Me: Elton John Official Autobiography

I have to say that I enjoyed reading this autobiography. Elton (or maybe his ghost writer) is absolutely engaging. Witty, honest, blunt - all the things you want in an honest report of someone's life. I got here by reading Billy Joel's biography. He had a lot to say about the Face to Face tour, and Elton devotes half a page to it. I enjoyed the fact that Elton focuses on himself, and doesn't gossip about others. There are anecdotes, to be sure, but he doesn't spill the beans about others. Great read for Elton John music lovers.

I have read a few reviews here which, as always, indicate these folks have not actually READ this book, but instead read a clickbait headline, then an article, which takes things from the book out of context and splashes them on a 45-seconds-to-read article. It actually reminds me of some of the sections in this book that mention tabloids and how harmful they can be. Kind of interesting. I am writing this review a few moments after I have finished the book. And it was great! There is so much to admire about this book, not least of which is John's ability to be honest about his life, about his past and about how much he hurt other people. It's startling to read his realizations about how many times he was so horrible to people, and how candid he is about the life of a sequestered star, how he himself lost complete touch with reality by surrounding himself with sycophants. YES...He does talk about Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley, and others. But it isn't anything that would surprise you had you any inkling of the kind of life they'd lived for years before they died. He also relates to them. If anything, he completely DE-glamourizes fame, and shines a very harsh light on it. People who claim that he is too hard on this or that person and isn't very "nice" about someone because he "dishes" on them is also absurd. What he says about anyone else whom he has encountered in his decades of public life is no more harsh (in fact, less so) than the things he says about himself and his many many transgressions, which he is all-too-willing to name in the interest of complete transparency. It is when he realized finally that he didn't want to die, and he sought help for his addictions and eating disorder that things began to crystallize. And he wanted to help other people. Ryan White's death had a profound impact on the way in which he lived, what a waste it was and what he was throwing away when he had the ability to give so much, and be so much more as a human being instead of Rock Icon Sir Elton John. And that by giving to others of himself in a way he hadn't before, he was healing, too. If you go into this book looking for inconsistencies in the dates or history or any of it, you will probably find it because you want to do so. An autobiography, however, belongs to that person. I am 47, and I cannot imagine remembering with complete accuracy what date and what year I met certain people in my life. And I don't know many people or go that many places. This is Elton John's story about himself. I found, in reading it, that he didn't have anything to hide, and wasn't pulling any punches. He is who he is. If you read the book in its entirety without any preconceived notions, like I did, you will likely not be disappointed, but feel like you've read the story of an incredibly gifted and talented person who has, like many people, had to struggle with and recover from a very difficult childhood, and attempt to live as a "normal" person who doesn't need drugs and drink to cope with life. He, as Judy Garland once said, "want{s} the same thing that other people want.... Just seem{s} to have a harder time getting it." I found this book to be about forgiveness, too, in a world where no one is likely to forgive anyone, least of all themselves. In each of our lives, I'm pretty sure we could use some forgiveness, both giving it and getting it.

This book is about the evolution of Elton John. You may like periods of his work, you may hate periods of his work, but what is absolutely fascinating about him is his ability to evolve and change. In fact, unlike a lot of artists, Elton himself still keeps up with current music and what's popular in the charts, just like he did when he was a kid, with intense fascination and appreciation for the ongoing evolution of music. Elton was before my time; I've only discovered his music in the past year. I find that I tend to listen to an Elton John song on two levels. I listen to Bernie's lyrics and I listen to Elton's music. Sometimes Elton is strong and Bernie is weak, sometimes the reverse. Sometimes they are both strong or both weak. Above all, though, there's a brotherhood and a love of the craft of music underneath it all and this is reflected in the book. It's hard not to respect them both for taking risks and embracing evolutionary change. Elton has a way of being nostalgic, candid, yet also respectful with his evolution. He has a very fresh approach to fleshing out characters we know from Rocketman into three-dimensional, real people. The movie was the Hollywood version of his life with many chance coincidences, people omitted, and things "cleaned up" to make a better movie. In reality, Elton worked very hard for his successes and the people in his life were not simple, cartoonish two-dimensional people. Success is very messy and there is always give and take. John Reid, the main antagonist of Rocketman, is portrayed in a much more positive light, for example. The audiobook was perhaps my favorite audiobook of the year because some Elton stories are hilarious and they need to be told right. I found myself laughing loudly and nodding along with Taron Egerton, who played Elton in Rocketman, as he gives a very dynamic performance. Listening to the audiobook is very much like sitting with "Elton" at the recovery meeting from Rocketman. Taron doesn't just read the text with a flat voice, like a lot of audiobooks. He reads it with the enthusiasm and passion that make it seem like he was there, really creating a wonderful experience as a listener. Elton, Taron, and team -- thanks for putting this out, you really did a great job with it.

