Name	21 at 33
Type	Album
Artist	Elton John
Cover	Album 21 at 33.jpg
Released	13 May 1980
Recorded	August 1979, January–March 1980
Genre	Soft rock, piano rock
Length	42:51
Label	MCA Records(US/Canada)Rocket Records
Producer	Elton John and Clive Franks
| last album	Lady Samantha (1980)
This album	21 at 33 (1980)
Next album	The Fox (1981)

21 at 33 is the fourteenth studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1980. It was recorded at Superbear Studios, Nice, France, in August 1979 and at Rumbo Recorders and Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, California betwenn January to March 1980.

The title comes from the fact that this was Elton John's 21st album in total at the age of 33. According to the liner notes in the remastered edition of the album, the count includes all standard albums, two "Greatest Hits" compilations, two live albums, as well as the Friends soundtrack, the 3-song, 12-inch EP The Thom Bell Sessions and the UK-only "rarities" collection Lady Samantha.

John has not played any of the material in concert since touring in 1980, with the exception of "Little Jeannie", "White Lady White Powder" and "Sartorial Eloquence;" all three of which were performed in Central Park that same year. Little Jeannie was again performed at the two One Night Only concerts in 2000. Even "Little Jeannie", which was a big North American hit, (#3 in the U.S. and #1 in Canada), is rarely performed. Two of Elton's "classic" bandmates, drummer Nigel Olsson and bass player Dee Murray, reunited with John for one song. Elton's backup keyboardist James Newton-Howard returns. Other musicians include members of The Eagles and Toto as well as Herman's Hermits' Peter Noone.

Track listing

Side one

# "Chasing the Crown" (Elton John, Bernie Taupin) – 5:31 # "Little Jeannie" (John, Gary Osborne) – 5:18 # "Sartorial Eloquence" (John, Tom Robinson) – 4:44 # "Two Rooms at the End of the World" (John, Taupin) – 5:39

Side two

# "White Lady White Powder" (John, Taupin) – 4:31 # "Dear God" (John, Osborne) – 3:44 # "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" (John, Robinson) – 4:06 # "Take Me Back" (John, Osborne) – 3:51 # "Give Me the Love" (John, Judie Tzuke) – 5:22

(Note: Four more songs, excluding the B-sides were recorded during these sessions: Heart in the Right Place, Carle-Etude/Fanfare, Chloe and Elton's Song. They would appear on Elton John's next release, The Fox)

In 2003, Mercury/Universal and Rocket Records reissued the album on CD, remastered by Gary Moore. The lineup contained no bonus tracks.

B-sides

{|class="wikitable" ! Song ! Format |- | "Conquer the Sun" || Little Jeannie 7" (US/UK) |- | "Cartier" || Sartorial Eloquence 7" (US/UK) |- | "White Man Danger" || Sartorial Eloquence 7" (US/UK) |- | "Tactics" || Dear God 7" (UK) |- | "Steal Away Child" || Dear God 7" (double) (UK) |- | "Love So Cold" || Dear God 7" (double) (UK) |}

Personnel

Curt Becher: Vocals

Byron Berline: Fiddle

Richie Cannata: Alto Saxophone

Lenny Castro: Congas

Bill Champlin: Backing Vocals

Joe Chemay: Vocals

Victor Feldman: Tambourine

Chuck Findley: Trumpet, Trombone

David Foster: String Arrangements

Clive Franks: Tambourine, Cowbell

Glenn Frey: Backing Vocals

Venette Gloud: Backing Vocals

Max Gronenthal: Backing Vocals

Larry Hall: Trumpet, Flugelhorn

Don Henley: Backing Vocals

Jerry Hey: Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Brass Arrangement

Jim Horn: Piccolo, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Brass Arrangement

James Newton Howard: Piano, Electronic Keyboards, Fender Rhodes, Yamaha CS-80

Elton John: Piano, Yamaha Electric Piano, Wurlitzer Electric Piano, Overdubbed Piano, Vocals, Backing Vocals

Bruce Johnston: Chorus, Choir Arrangement

Jon Joyce: Vocals

Steve Lukather: Electric Guitar

Reggie McBride: Bass

Dee Murray: Bass, Backing Vocals

Peter Noone: Vocals

Nigel Olsson: Drums

Gary Osborne: Backing Vocals

David Paich: Organ

Bill Reichenbach Jr.: Trombone

Timothy B. Schmit: Backing Vocals

Stephanie Spruill: Backing Vocals

Alvin Taylor: Drums

Toni Tennille: Vocals

Carmen Twilli: Backing Vocals

Larry Williams: Tenor Saxophone

Steve Wrather: Electric Guitar

Richie Zito: Acoustic and Electric Guitars

References

Category:Elton John albums Category:1980 albums Category:Albums recorded in Los Angeles, California Category:Albums recorded in France

Name	Tracy McGrady
Caption	Tracy McGrady during his tenure with the Rockets.
Height ft	6
Height in	8
Weight lb	223
Team	Detroit Pistons
Position	Guard / Small Forward
Number	1
Birth date	May 24, 1979
Birth place	Bartow, Florida
High school	Auburndale High School (Auburndale, Florida) Mount Zion Christian Academy (Durham, North Carolina)
Nationality	American
Draft round	1
Draft pick	9
Draft team	Toronto Raptors
Draft year	1997
Career start	1997
Teams
Highlights

Tracy Lamar McGrady, Jr., (born May 24, 1979, in Bartow, Florida) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons. He is a shooting guard, but can also play as a small forward and recently as a point guard.

