Biography
Elton John & Kiki Dee was an collaboration of two singers from the United Kingdom. Best known for the chart topping duet "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" which they recorded in 1976. In 1993 they performed together again for another duet for Elton John's Duets album, a cover version of Cole Porter's "True Love", which reached #2 in the UK.
Kiki Dee (born Pauline Matthews on 6 March 1947, in Little Horton, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England) is a highly successful singer/songwriter, with a career that has lasted over 40 years.
Her most famous song was a duet with Elton John, entitled "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", which was released in 1976 and went to Number 1 (she later performed another duet with Elton John for his Duets album, "True Love", which reached #2 in the UK.)
Kiki Dee began singing with a local band in Bradford in the early 1960s. Her recording career began as a session singer. She sang backing vocals for Dusty Springfield, among others, and was highly regarded by other singers but did not achieve solo success in the UK for many years. In the USA, her style was admired and she became the first British artist to be signed by Tamla Motown, releasing her first Tamla single in 1970.
In the days before Radio 1, Kiki Dee was a regular performer of other people's hits on BBC radio, and she starred with a group of session singers in the BBC2 singalong series One More Time. She even appeared in an early episode of The Benny Hill Show on 27 January 1971, performing the Blood, Sweat, and Tears hit, "You've Made Me So Very Happy". Nevertheless, it was only after she joined forces with Elton John and Rocket Records that she became a household name in the UK. Her first major hits were "I Got The Music In Me" (1974) and "Amoureuse" (1973) .
She has released 39 singles, 3 EPs, 9 LPs and 3 CDs to date. During the 1970s and 1980s was regularly voted the top UK female singer, with her powerful and soulful voice equally suited to rockers or ballads.
Dee has also appeared in musical theatre - notably in the lead role in the West End musical Blood Brothers. She took on the role (originally played by Barbara Dickson for the 1988 production and recording).
In 1990, she contributed to the last recording studio collaboration between Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson, the album Freudiana, performing "You're On Your Own".
She also performed at Live Aid, reprising "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with John, and performing backing vocals on the other songs in his set.
She still tours, and occasionally makes guest appearances on television in shows such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks. She has recorded with other artists such as Dave Stewart and guitarist Carmelo Luggeri.
Sir Elton Hercules John CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947) is a five-time Grammy and one-time Academy Award-winning English pop/rock singer, composer and pianist.
In his four-decade career, John has been one of the dominant forces in rock and popular music, especially during the 1970s. Elton has sold more than 250 million albums plus over one hundred million singles, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. He has more than 50 Top 40 hits including seven consecutive #1 U.S. albums, 59 Top 40 singles, 16 Top 10, 4 #2 hits, and nine #1 hits . His success has had a profound impact on popular music and has contributed to the continued popularity of the piano in rock and roll. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Elton John #49 on their list of The Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Some of the characteristics of Elton John's music are his ability to quickly craft unique melodies for the lyrics of songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, his rich tenor (now baritone) voice, his classical and gospel-influenced piano, the aggressive orchestral arrangements of Paul Buckmaster among others and the flamboyant fashions and on-stage showmanship, especially evident during the 1970s.
Elton 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 and was knighted in 1998. He entered into a civil partnership with David Furnish on 21 December 2005 and continues to be a champion for the LGBT social movements.
Elton John has been named the second most played artist on British radio over the past 20 years behind George Michael.
Artist descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. Feel free to contribute!
All user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
