Elton To Play North Charleston, SC

5-time Grammy winner will help coliseum kick off anniversary celebration

Elton John, one of the world's top-selling, most recognizable musicians, will perform Nov. 9 at the North Charleston Coliseum.

"It is a privilege to have a superstar performer of Elton's status return with his band for the kickoff of our 15-year anniversary celebration at the coliseum," Dave Holscher, general manager for the coliseum, said Friday.

It's the first time John has played the coliseum since he sold out a show there on Oct. 14, 1997.

Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947, in the suburbs of London.

A former student of the Royal Academy of Music in London, his early career began to blossom in the mid-1960s with the formation of his first group, Bluesology. Dwight pulled his stage name from two members of that band, and soon after met his longtime songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin.

The two have written together off and on during the past 40 years, and have penned some of the most popular and memorable songs of all time, including "Rocket Man" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me."

During John's four decades as a singer and songwriter, he has sold upwards of 200 million records, has won five Grammy awards (from 1986-2000) and received the "Grammy Legend Award" in 2001.

He also won an Academy Award for his work on the Disney animated children's film "The Lion King."

John has more than 50 Top 40 hits, including nine No. 1 hit singles, and seven consecutive No. 1 U.S. albums.

Just a few of John's more recognizable tunes include "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)," "Tiny Dancer" and "Candle In The Wind." Those are a few selections on his multi-disk "Greatest Hits 1970-2002" collection, which went triple platinum in August 2004.

In March, John released "Rocket Man — Number Ones." The collection debuted in the Top 10, and features the musician's digitally re-mastered greatest hits spanning the first three decades of his career.

John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He has been heavily involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s. He was knighted in 1998 by Queen Elizabeth II for "services to music and charitable services."

For the Charleston show, John will bring band members Davey Johnstone on guitar, Guy Babylon on keyboards, Bob Birch on bass, John Mahon on percussion and Nigel Olsson on drums.

Reserved tickets are $88/$68/$48 (plus applicable fees), and will go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 28. Tickets can be purchased at the North Charleston Coliseum box office and all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com and livenation.com, or by phone at 554-6060.