In his only official autobiography, music icon Elton John writes about his extraordinary life, which is also the subject of the film Rocketman. Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three, he was on his first tour of America, facing an astonished audience in his tight silver hotpants, bare legs and a T-shirt with ROCK AND ROLL emblazoned across it in sequins. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same again. His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with song-writing partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with the Queen; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and George Michael to setting up his AIDS Foundation. All the while, Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade. In Me Elton also writes about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father. I have long adored the music of Elton John. In a world of music that often feels so trite and the lyrics so simple-minded the music of Elton John has always felt like the finest of art. One of my favorite memories is seeing Elton John perform in Vegas. So when I saw his autobiography out on shelves I requested it immediately for Christmas and was over-joyed to receive it. Like many books in the genre of autobiography and biography, the book doesn't read quickly. That is not to say it is a poorly written book. In fact, I really applaud Elton John and his editors for how this book was written. The details are there and enjoyable but not so much that you get bogged down reading one year of his life at a time. But the book reads slowly because for the casual fan of Elton John's music it is unreal the experiences he has had during his career. You think you know about his music, but there is really so much to learn and digest. Another wonderful aspect of this book is that Elton John does not hide how broken he became. He does not sugar coat the issues or try to disguise how sick he was. Because of this, the story of his recovery and the help he has brought to others is even more powerful. In a world that needs more helpers, Elton John is the prime example of how one can realize their own weakness and turn it into a strength for themselves and others. The last thing I will note about how long it takes to read this book is that I could not help the desire to stop reading and listen to whichever album he was discussing at that moment. Just sitting and listening to the music, soaking up the spirit of it, and then returning back to his words. What a tremendous enjoyment this book was to read.

I don't usual read celeb memoirs, but I made an exception because I've been a fan since I was 9 years old, I was looking for any escape from my predilection for non-fiction I could find, and the ebook was $1.99. The memoir was a delight to read. Even as he was explaining the darkest times in his life, Elton kept an edge of humor in his storytelling, not taking himself too seriously. There were uncomfortable stories, sad stories, lots of very blunt observations, and plenty of laugh out loud tales. I'm really glad I read it. Thoroughly enjoyable.

I originally rated this book four stars and a month or so later, decided it was without a doubt a five star read. I kept recommending it and thinking about it and loving on Elton’s infectious and unique personality. I watched the movie "Rocketman" and kept adding details where I thought they glossed over and narrated to my husband as we watched (haha sorry husband!) and it made me realize how much his book stuck with me. Then we saw his concert which was phenomenal and now I just can’t get enough Elton in my life which tells me this book deserves ALL THE STARS!!!! Read the official autobiography: ✅ Watch ‘Rocketman’: ✅ See Elton John LIVE on his official farewell tour!: ✅ “When you reminisce about the good old days, you naturally see it all through rose-tinted spectacles. In my case in particular, I think that’s forgivable, because I probably was literally wearing rose-tinted spectacles at the time, with flashing lights and ostrich feathers attached to them. But if you end up convincing yourself that everything in the past was better than it is now, you might as well give up writing music and retire.” This was marvelous. What an unapologetic, authentic, entertaining autobiography. I literally laughed out loud on more than a few occasions and even shed a few tears. I only wish I was more familiar with artists from the 1960s and 1970s so I could have had more context. I think for anyone who grew up listening to Elton and his peers, and even if you didn’t, this book will blow you away. Here’s hoping our show isn’t a “very occasional” one ☺️ “I’ve played with my childhood heroes and some of the greatest artists in the history of music; I’ve played with people who were so hopeless they had no business being onstage and I’ve played with a group of male strippers dressed as Cub Scouts. I’ve done gigs dressed as a woman, a cat, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, a Ruritanian general, a musketeer, a pantomime dame and, very occasionally, I’ve played gigs dressed like a normal human being.