Entering the league after graduating from high school, McGrady eventually became a seven-time All-Star. He led the league in scoring in 2003 and 2004. He has also played for the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets and New York Knicks. McGrady was ranked on SLAM Magazine's "Top 75 Players of All-Time" in 2003. McGrady's style of play has been compared to that of George Gervin.

Early years

Tracy McGrady played high school basketball at Auburndale High School in Auburndale, Florida for three years. He then transferred to Mount Zion Christian Academy, in Durham, North Carolina. McGrady created a national buzz after his performance in the Adidas ABCD Camp, where the best high school players in the U.S. are invited annually. He was named High School Player of the Year by USA Today.

NBA career

Toronto Raptors (1997–2000)

McGrady was drafted ninth overall in the first round of the 1997 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors.

In McGrady's first two seasons with the Raptors, he averaged less than 10 points per game, mainly coming off the bench. In his second season, he began playing alongside his third cousin, Vince Carter, who won the Rookie of the Year Award that season. The 1999–2000 season was McGrady's first breakout season in the NBA. He was a starter in 34 games out of 79, averaging 15.4 points per game, and a career-high 1.9 blocks per game. McGrady also competed in the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, finishing third, behind Carter and Steve Francis.

In 2000, the duo of McGrady and Carter helped lead the Raptors to the playoffs, for the first time in franchise history. However, the team was swept 3–0 by the New York Knicks in the first round. McGrady was often overshadowed by Carter during his time in Toronto, and he became a free agent in the summer of 2000. In the off-season, he expressed interest in playing for family and friends in his home state of Florida.

Orlando Magic (2000–2004)

On August 3, 2000, McGrady was dealt to the Orlando Magic in a sign-and-trade deal for a first round pick. In Orlando, he played alongside Grant Hill, who had been acquired that summer in hope of bringing Orlando back among the Eastern Conference's elite teams. However, an ankle injury limited Hill to only 4 games and McGrady became the leader and 1st scoring option of the team. For the first time in his career McGrady was selected as an All-Star when he was voted by the fans to start in the midseason classic for the Eastern Conference. At season's end he was presented with the 2001 NBA Most Improved Player Award. Even though McGrady had elevated his game from solid contributor to star, the Magic were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks.

The following season, McGrady continued his great play. With Hill struggling with injuries, the Magic were a one-man show. He made his second All-Star team and First Team All-NBA while averaging 26 points per game. The Magic posted a 44–38 record for the year but they were beat again in the first round of the playoffs, this time by the Charlotte Hornets.

In the 2002–03 season, McGrady averaged 32.1 points per game and captured the NBA scoring title, becoming the youngest player to do so since the ABA-NBA merger. Despite McGrady's personal accolades, the Magic failed to reach the second round of the playoffs. In a rather infamous moment, during the 2003 NBA Playoffs, the Magic (who were an #8 seed) surprisingly took a 3–1 series lead against the heavily favored #1 seed Detroit Pistons. Prior to the fifth game in Detroit, McGrady was quoted as saying that how wonderful it was to "finally be in the position to advance to the second round (of the playoffs)". Orlando, however, lost Games 5, 6, and 7 by an average of more than 20 points, and Detroit advanced to the second round.

In the 2003–04 season, he once again captured the NBA scoring title, averaging 28 points per game, and set a career high with 62 points against the Washington Wizards at the TD Waterhouse Centre on March 10, 2004. With this performance, he became the fourth player in the past 12 years to score over 60 points in a game.

Houston Rockets (2004–2010)

.]] On June 29, 2004, McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, and Reece Gaines were traded to the Houston Rockets in a seven-player deal that sent Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Kelvin Cato to the Magic. In his first year with the Houston Rockets, McGrady teamed with 7' 6" center Yao Ming, to end the season ranked 5th in the Western Conference. On December 9, 2004, he scored 13 points in the last 33 seconds of a game against the San Antonio Spurs, with four consecutive 3 pointers (one of which was part of a four-point play), including a steal and the game-winning 3 pointer with 1.7 seconds left in the game that helped the Rockets win 81–80.

