Elton John reveals sad truth behind his name change
Rhiannon Ingle
Featured Image Credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images
Elton John has cemented himself as one of the world's greatest musicians ever since he skyrocketed to fame following the release of his self-titled second album back in 1970.
The 77-year-old British singer-songwriter, famous for his beloved ballads and eccentric style, taught himself to play the piano at just three years old and won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music aged 11 and, from there, it's clear there was no turning back.
However, as some fans may know, Elton John is not the 'Rocket Man' star's actual name as he's now revealed the extremely sad truth behind his name change.
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Elton, who stars in an upcoming documentary set to land on Disney+ later this week (13 December) titled Elton John: Never Too Late, opened up about his real name in a recent chat with Good Morning America.
The Grammy award winner's actual name is none other than Reginald Dwight - a moniker he decided to leave behind.
"Reginald is a really old-fashioned name," Elton explained. "It's shortened to Reggie, which I hated. I just didn't like it, and as soon as I could, I changed my name."
However, the name change apparently 'caught up' to him just as he was about to go on stage for a show at LA's Dodger Stadium back in 1975 which fans of the singer will no doubt be familiar with.
He continued: "I was very clever, I thought, 'No one's really called Elton, so I'll be Elton and I'll be the only Elton'."
Elton went on to share that the name change wasn't only just about distinguishing himself from other singers in the music industry.
"I wanted to leave my childhood and that persona behind, and that caught up with me," he recalled. "I realised I put everything into my work and my art, my recording, and there was nothing underneath there."
The star added: "I was just a void. And so I’d left little Reggie behind. But little Reggie was still inside of me, you know?"
Back in the 1980s, Elton previously reflected that the name change allowed him to take on a whole new persona.
"I became Elton John, it was like a new lease on life," he said at the time, per the Metro. "I didn’t particularly like being Reg Dwight. It had too many unhappy memories.
"I hated the word Reg, anyway. It was just a horrible name. As soon as I was Elton, it was just great. It was like a new personality."