Explore popular quotes and sayings by an English musician Elton John.
Last updated on December 3, 2024.
Sir Elton Hercules John is an English singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the Rocket Man after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released 31 albums since 1969. Collaborating with lyricist Bernie Taupin since 1967, John is acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his work during the 1970s, and his lasting impact on the music industry. John's music and showmanship have had a significant impact on popular music. His songwriting partnership with Taupin is one of the most successful in history.
As a child, as a teenager, I was kind of not allowed to wear fashionable clothes.
If there is a better singer in England than Craig David, then I am Margaret Thatcher.
And there's no guarantee that if you get HIV and you take these triple therapies, or whatever comes along next, that they're going to be successful for you.
Because, I figured that, because I was a successful man, I was wealthy, I was, you know, seemingly intelligent - even that I am not intelligent enough to ask for help.
I do like my rock stars to be a little larger than life. I don't mind the earnest ones at all, but I do like a bit of individuality.
I never thought of myself as being handsome or good-looking or whatever. I always felt like an outsider.
I rarely wear tennis shoes. I'm 5' 8', I hate being short.
I love places that have an incredible history. I love the Italian way of life. I love the food. I love the people. I love the attitudes of Italians.
And I talked to my doctor, and I must admit, you know, I'm sometimes quite renowned for my outbursts and I was just very frustrated, maybe a little frightened.
Well, as I was saying... everyone's so nice to me, usually.
Fame attracts lunatics.
I've always wanted to smash a guitar over someone's head. You just can't do that with a piano.
I've only been interested in the artistic side of life.
I mean, Sting is one of my great buddies and I love him to death.
I'm a very wealthy man.
Well, I've had my fair share in Britain of battling the tabloids.
And I agreed with that, and I couldn't wait to change my name anyway, because I'm not too fond of the name of Reginald. It's a very kind of '50s English name.
An agent is a person who is sore because an actor gets 90% of what they make.
I never really made a full album in Los Angeles before.
I've always been dead set against festivals - really suspicious and wary.
I mean, in some cases with libel laws, you know, they can write things about people who have no course of action, because they can't afford to take legal action against them.
Who really needs a new album from me?
I love the idea of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the beautiful stories about it, which I loved in Sunday school and I collected all the little stickers and put them in my book. But the reality is that organised religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate.
I have no one to leave the money to. I'm a single man. I like spending my money.
I went to a mixed school and I can't remember being bullied at school, ever. I was quite large, in those days. Usually, if you're going to be a bully, you'll pick on someone who is small. I didn't bully anybody, and I don't remember being bullied.
We live in an age, in an era where there is so much negativity, there is so much violence in the world, there is so much unrest and people are at war, that I wanted to promote the word love and red signifies love.
I grew up at my grandmother's house, and she had a beautiful garden. I used to hate mowing the lawn and weeding, which is what you do when you're a kid. I loathe gardening, but I love gardens, and I have two beautiful gardens.
I've got that resilient thing inside me. But I wasn't a happy bunny.
If I was to say what I am, I'd be a Labour man. I like Tony Blair a lot, I think he's a good man. And in America I'd definitely be a Democrat; I'd never be a Republican.
And the danger is - and it's happening - is we're seeing an incredibly big rise amongst young gay people, young heterosexual people as far as catching HIV, which is, you know, in an educated country like this or in Britain, it's frightening.
I do like Britney Spears. I think she's cute. I think she's fun. And I like her records. You know, I'm not a pop snob whatsoever. I think she makes great pop records.
For me, music is so passionate, I have to give it my all every time I go onstage. Onstage, it was always comfortable for me, because that's where I felt at home.
I loathe celebrity. I can't stand it.
Jesus wanted us to be loving and forgiving. I don't know what makes people so cruel.
I could never go onstage in denims.
I have a much better relationship with the press than I did, I think because I stood my ground.
I'm very relaxed. I have a family, I have a partner of 20 years, I have a wonderful life; nothing could be better.
I grew up at my grandmother's house and she had a beautiful garden. I used to hate mowing the lawn and weeding, which is what you do when you're a kid.
I've got a great collection of photography.
I am the most well-known homosexual in the world.
Well, I was making a record, and I had to choose a name, because they said, you know, you can't make a record under the name of Reg Dwight, because it's never going to - you know, it's not attractive enough.
Yeah. I have been with David Furnish for eight years, now.
We were both very much the same. We were both very impulsive. We both loved life. We both loved shopping. We both had a love of clothes, obviously, because he was the designer that I kind of wore forever and ever.
The great thing about rock and roll is that someone like me can be a star.
I'm not everybody's cup of tea. But sometimes criticism can be hurtful. Be respectful. I'm a good piano player, I can sing well, I write good songs. If you don't like it, fair enough. But give me a break.
And I'm afraid, in this day and age, trust, which I count so, you know, I love loyalty. I love trust.
I used to get my money at the end of the week, buy my mum something, or buy a record, and that was it.
People with HIV are still stigmatized. The infection rates are going up. People are dying. The political response is appalling. The sadness of it, the waste.
I'm very generous.
I just go into the studio, look at the lyrics for the first time when I put them on the piano, and go. If I haven't got it within 40 minutes, I give up. It's never changed, the thrill has never gone, because I don't know what I'm going to get next.
The whole point of being in this business and being blessed and being successful is that you're able to do things for your friends or your family, which means that they can have something special in their lives, too.
There's a lot of hate in the world.
I'm lucky enough and wealthy enough to be able to buy photographs and buy art that inspires me from day to day. I don't want a Picasso on my wall; it's great art, but it's dead art to me. I'd rather have a photograph by someone I've never heard of that really inspires me.
I was just genuinely shy. I'd always been a shy kid.
And I trusted someone to look after me on the business side of life.
Music has healing power. It has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours.
If you write great songs with meaning and emotion, they will last for ever because songs are the key to everything. Songs will outlast the artist and they will go on for ever if they are good.
Well, I'm a huge fan of Ryan Adams, who's from North Carolina. And he's beginning to break really quite big.
I grew up conservative because my mum was a conservative, and when I finally realized what conservatives were, I changed my mind immediately. As children, we tend to copy our parents.
I have a lot of money stashed away, but I do live my life from day to day.