sessions at the Academy for five years, from around 1958 to 1963. At this point, John began playing in local pubs and hotels, expressing his musical genius to small crowds.
In 1967, things were set to change. Elton John had a chance meeting with a manager for a record company. At this meeting, John was given an envelope containing lyrics, written by a lyricist. In response, John composed music for the lyrics and sent it all back to the writer. That particular lyricist was named Bernie Taupin, and this would kick-start a partnership lasting decades.
Upon meeting in 1967, Taupin and John composed their first ever track together – Scarecrow. This track was recorded semi-professionally, and wasn’t ever released on an official album, but it can be found on YouTube.
In 1968, John and Taupin worked together on their first studio single, I’ve Been Loving You. This was followed a year later by John’s debut album, Empty Sky. From here on out, John would experience untold success in the music industry, quickly rising to international fame and stardom.
Becoming Elton
In 1967, Reginald Kenneth Dwight legally changed his name to Elton Hercules John. This marked the true beginning of his persona, and his rise to true fame. Gone was the restricted upbringing, replaced by fantastic costumes, extravagant performances and groundbreaking tracks.
John stunned the world with his performance acumen, dominating the stage with his vocal range and piano skills. He toured the world just two years after launching that very first single. This tour was simply known as the Elton John World Tour, and generated massive attention in North America.
As of 2020, and more than half a century after that first song, Elton John was cemented in musical history. He’d been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, received countless awards, and had more iconic tracks than any other artist on the planet. He also boasted a net worth of around $500 million and had sold more than 300 million albums world wide.
Elton John is also an avid philanthropist and supporter of causes very close to him. He regularly campaigns for LGBTQ+ rights, and runs an organization known as the Elton John AIDS Foundation. There’s a post on Twitter showing Elton John and his husband supporting this very cause.
In his seventies, Elton John still didn’t shy away from taking to the stage. Even though he was decades away from his first ever song, the music ran deep through his veins. In 2020, a video circulated of Elton John performing one of his most famous songs, I’m Still Standing, in a performance recorded at his home.
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