The Rockets first season with McGrady started off slowly as they struggled to find a compatible point guard to play with McGrady's skill set in the backcourt. The solution was found when they named Bob Sura, who was returning from an injury, played well enough to earn the starting PG job. The Rockets traded Tyronn Lue for Jon Barry for 3-point shooting off the bench. The Rockets also acquired David Wesley from the Hornets to bolster their backcourt defense, particularly on smaller guards. With these new trades, McGrady was moved to SF, with a starting lineup of Bob Sura, David Wesley, Juwan Howard, and Yao Ming. The Rockets then ran the offense through McGrady, utilized the inside game of Yao, and used the perimeter game of Howard's baseline jumper and 3-point shooting effectively. The Rockets finished the 2004–05 season 51–31 as the 5th seed in the playoffs.

.]] Despite McGrady's stellar play in the first round of the 2005 NBA Playoffs where he averaged 30.7 ppg, 6.7 asg, and 7.4 rpg, Houston was eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in game seven by 40 points, despite having a 2–0 lead to start the series. McGrady missed 6 of his first 7 shots in Game 7 and the Rockets were never able to match the intensity of the Dallas Mavericks. McGrady's signature moment in the Dallas playoffs series was in Game 2, where he blew past Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki and dunked over Dallas center Shawn Bradley.

In the early 2005–06 season, McGrady missed eight games because of multiple back spasms. His back problems resurfaced on January 8, 2006 when he had to be taken out at halftime in a game against the Denver Nuggets on a stretcher to the hospital because of severe back spasms. He had been out for five games. Since his return, the spasms have still been a problem for McGrady. In the 2005–06 season the Rockets were 2–15 in games he did not play in and 2–16 in games McGrady did not finish. While McGrady was injured for five games with his back injury, the Rockets did not win a single game. Other injuries include him falling on his back in a game against the Indiana Pacers. Despite his back injuries, McGrady was voted into the 2006 All-Star Game in Houston. His western conference teammates constantly put the ball in his hands to put him in contention for the All-Star MVP award in front of his Houston home crowd. A controversy resulted in the final minute when McGrady attempted a jump shot that would have given the West the lead and control of the game. Replays showed LeBron James, who was guarding McGrady appearing to make contact with McGrady's elbow, causing the shot attempt to fall way short of the basket. However, no foul was whistled, the East won, and LeBron James was named All-Star MVP.

.]] In the 2006–07 season, McGrady started out slowly, and after missing 7 games with back spasms he visited a doctor. In an interview with TNT, McGrady said that he thought that his body was slowing down. He believed that he could no longer be as explosive as he was in the past due to his back injury. Shortly after another bout with back spasms, McGrady went to Waco, Texas where Dr. John Patterson performed "Synergy Release Therapy" to cure his chronic back problems, particularly the back spasms. However, since Yao Ming was having another breakout season, he was deferring to Yao as the number one option. Since Yao went down with a leg injury, McGrady stepped up his overall play, re-establishing himself as one of the game's premier players and by doing so led Houston to the 5th best record in the league. On December 29, 2006, he became the third youngest player in NBA history to reach 14,000 points and 4,000 rebounds. However, in the playoffs, the Rockets lost their first round series to the Utah Jazz 4–3, again preventing McGrady from advancing to the second round of the playoffs. A tear fell down his cheek during the press-conference after losing game seven 103–99 to the Utah Jazz in the 2007 Playoffs. Prior to the series with the Jazz, McGrady had stated in an interview with Stephen A. Smith that if he and the Rockets failed to make it out of the first round again, it was "on me".

After the 2006–07 season, following the Rockets first round playoff defeat, Jeff Van Gundy was fired as head coach by Rockets management. Rick Adelman was hired as head coach as Rockets owner Leslie Alexander wanted a more uptempo offense to utilize the offensive skill set of Yao and McGrady.

The 2007–08 season for the Rockets was decimated by injuries, most notable Yao Ming being placed on injured reserve in February. Incredibly, the Rockets won 22 straight games (10 without Yao). The Rockets finished as the 5th seed in the West and earned a rematch with the Utah Jazz. However, by the time playoffs came, McGrady was already nursing shoulder and knee injuries as he had bandages placed on his shoulder and his knee throughout the playoff series. McGrady took pain-killing injections in and had fluid drained from both his shoulder and knee to allow him to play. The Jazz again eliminated the Rockets in six games, despite McGrady recording 40 points and 10 rebounds in the decisive Game Six, a 113–91 loss.

In May 2008, McGrady underwent arthroscopic surgery on both his left shoulder and left knee.

On February 18, 2009, McGrady announced on his website that he would have surgery on his left knee and would miss the remainder of the 2008–09 season. He had already missed 18 games before the All-Star break, including a two-week stretch in January, and said before the season that his knee was not healed from his off-season surgery. Head coach Rick Adelman, who found out about the announcement when he read the newspaper in the morning, criticized McGrady for not informing the team of the decision. He decided to have microfracture surgery in Chicago on February 24, 2009. The cartilage damage to be repaired by the microfracture surgery was in a small area on a non-weight-bearing surface, and the rest of his knee was otherwise healthy, according to the team doctor.

