a British pop singer and songwriter, now officially called Sir Elton John, who was especially successful in the 1970s. One of his best-known songs, Candle in the Wind, was recorded again in 1997 with new words, to remember Princess Diana after she was killed in a car crash (1947- )
2001, Eugene, Ore. U.S. writer. He attended Stanford University and later served as an experimental subject and aide in a hospital, an experience that led to his novel One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962; film, 1975), which in the U.S. became one of the most widely read books of the 1960s. It was followed by Sometimes a Great Notion (1964) and several works of nonfiction that detailed Kesey's transformation from novelist to guru of the hippie generation. They recount psychedelic, fancy-free travels on a brightly painted bus with a group of friends, relatives, and fans who called themselves the Merry Pranksters. Their story is recounted in Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968), itself a minor classic of the era
In the late 1960s he began a successful partnership with lyricist Bernie Taupin (b. 1950) that would produce hit albums such as Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) and songs such as "Rocket Man," "Bennie and the Jets," and "Philadelphia Freedom." The two returned with more hits in the early 1980s, including "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues." In 1997 John performed a new version of "Candle in the Wind" (1973) at the funeral of his friend Diana, princess of Wales; his recording immediately became the best-selling single of all time
orig. Reginald Kenneth Dwight born March 25, 1947, Pinner, Middlesex, Eng. British rock singer, pianist, and songwriter. He played piano by ear as a child, winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at age
In the late 1960s he began a successful partnership with lyricist Bernie Taupin (b. 1950) that would produce hit albums such as Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) and songs such as "Rocket Man," "Bennie and the Jets," and "Philadelphia Freedom." The two returned with more hits in the early 1980s, including "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues." In 1997 John performed a new version of "Candle in the Wind" (1973) at the funeral of his friend Diana, princess of Wales; his recording immediately became the best-selling single of all time
orig. Reginald Kenneth Dwight born March 25, 1947, Pinner, Middlesex, Eng. British rock singer, pianist, and songwriter. He played piano by ear as a child, winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at age