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Biography of Elton John
Elton John, whose numerous achievements as a singer/songwriter verge on the overwhelming, attained some of his greatest honors as a result of his award-winning accomplishments in The Lion King.
In 1994, numerous honors were presented to John for his collaborative efforts with Tim Rice on The Lion King. John's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" won him a Grammy Award® in the Best Male Pop Vocal category and an Academy Award® for Best Achievement in Music for an Original Song. Overall, the soundtrack netted him five Grammy® nominations, three Oscar® nominations in the Best Song Category ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight," "Circle of Life," and "Hakuna Matata"), and a Golden Globe Award® for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight." The album was Billboard's No. 1 album of 1994 and has currently sold more than eight million copies in the United States alone.
Prior to his work on The Lion King, John had not only tied Elvis Presley for the most consecutive years of Top 40 hits on Billboard magazine's Top 100, but had also become the only artist to reach the Top 30 for 23 uninterrupted years. John was recently inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and was named, along with longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin, ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year.
John's 1995 album, Made in England, reunites him with the acclaimed arranger Paul Buckmaster, whose work was amply displayed on John's first six albums.
Recording and touring have not been John's only activities. In November of 1992, he established his own AIDS foundation. Based in Atlanta, it is a nonprofit organization addressing all aspects of the AIDS crisis, from education and research to direct patient care. In January of 1993, King World contributed $250,000 to the foundation, and in March the First Annual Academy Awards® Viewing Party to benefit the foundation took place in Hollywood. The organization's first official fund-raiser was a star-studded Oscar® night event, which raised more than $125,000 for the foundation. When he released his hit 1992 album, The One, John announced that all proceeds from the sales of the single, "The Last Song," would be donated to various AIDS charities in America. John's foundation has already distributed grants totaling $3.8 million in North America and $1.5 million internationally, making it one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the AIDS arena.