Despite McGrady being on injured reserve, the Rockets beat the Trail Blazers 4–2 in the first round of the playoffs to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997. The Rockets would compete in a memorable series against the eventual NBA champion LA Lakers, before losing Game 7 in LA. Since McGrady was on the Rockets' roster during the 2009 NBA Playoffs, he officially advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his career.

McGrady only played in six games with the Rockets during the 2009–10 season, all in limited minutes as a reserve due to injuries, before being traded to the New York Knicks in February.

New York Knicks (2010)

On February 18, 2010, McGrady was traded to the New York Knicks as part of a three-team trade involving Houston, New York, and the Sacramento Kings. On February 20, 2010, McGrady made his debut for the Knicks against the Oklahoma City Thunder, to a sold-out Madison Square Garden, amid many "We Want T-Mac!" chants. He scored 26 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and dished 5 assists in 32 minutes of play as New York lost in overtime. This was McGrady's first game since December 23, 2009 against the Orlando Magic. His first win as a member of the Knicks came six days later, in a 23-point effort against the Washington Wizards.

Detroit Pistons (2010–present)

On August 16, 2010, McGrady signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Pistons. On December 7, 2010, McGrady returned to Houston for the first time and scored 11 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, and dished 3 assists in a 97-83 loss to the Rockets. On December 29, 2010, McGrady scored a season-high 21 points in a 104-92 win over the Boston Celtics. He scored a new season-high of 22 points in a 101-95 win against the Toronto Raptors.

Off the court

Personal life

McGrady has four children—daughters Layla Clarice, Laycee Aloe, and sons Laymen Lamar, Layden—with his wife CleRenda Harris, whom he had dated for 10 years. Their first son was born on December 27, 2005 during a 82–74 loss against the Utah Jazz in which McGrady left during halftime to see his girlfriend going into labor. The couple were married on September 12, 2006 in Mexico. McGrady and Vince Carter are third cousins; McGrady learned that his grandmother and Carter's grandmother were cousins at a family reunion while he was still in high school and Carter played at the University of North Carolina. The two played together with the Toronto Raptors for two years before McGrady left for free agency. After McGrady left, he and Carter had a short feud- but this was resolved in a short period of time.

Tracy's younger brother, Chancellor "Chance" McGrady, played for the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Runner-Up Memphis Tigers basketball team.

In 2008, McGrady was criticized for his comments on the All-Star game being held in New Orleans, only 3 years removed from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. McGrady publicly questioned the quality of public safety and protection of NBA players.

Endorsements

In 2002, McGrady signed a longterm partnership with Adidas, agreeing to an endorsement deal that will last through his playing career and beyond. He also appeared on the cover of NBA Live 07.

Philanthropy

McGrady has traveled to the Darfurian refugee camps in Chad with John Prendergast and Omer Ismail of the ENOUGH Project. McGrady is actively recruiting NBA players to support a sister schools initiative linking schools in Darfurian refugee camps to American middle schools, high schools and universities.

In 2009, McGrady changed his jersey number to #3. He made the switch to promote his humanitarian efforts in the Darfur region of the Sudan and a documentary on his summer 2007 visits to refugee camps in the region. The documentary is called 3 Points.

USA career

}}

He was a member of the United States men's national basketball team in the 2003 Tournament of the Americas where the USA team won the tournament.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 1997–98 | align="left" | Toronto | 64 || 17 || 18.4 || .450 || .341 || .712 || 4.2 || 1.5 || .8 || .9 || 7.0 |- | align="left" | 1998–99 | align="left" | Toronto | 49 || 2 || 22.6 || .436 || .229 || .726 || 5.7 || 2.3 || 1.1 || 1.4 || 9.3 |- | align="left" | 1999–00 | align="left" | Toronto | 79 || 34 || 31.2 || .451 || .277 || .707 || 6.3 || 3.3 || 1.1 || 1.9 || 15.4 |- | align="left" | 2000–01 | align="left" | Orlando | 77 || 77 || 40.1 || .457 || .355 || .733 || 7.5 || 4.6 || 1.5 || 1.5 || 26.8 |- | align="left" | 2001–02 | align="left" | Orlando | 76 || 76 || 38.3 || .451 || .364 || .748 || 7.9 || 5.3 || 1.6 || 1.0 || 25.6 |- | align="left" | 2002–03 | align="left" | Orlando | 75 || 74 || 39.4 || .457 || .386 || .793 || 6.5 || 5.5 || 1.6 || .8 || 32.1 |- | align="left" | 2003–04 | align="left" | Orlando | 67 || 67 || 39.9 || .417 || .339 || .796 || 6.0 || 5.5 || 1.4 || .6 || 28.0 |- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Houston | 78 || 78 || 40.8 || .431 || .326 || .774 || 6.2 || 5.7 || 1.7 || .7 || 25.7 |- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Houston | 47 || 47 || 37.1 || .406 || .312 || .747 || 6.5 || 4.8 || 1.3 || .9 || 24.4 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Houston | 71 || 71 || 35.8 || .431 || .331 || .707 || 5.3 || 6.5 || 1.3 || .5 || 24.6 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Houston | 66 || 62 || 37.0 || .419 || .292 || .684 || 5.1 || 5.9 || 1.0 || .4 || 21.6 |- | align="left" | 2008–09 | align="left" | Houston | 35 || 35 || 33.7|| .388 || .376 || .801 || 4.4 || 5.0 || 1.2 || .4 || 15.6 |- | align="left" | 2009–10 | align="left" | Houston | 6 || 0 || 7.7 || .368 || .500 || .667 || 0.8 || 1.0 || .0 || .3 || 3.2 |- | align="left" | 2009–10 | align="left" | New York | 24 || 24 || 26.1 || .389 || .242 || .754 || 3.7 || 3.9 || .6 || .5 || 9.4 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 814 || 664 || 34.6 || .435 || .337 || .749 || 6.0 || 4.7 || 1.3 || .9 || 21.5 |- | align="left" | All-Star | align="left" | | 7 || 6 || 24.6 || .500 || .351 || .619 || 3.0 || 3.9 || 1.6 || .4 || 17.1