As a long-time Elton John fan I wondered what he would have to say in a book that I hadn’t either heard or read about already, especially since Elton had been very candid about his personal life for many years. What I quickly realized, however, is that Elton never fails to entertain or inspire, and his story never grows old. Like his recent Rocketman movie, the book focuses heavily on Elton’s addictions and struggles with his sexuality. Unlike Rocketman, however, the movie’s fantasies and inaccuracies were replaced by Elton’s wit and humor that were practically absent from the film. While painstakingly honest, the book reveals a more well-rounded Elton John and not just the dark and unhappy side of him. It provides more insight to his reasoning and shows his true legacy as someone who not only survived but gave his life purpose through his AIDS foundation and by being a role-model for other recovering addicts. While not self-praising, it displays Elton’s stronger points – his respect for fellow singers and songwriters, his support of new artists, his sincerity in befriending children with AIDS, his determination to stand up to false journalism, his honesty, and his ability to laugh at himself. It also focuses on his friendships with everyone from Lady Diana to Lady Gaga. Therefore, his story is much more personal rather than a detailed account of his career. Yet he briefly takes you through each album and different facets of his musical history. And as he questions the upcoming stages of his life, he leaves his readers also wondering what’s next.

I grew up listening to his music, and reading about him in the tabloids. I saw him in concert twice. First time in Hollywood Bowl in 1995, and second time somewhere close to Orange County in 1998. I loved his music, but didn't know too much about him at all. Then flying back from Europe recently, I watched the movie about him, the Rocket-man so decided to read his book as well. (Good well made movie, but I didn't care too much about the musical part...) What I loved about it, is his brutal honesty about everything. It feels like an AA meeting, where he tells everything that happened to him, without sugarcoating it, just as it happened. He has a good sense of humor, so it is very enjoyable. Reading about his friendship with Diana and stories about famous people or events, that I knew but from a different angle, was very interesting. I read it on Kindle, and since I don't know his songs from the titles, I had to go on YouTube and listen his albums that he talked about. Doing that I realized, that a lot of songs I knew, I just didn't know they were his. I got to like him so much after reading his book, that I bought two tickets for the Dallas concert next year in June 2020 which is a big deal, since we live in California, and we are not big on traveling. Highly recommended.

Excelente libro. Llegó antes de lo esperado y en perfecto estado.

Très bon livre. Je l’ai lu en deux soirs. Quelle belle histoire, on reconnaît bien le style d’Elton John et même si on connaît déjà son histoire, on apprend des détails qu’on aurait pas eu sur Google ! J’adore !

とても気に入りましたが、英語が得意ではないので読めません。

For someone my age, Elton John became a star way before my time – though I grew up and he was still a big star, it was quite some time after his appearance onto the scene. I knew about him, in terms of him being a huge rock star but nothing about him as a person or his stories. Since reading this I have become more of a fan of him, it is a brilliant read and is so funny and brutally honest at times. He speaks about so many different aspects of his life, and in particular some great stories of him and Rod Stewart trying to upset each other even though they are friends, that was a cracking read. This book covers it all from his years in rehabilitation to when he had prostate cancer, his childhood, his parents’ rushed wartime marriage and much more, everything is laid out bare here for all to see. This is a fantastic read and is very moving at times as well as being hilarious at times, I thoroughly recommend this even if you aren’t a fan of his music. Please take a second to hit the helpful button, as it really helps and makes reviewing worthwhile!

Amazing ❤️