Home Books Rocket Man: The Life of Elton John

Rocket Man: The Life of Elton John

Rocket Man: The Life of Elton John

by Mark Bego

Pegasus Books ·2020 ·384 pages
Bottom of the Pile
Bottom of the Pile
I Index
19/99
Bottom of the Pile

2/99

Critics' Rating Index

Maybe Someday

36/99

Readers' Rating Index

n/a

Scholars' Citation Index

51/99

Volume of Reviews

5/99

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About This Book

Here's the book every pop music lover has been waiting for—full of the scandals, addictions, affairs, and tantrums that underscored the life of arguably the world's greatest pop musician. Flamboyant, iconic Elton John is as much part of the American musical landscape as he is in his native England. In the 1970s, when popular music on both sides of the Atlantic fragmented into disco, soul, hard rock, pop, and folk, Elton John embraced them all with his signature creative panache. Emerging in the late 1960s as a singer/songwriter, Elton was widely acknowledged as the most prolific pop and rock star of the decade by the mid-1970s. His peerless musical style and ability to jump from sensitive ballads to bawdy rock anthems to campy pop have made him a musical superstar for the ages. From his heartfelt ballads like "Tiny Dancer" and "Your Song" to his rock roll hits including "Bennie and the Jets" and "Crocodile Rock," Elton has lived one of the most outrageous and colorful lives in show business. Having met the "Rocket Man" the first time in the 1980s, Bego has drawn upon his personal observations and vast research, and has been able to interview dozens of Elton's collaborators and lifelong friends to produce the the ultimate story on the amazing and larger-than-life Elton John.


Reviews

"Whether readers have been listening to Elton John since 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' or know him only from the film 'Rocketman,' they'll find this a comprehensive biography, infused with a satisfying dose of dishy gossip."

James Collins· Library Journal Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Bego claims to be a rock and roll 'purist' his book has songs attached to the wrong album, songs attributed to the wrong songwriter and lyricists misidentified as songwriters...horrible typos...swaths of reviews quoted as if to fill a word count."

Wesley Stace· The Wall Street Journal Read review ↗ Bottom of the Pile

"[a] fawning set of fan's notes ..."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Maybe Someday

"In the end, this biography is an exercise in superficiality, about as muscular as a handshake from Andy Warhol, who 'would present his hand like he had just handed you a dead chicken.' For ardent collectors of Eltoniana only."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Bottom of the Pile

"So does the world need another Elton John biography?"

June Sawyers· Booklist Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

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