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 1999–00 | align="left" | Toronto | 3 || 3 || 37.0 || .386 || .286 || .875 || 7.0 || 3.0 || 1.0 || 1.0 || 16.7 |- | align="left" | 2000–01 | align="left" | Orlando | 4 || 4 || 44.5 || .415 || .200 || .816 || 6.5 || 8.3 || 1.8 || 1.2 || 33.8 |- | align="left" | 2001–02 | align="left" | Orlando | 4 || 4 || 44.5 || .462 || .313 || .739 || 6.3 || 5.5 || .5 || 1.8 || 30.8 |- | align="left" | 2002–03 | align="left" | Orlando | 7 || 7 || 44.0 || .448 || .340 || .773 || 6.7 || 4.7 || 2.0 || .9 || 31.7 |- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Houston | 7 || 7 || 43.0 || .456 || .370 || .824 || 7.4 || 6.7 || 1.6 || 1.4 || 30.7 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Houston | 7 || 7 || 40.0 || .394 || .250 || .737 || 5.9 || 7.3 || .7 || .9 || 25.3 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Houston | 6 || 6 || 41.2 || .425 || .208 || .623 || 8.2 || 6.8 || 1.5 || .8 || 27.0 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 38 || 38 || 42.2 || .430 || .301 || .756 || 6.9 || 6.2 || 1.3 || 1.1 || 28.5

NBA career achievements

2× NBA Scoring Champion: 2003 (32.1), 2004 (28.0)

7× NBA All-Star: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

7× All-NBA:

:* First Team: 2002, 2003 :* Second Team: 2001, 2004, 2007 :* Third Team: 2005, 2008

NBA Most Improved Player Award: 2001

Orlando Magic franchise records

All-Time Free Throws Made (1,819)

Most points in one game with 62 (March 10, 2004 vs. Washington Wizards)

Most points in one half with 37 in the first half (March 9, 2003 vs. Denver Nuggets)

Most points in one quarter with 25 in the second quarter (March 9, 2003 vs. Denver Nuggets)

Most free throws made in one game with 18 (December 25, 2002 vs. Detroit Pistons)

Most points in a playoff game with 46 (in Game 2 of the 2003 Eastern Conference playoffs, First Round vs. Detroit Pistons)

Most three-point field goals made in one half with 8 (January 26, 2004 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers)

Career achievements

Career 40+ point games (regular season): 45

Career 50+ point games (regular season): 4

Career 60+ point games (regular season): 1

Career triple-doubles (regular season): 4

Shares NBA record for most three-point field goals made in one half with 8 (January 26, 2004 Orlando vs. Cleveland)

See also

List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season

List of National Basketball Association players with 60 or more points in a game

References

External links

Tracy McGrady's Official Website

NBA.com profile

Category:1979 births Category:African American basketball players Category:American expatriate basketball people in Canada Category:Living people Category:Detroit Pistons players Category:Houston Rockets players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:National Basketball Association high school draftees Category:New York Knicks players Category:Orlando Magic players Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Florida Category:Toronto Raptors draft picks Category:Toronto Raptors players Category:Shooting guards Category:Small forwards

Name	Yu Dafu
Birthdate	December 07, 1896
Birthplace	Fuyang, Zhejiang, China
Deathdate	September 17, 1945
Occupation	Short Story writer and Poet

Yu Dafu () (December 7, 1896—September 17, 1945). Born in Fuyang, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, was a modern Chinese short story writer and poet.

Early years

Yu Dafu's father died at when he was only three, leaving the family poverty-stricken and destitute. He received a number of scholarships through the Chinese government and went on to receive a traditional Chinese education in Hangzhou. Chronologically he studied in Jiangxing-Fu Middle School (before he came to Hangzhou), Hangzhou-Fu Middle School, Yuying Academy (育英学堂, formerly of Zhejiang University).

