Simply put, a superstar (Updated May 15, 2013)

His biggest hits include "Your Song," "Rocket Man," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me." He is a standard bearer for charisma and flamboyance, and has nary an equal in terms of the full singer/songwriter package.

Yes, it was good to be Elton John. And it still is good to be Elton Joh. For the man who was the biggest of pop superstars in the early 1970's – the one who could switch from pop and rock to soul and disco and make it all seem incredibly effortless – is still a remarkably popular artist and public figure. And would the story go any other way for a man born of the name Reginald Kenneth Dwight? The one who has been honing his craft since the age of 4? Of course not.

Elton John has been IT since he left the Royal Academy of Music (where he studied from the age of 11-17) and began working with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriting partner. That was 1967, and a year later John was cutting singles under his own name. Some 30 albums later, not to mention scores of collaborative efforts, soundtracks, theater works and film projects, this Grammy-winning legend and mega-star still shows no signs of slowing down.

Among his accomplishments, John has sold more than 250 million records. His single, "Candle in the Wind 1997" (written in honor of the late Princess Diana) has sold over 33 million copies worldwide, and is the best-selling single in the history of the UK Singles Chart and the US billboard Hot 100. And he has more than 50 (count 'em) Top 40 hits, 56 Top 40 singles, 16 Top 10, four No. 2 hits, and nine No. 1 hits. He has won six Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Tony Award.

Sir Elton John received his title as Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1996, is heavily involved in the fight against AIDS and is a champion for the LGBT social movements. And there is still no slowing down for the superstar. He's in the middle of a three-year run at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, published an autobiography in 2012, and has completed another collection of new songs called "The Diving Board" scheduled for release this year.