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Rocket Man Falls and Returns

Elton Gets Married



In 1984, on Valentine's Day, Elton surprised the world when he married his short-time girlfriend and studio engineer, Renate Blauel, in a small church in Australia. Perhaps the world would not have been so surprised if not for the sheer fact that everyone had believed Elton was a homosexual, or attracted to people of the same sex. At that point, it had yet to be confirmed by Elton publicly, and it had almost always been suspected for various reasons, mainly due to the fact that he never dated anyone.



Fun Fact!

Even before he could read, Elton could recognize almost every album cover in his mother's collection. Elton would later say that his first memory was looking through his parents' huge collection of records. He gives credit to his mother for his interest in music. “My mother introduced me to rock and roll,” he said. “One day she came home with ‘ABC Boogie’ by Bill Haley, and ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ by Elvis Presley. She has always been well up on what's going on.”

Elton's marriage lasted four years but inevitably ended in divorce. Those four years were some of Elton's worst. He was lost, lonely, and did not understand why he did the things he did. These feelings provoked him to take more drugs, and as the ‘80s wrapped up he was in serious danger, both mentally and physically. Elton compares this period of his life to that of Elvis Presley—a known drug user who later died from the disastrous effects of misusing prescription medication.

Additional topics

Musician BiographiesElton JohnRocket Man Falls and Returns - Losing John Lennon, Jump Up!, Elton Gets Married, Fun Fact!, Ryan White, The Elton John Aids Foundation - Back on the Rise