In 1912, he entered Hangchow University (later its major part merged into Zhejiang University) preparatory through examination. He was there only for a sort period before he was expelled for participation in a student strike.

He then moved to Japan, where he studied economics at the Tokyo Imperial University between 1913 and 1922, where he met other Chinese intellectuals (namely, Guo Moruo, Zhang Ziping and Tian Han). Together, in 1921 they founded the Chuangzao she 創造社 ("Creation Society"), which promoted vernacular and modern literature. One of his earlier works Chenlun 沉淪, also his most famous, published in Japan in 1921. The work had gained immense popularity in China, shocking the world of Chinese literature with its frank dealing with sex, as well as grievances directed at the incompetence of Chinese government at the time.

In 1922, he returned to China as a literary celebrity and worked as the editor of Creation Quarterly, editing journals and writing short stories. In 1923, after an attack of tuberculosis, Yu Dafu directed his attention to the welfare of the masses.

In 1927, he worked as an editor of the Hongshui literary magazine. He later came in conflict with the Communist Party of China and fled back to Japan.

Second Sino-Japanese war

After the start of the Second Sino-Japanese war, he returned to China and worked as a writer of anti-Japanese propaganda in Hangzhou, and later in Zhejiang. From 1938 to 1942, he worked as a literary editor for the newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh in Singapore.

In 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Singapore, he was forced to flee to Sumatra. Known under a different identity, he settled there among other overseas Chinese and began a brewery business with the help of the locals. Later he was forced to help the Japanese military police as an interpreter when it was discovered that he was one of the few "locals" in the area who could speak Japanese.

In 1945, he was arrested by the Kempeitai when his true identity was finally discovered. It is believed that he was executed by the Japanese shortly after the surrender of Japan.

Works

Chenlun 沉淪 "Sinking" (1921)

Riji jiuzhong 日記九種 “Nine Diaries” (1927)

Guoqu 過去 “The Past" (1927)

his first novel?? (1928) (moderately successful)

his second novel?? (1932)

Chuben 出奔 "Flight" (1935)

His most popular work, breaking all Chinese sales records, was Jih-chi chiu-chung "Nine Diaries", which detailed his affair with the writer Wang Ying-hsin. The most critically acclaimed work is Kuo-ch'u or "The Past", written in 1927.

References

Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, article- "Yü Ta-fu"

External links

Category:1896 births Category:1945 deaths Category:Chinese expatriates in Japan Category:Hangzhou High School alumni Category:People from Hangzhou Category:Republic of China poets Category:University of Tokyo alumni Category:Zhejiang University alumni

Name	Rick Hawn
Birth place	Eugene, Oregon, United States
Nationality	American
Height
Weight
Weight class	170
Style	Judo, Muay Thai
Fighting out of	Wakefield, Massachusetts
Team	Team Sityodtong
Rank	black belt in Judo
Mma win	9
Mma kowin	7
Mma subwin	0
Mma decwin	2
Mma loss	0
Mma draw	0
Sherdog	42680

Rick Hawn (born September, 1976) is an American former 2004 US Olympic judo team member and is now an mixed martial artist. As a judoka he won numerous medals at U.S. national championships, 2 medals at the Pan American Games, and finished 9th at the 2004 Olympics.

Mixed martial arts record

{| style="font-size: 85%; text-align: left;" class="wikitable sortable" width="100%" |- !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Record !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Result !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Method !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Event !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Round !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Time !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location !style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes |- |9-0 |Win | LeVon Maynard |TKO (Punches) |Bellator 33 | |align='center'|1 |align='center'|4:53 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |- |8-0 |Win | Shonie Carter |TKO (Head Kick and Punches) |Triumph Fighter 3 - Havoc | |align='center'|2 |align='center'|4:08 | Milford, New Hampshire | |- |7-0 |Win | Dennis Olson |TKO (Head Kick and Punches) |Triumph Fighter 2 - Inferno | |align='center'|2 |align='center'|2:02 | Milford, New Hampshire | |- |6-0 |Win | Tom Gallicchio |Decision (Unanimous) |WCF - World Championship Fighting 9 | |align='center'|3 |align='center'|5:00 | Wilmington, Massachusetts | |- |5-0 |Win | Brendan Weafer |Decision (Unanimous) |CFX 5 - Mayhem in Mansfield | |align='center'|3 |align='center'|5:00 | Mansfield, Massachusetts | |- |4-0 |Win | Bruce Boyington |TKO (Punches) |CFX 3 - Rumble in the Jungle | |align='center'|1 |align='center'|3:03 | Plymouth, Massachusetts | |- |3-0 |Win | Daniel Ford |TKO (Punches) |CFX 2 - Thunder in the Dome | |align='center'|1 |align='center'|1:49 | Milford, New Hampshire | |- |2-0 |Win | Billy Flynn |KO (Punches) |WCF - World Championship Fighting 6 | |align='center'|1 |align='center'|1:12 | Wilmington, Massachusetts | |- |1-0 |Win | Bruno Decosta |TKO (Punches) |CFX 1 - Wartown Beatdown | |align='center'|1 |align='center'|2:01 | Worcester, Massachusetts | |}

