Me

by Elton John

Overview

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life, from his rollercoaster lifestyle as shown in the film Rocketman, to becoming a living legend.

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 performing his first gig in America, facing an astonished audience in his bright yellow dungarees, a star-spangled T-shirt, and boots with wings. 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 Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, and George Michael to setting up his AIDS Foundation to conquering Broadway with Aida, The Lion King, and Billy Elliot the Musical. All the while Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade.

In Me, Elton also writes powerfully about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father. In a voice that is warm, humble, and open, this is Elton on his music and his relationships, his passions and his mistakes. This is a story that will stay with you by a living legend.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250147608
Publisher:	Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	10/15/2019
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	38,247
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Elton John’s career achievements to date are unsurpassed. One of the top-selling solo artist of all time, in August 2018 he was named the most successful male solo artist in the Billboard Hot 100 chart history. Elton’s many honours include two Oscars, six Grammys, thirteen Ivor Novellos and a BRIT Award.

When not recording or touring, Elton devotes his time to a number of charities, including his own Elton John AIDS Foundation, which has raised over $450 million in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. In 2019 he was awarded the Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest civilian award, and in Britain was made a Companion of Honour in recognition of his services to music and charity. He is married to David Furnish, and they have two sons.

Editorial Reviews

Elton John's book will be very satisfying for his fans—it's a classic autobiography that starts in his youth, narrates his rise to superfame and tells the raucous tale of a rich, often joyful, artiste who loves to party. He's great at explaining his development as a musician, including his effort to figure out how to truly entertain a crowd while sitting behind a piano.

The New York Times Book Review - Touré

If John had no material other than the job his foul-tempered parents did on him, he'd still have a riveting story to tell…The lurid parts will get all the headlines. But the man's hard-won self-knowledge is what the book's really about…This is no sob story. Even the worst of it can be ghoulishly funny…

The New York Times - Janet Maslin

★ 10/21/2019

The legendary pop star looks back cheerfully on a melodramatic life in this rollicking autobiography. John recounts his ascent from toiling pub pianist to becoming the biggest singer-songwriter of the 1970s with hits such as "Rocketman" and "Bennie and the Jets," to elder statesmanship as one of the first openly gay stars and Britain’s griever-in-chief with his "Candle in the Wind" tribute at Princess Di’s funeral. Beyond a vivid account of his flamboyant showmanship and outfits (think pink suit with Eiffel Tower headdress), he gives an unusually candid look at his insecurities—his unrelentingly critical mother haunts the book—and at the bubble of celebrity entitlement that enabled his rock-star excesses, including childish tantrums, controlling and callous behavior toward a string of boyfriends, and rampant drug use. (After ingesting much vodka and cocaine with Duran Duran, he "returned to the video set, demanded they begin running the cameras, took off all clothes and started rolling around on the floor naked.") John keeps his good humor throughout, treating even his suicide attempts as farces and poking fun at his own vanity. ("However much a hair transplant hurt, it was a mere pinprick compared to the sensation of hitting your head on a car door immediately after having a hair transplant.") John’s fans will love this funny, down-to-earth, and openhearted self-portrait. Photos. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

[Me] pushes the envelope. . . . The movie Rocketman gave a reasonably accurate overview of the Elton John story—but it barely scratched the surface of what’s in this memoir. The lurid parts will get all the headlines. But [it is really about] the man’s hard-won self-knowledge.”
—The New York Times

"Thought you got all of Elton John's story in the rollicking biopic, Rocketman? Well, consider that merely a tasty appetizer ahead of this ultra-rich and heavy dinner."
—NBC News

“Magnificent. . . . While Me is as colorful as you’d expect from an artist famous for his outlandish stage costumes and outsize temper tantrums, it is also so much more. . . . Fans who think seeing Rocketman was enough and can ‘eventually’ read his memoir, we can tell you: do not wait a long, long time. Me is a riveting, laugh-til-you-cry, heartfelt page-turner.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“[Elton] proves himself an engrossing, fluid and alarmingly forthcoming writer. . . Like [his] songs, Me overflows with whimsical characters, twisted humor, winking self-aggrandizement and stark pathos. . . . An absorbing and unfettered joy.”
—TIME

