Year 8, Day 27

Hey guys. Today's song is Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee.

So Elton John started life as Reginald Dwight and started his musical career when he was 17. He played piano since he was younger, able to pick out songs by ear which is pretty tough to do. He started formal piano lessons at 7, and won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at 11. He did well at the academy, but he was so naturally talented that he pretty much didn't need to practice and somewhat resented being there. His mother and stepfather helped him get a gig playing piano at a pub when he was 15. In 1962 he and his friends made a band called Bluesology, so he split his time between performing alone and with the group. The band successfully became a touring band for a bunch of groups and by 1966 became the supporting band for Long John Baldry. In 1967, he answered an ad for a record label, and went in to add music to lyrics written by Bernie Taupin, and they signed together as songwriters to a label. The same year he took the stage name Elton John, which is an homage to Long John Baldry, and the saxophonist in Bluesology Elton Dean. He ended up legally changing his name to that in 1972. His debut album came out in 1969, followed by five more albums by 1971. He kept making albums, then started his own label in 1974. In 1975 he released an autobiographical album, which became the first album ever to debut at number 1. I've barely cracked his discography and this is already getting pretty long, so I'm going to cut it off here and continue next time I feature another of his songs. Kiki Dee was the stage name of Pauline Mathews, whose been active since 1960. She got signed in 1963, and over he career has released three EPs and twelve different albums, the most recent being in 2019. She's also done musical theatre, starring in Pump Boys and Dinettes in 1984 and 1985, before then starring in Blood Brother in 1988, and earning an Olivier nomination for it. This song with Elton John released in 1973 is her biggest hit, and was actually supposed to be sung by Dusty Springfield, but she was suffering from an illness and the time and got replaced with Kiki. Fun Fact: when Kiki first started her career, she used to sing backup vocals for Dusty, so that's probably how Kiki's name came up as a possible replacement. Anyway enjoy the song, and give her career a look if you're curious. 

Peace.