References

External links

Rick Hawn's Personal Website

Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats Category:American mixed martial artists Category:Mixed martial artists from Oregon Category:Welterweight mixed martial artists Category:American sport judo Category:Judo at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic judoka of the United States Category:1976 births Category:Living people Category:People from Eugene, Oregon

Width	200
Caption	Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls in 1997
Position	Shooting guard-Small forward
Height ft	6|height_in= 6
Weight lbs	215
Number	23, 45, 9, 12
Birthdate	February 17, 1963
Birthplace	Brooklyn, New York, United States
High school	Emsley A. Laney High School (Wilmington, North Carolina)
Career start	1984
Career end	2003
Draftyear	1984
Draftround	1
Draftpick	3
Draftteam	Chicago Bulls
College	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Teams
Stat1label	Points
Stat1value	32,292 (30.1 ppg)
Stat2label	Rebounds
Stat2value	6,672 (6.2 rpg)
Stat3label	Assists
Stat3value	5,633 (5.3 apg)
Letter	j
Bbr	jordami01
Highlights
Hof player	michael-jordan

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a former American professional basketball player, active businessman, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." During his three seasons at North Carolina, he averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting, and added 5.0 rebounds per game (rpg).

Professional career

During his first season in the NBA, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting. and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the heading "A Star is Born" just over a month into his professional career. Jordan was also voted in as an All-Star starter by the fans in his rookie season. The Bulls finished the season 38–44, and lost in the first round of the playoffs in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks. Jordan set the still-unbroken record for points in a playoff game with 63 in Game 2. The Celtics, however, managed to sweep the series. The Bulls finished 50–32, However, the Bulls then lost in five games to the more experienced Detroit Pistons, However, the Pistons again defeated the Bulls, this time in six games, In an unusual ending to the fourth and final game, Isiah Thomas led his team off the court before the final minute had concluded. Most of the Pistons went directly to their locker room instead of shaking hands with the Bulls.

The Bulls compiled an outstanding 15–2 record during the playoffs, In his first Finals appearance, Jordan posted per game averages of 31.2 points on 56% shooting from the field, 11.4 assists, 6.6 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks. Jordan won his first NBA Finals MVP award, and he cried while holding the NBA Finals trophy.

Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the 1991–92 season, establishing a 67–15 record, topping their franchise record from 1990–91. In the first game, Jordan scored a Finals-record 35 points in the first half, including a record-setting six three-point field goals. After the sixth three-pointer, he jogged down the court shrugging as he looked courtside. Marv Albert, who broadcast the game, later stated that it was as if Jordan was saying, "I can't believe I'm doing this." The Bulls went on to win Game 1, and defeat the Blazers in six games. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row and became the first player in NBA history to win three straight Finals MVP awards.

Gambling controversy

During the Bulls' playoff run in 1993, controversy arose when Jordan was seen gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey the night before a game against the New York Knicks. In that same year, he admitted to having to cover $57,000 in gambling losses, and author Richard Esquinas wrote a book claiming he had won $1.25 million from Jordan on the golf course. When Bradley asked him if his gambling ever got to the level where it jeopardized his livelihood or family, Jordan replied, "No." James R. Jordan, Sr. was murdered on July 23, 1993, at a highway rest area in Lumberton, North Carolina, by two teenagers, Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery. The assailants were traced from calls they made on James Jordan's cellular phone, caught, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. Jordan was close to his father; as a child he had imitated his father's proclivity to stick out his tongue while absorbed in work. He later adopted it as his own signature, displaying it each time he drove to the basket.

In his 1998 autobiography For the Love of the Game, Jordan wrote that he had been preparing for retirement as early as the summer of 1992. The added exhaustion due to the Dream Team run in the 1992 Olympics solidified Jordan's feelings about the game and his ever-growing celebrity status. Jordan's announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world.

Jordan then further surprised the sports world by signing a minor league baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox. He reported to spring training and was assigned to the team's minor league system on March 31, 1994. Jordan has stated this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father, who had always envisioned his son as a Major League Baseball player. The White Sox were another team owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan's basketball contract during the years he played baseball. He had a brief professional baseball career for the Birmingham Barons, a Chicago White Sox farm team, batting .202 with 3 HR, 51 RBI, 30 SB, and 11 errors. The team received a lift, however, when Jordan decided to return to the NBA for the Bulls.

On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a pithy press release: "I'm back." The game had the highest Nielsen rating of a regular season NBA game since 1975.

