This song became the number-one-selling song of all time, eclipsing sales of the previous record holder, "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby. Johns fans have propelled him to sales of over 200 million albums world- wide, with 10 multiplatinum, 24 platinum, and 33 gold records in the United States alone. Along the way he accumulated an Academy Award for Can You Feel the Love Tonight in 1995, five Grammys, a Peo- ples Choice Award in 1999, and a Tony Award for his musical Aida in 2000. Hes been honored with fashion, music video, and social responsibility awards as well.

Elton Johns ability to amass critical acclaim, fans, and profits stems from his two primary strengths-his artistic talent and his marketing prowess. He recognized early that one without the other usually leads to moderate success at best, and the brand that is Elton John certainly doesnt stand for moderation.

Music M an

Reginald Kenneth Dwight was born in 1947 to a musical family in Pinner, a London suburb, where his father played trumpet in both the Royal Air Force and in an American-style big band. Young Reggie grew up with records by singers like Rosemary Clooney, Frank Sina- tra, and Frankie Laine and pianists such as Nat "King" Cole, George Shearing, and Winifred Atwell, who played both popular and classi- cal music and quickly became one of his favorites. After listening to her classic recording of "The Skaters Waltz," he sat down at the fam- ily piano and played it perfectly by ear. He was three years old. By the age of four, Reggie was "on stage" for family gatherings, and he per- formed at his cousins wedding at age seven, when the band was late.

Piano lessons and an ability to listen to and then play classical recordings to near perfection won him a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music in London at the age of 11. At the academy, he excelled in mastering the music of Handel, Chopin, and Bach and sang in the schools choir. As busy as he was with his studies, he found time for a part-time job as a newspaper carrier.

Although a model student in many ways-polite and highly capable-he was less than diligent in his studies, perhaps because he didnt find them challenging. He could mimic the classical masters without much effort, and after five years, he left the venerable Royal Academy. He did return, however, in July 2002, when he became the second person in the schools 180-year history to receive an hon- orary doctorate degree. What happened between his departure from the academy and his return would make music history, deserving of an honorary degree in marketing as well.

M arketing M an As a young boy, Elton Johns mastery of the classics gave way to his love for rock and roll, fueled by the likes of Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Little Richard, and Jerry Lee Lewis. He worked hard to go from