“By turn hilarious, touching, and surprising. . . . In between the countless anecdotes with stars from across the decades, John’s enthusiasm for music continues to shine through. . . . It's wonderful to read [and] compelling evidence that Elton John was born to be [a star].”
—The Independent

“Outrageously enjoyable. . . . [Elton] is utterly, astonishingly, hilariously self-lacerating. . . . His clear-eyed honesty and his ear for the comic line make him a deeply appealing memoirist.”
—The Guardian

“Excellent. . . . [Me] mines a rich seam of salacious and self-deprecating anecdote, heady scandal, personal struggle, and ultimate redemption, all delivered with a total lack of self-consciousness.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“A uniquely revealing pop star autobiography. . . . Me is essential reading for anyone who wants to know the difficult road that [Elton has] walked.”
—Rolling Stone

From the Publisher

★ 11/15/2019

John has entertained fans and shaped the musical landscape for 50 years with poignant ballads, energetic pop songs, and memorable show tunes. Now the iconic singer/songwriter turns inward, with this self-aware, revealing memoir. John deftly sets the scene, describing his childhood in staid, suburban 1950s Britain. His life was changed by rock and roll, and he began playing in bands, backing established acts such as the Isley Brothers and Patti LaBelle. In 1967, he met lyricist Bernie Taupin, which launched a songwriting partnership that would last decades. John chronicles years of writing, recording, and whirlwind touring. With unflinching detail and touches of self-deprecating humor, he also discusses his contentious relationship with his parents, his sexuality, the years of drug and alcohol abuse, and his stint in rehab (he includes his devastating farewell letter to cocaine). John concludes by reflecting on his relationship with husband David Furnish, his recent fatherhood, and what he still hopes to accomplish.

VERDICT Intimate, with brushes of gossip and hard-won wisdom, this compelling work joins the ranks of other masterly rock memoirs. A must-read for John's many devotees, it will also make fans out of those new to his music.—James Collins, Morristown-Morris Twp. P.L., NJ

Library Journal

★ 2019-10-28
The legendary piano master tells all, and delightfully.

Reginald Dwight (b. 1947) grew up with parents who "should never have got married in the first place." Thankfully, he found deliverance in rock 'n' roll, in which, his father commanded, "you are not to get involved." Get involved he did, playing with a band called Bluesology that, he admitted, was pretty much like any other British white blues band, and perhaps a little less, save for a chance pairing with Long John Baldry, "maybe the greatest 12-string guitarist the UK has ever produced." Another chance union was with a young songwriter named Bernie Taupin, who looked out on the moors and saw the Wild West. Changing his name to Elton Hercules John to shed his former skin, the astoundingly gifted pianist threw audiences into confusion; though "Britain's least convincing flower child," he played sort-of-hippie music, but in boas and platforms. "I started to think more about how I looked onstage," he writes of the period around the era-defining "Your Song," but he also realized that smashing up a piano, as opposed to Pete Townshend's smashing a guitar, just didn't work. He was famous from his first record on, and then rich, and then a study in addictive personality. A highlight, or perhaps lowlight, of the narrative is when, coked to the gills, he insists that Bob Dylan shed his hobo clothes for something in his glittery wardrobe only to have George Harrison caution him, "I really think you need to go steady on the old marching powder." Now sober, a cancer survivor, and in his 70s, Sir Elton looks back at it all with grace and good humor. One might wish only that he spent as much time revealing how he came to such things as the astonishing structure of "Tiny Dancer" as he does recounting bad hair transplants and bad behavior. Even so, his memoir is a terrific read.

One of the best rock memoirs of recent years and a revelation for fans.

Kirkus Reviews