Although he had not played in an NBA game in a year and a half, Jordan played well upon his return, making a game-winning jump shot against Atlanta in his fourth game back and scoring 55 points in a game against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 28, 1995. after which Jordan returned to wearing his old number (23). Jordan averaged 31 points per game in that series, but Orlando prevailed in six games. Strengthened by the addition of rebound specialist Dennis Rodman, the Bulls dominated the league, starting the season 41–3, and eventually finishing with the best regular season record in NBA history: 72–10. and won the league's regular season and All-Star Game MVP awards. However, this year Jordan was beaten for the NBA MVP Award by Karl Malone. The team again advanced to the Finals, where they faced Malone and the Utah Jazz. The series against the Jazz featured two of the more memorable clutch moments of Jordan's career. He won Game 1 for the Bulls with a buzzer-beating jump shot. In Game 5, with the series tied 2–2, Jordan played despite being feverish and dehydrated from a stomach virus. In what is known as the "", Jordan scored 38 points including the game-deciding three-pointer with less than a minute remaining. The Bulls won 90–88 and went on to win the series in six games. With the Bulls trailing 86–83 with 40 seconds remaining, coach Jackson called a timeout. When play resumed, Jordan received the inbound pass, drove to the basket, and hit a layup over several Jazz defenders. although the officials did not call a foul. Jordan then released what would be the climactic shot of his career. After a desperation three-point shot by John Stockton missed, Jordan and the Bulls claimed their sixth NBA championship, and secured a second three-peat. Once again, Jordan was voted the Finals MVP, Jordan's six Finals MVPs is a record; Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, and Tim Duncan are tied for second place with three apiece.

Second retirement

With Phil Jackson's contract expiring, the pending departures of Scottie Pippen (who stated his desire to be traded during the season) and Dennis Rodman (who would sign with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent) looming, and being in the latter stages of an owner-induced lockout of NBA players, Jordan retired for the second time on January 13, 1999.

On January 19, 2000, Jordan returned to the NBA not as a player, but as part owner and President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards. He'd earlier made a bid to become part-owner of the Charlotte Hornets, as a full partner of founding owner George Shinn. However, negotiations collapsed when Shinn refused to give Jordan total control of on-court operations.

Jordan's responsibilities with the Wizards were comprehensive. He controlled all aspects of the Wizards' basketball operations, and had the final say in all personnel matters. Opinions of Jordan as a basketball executive were mixed. He managed to purge the team of several highly paid, unpopular players (such as forward Juwan Howard and point guard Rod Strickland), but used the first pick in the 2001 NBA Draft to select high schooler Kwame Brown, who did not live up to expectations and was traded away after four seasons.

Despite his January 1999 claim that he was "99.9% certain" that he would never play another NBA game, this time with his new team. Inspired by the NHL comeback of his friend Mario Lemieux the previous winter, Jordan spent much of the spring and summer of 2001 in training, holding several invitation-only camps for NBA players in Chicago. In addition, Jordan hired his old Chicago Bulls head coach, Doug Collins, as Washington's coach for the upcoming season, a decision that many saw as foreshadowing another Jordan return. In an injury-plagued 2001–02 season, he led the team in scoring (22.9 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), and steals (1.42 spg). During his stint with the Wizards, all of Jordan's home games at the MCI Center were sold out, and the Wizards were the second most-watched team in the NBA, averaging 20,172 fans a game at home and 19,311 on the road. However, neither of Jordan's final two seasons resulted in a playoff appearance for the Wizards, and Jordan was often unsatisfied with the play of those around him. At several points he openly criticized his teammates to the media, citing their lack of focus and intensity, notably that of the number one draft pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, Kwame Brown. The Miami Heat retired the number 23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though Jordan had never played for the team. At the 2003 All-Star Game, Jordan was offered a starting spot from Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson, but refused both; in the end, however, he accepted the spot of Vince Carter, who decided to give it up under great public pressure.

Jordan's final NBA game was on April 16, 2003 in Philadelphia. After scoring only 13 points in the game, Jordan went to the bench with 4 minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter and with his team trailing the Philadelphia 76ers, 75–56. Just after the start of the fourth quarter, the First Union Center crowd began chanting "We want Mike!". After much encouragement from coach Doug Collins, Jordan finally rose from the bench and re-entered the game for Larry Hughes with 2:35 remaining. At 1:45, Jordan was intentionally fouled by the 76ers' Eric Snow, and stepped to the line to make both free throws. After the second foul shot, the 76ers in-bounded the ball to rookie John Salmons, who in turn was intentionally fouled by Bobby Simmons one second later, stopping time so that Jordan could return to the bench. Jordan received a three-minute standing ovation from his teammates, his opponents, the officials and a crowd of 21,257 fans.

Olympic career

Jordan played on two Olympic gold medal-winning American basketball teams. As a college player he participated, and won the gold, in the 1984 Summer Olympics. Jordan led the team in scoring averaging 17.1 ppg for the tournament. In the 1992 Summer Olympics he was a member of the star-studded squad that included Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and David Robinson and was dubbed the "Dream Team". Playing limited minutes due to the frequent , Jordan averaged 12.7 ppg, finishing fourth on the team in scoring. Jordan, Patrick Ewing, and fellow Dream Team member Chris Mullin are the only American men's basketball players to win Olympic gold as amateurs (all in 1984) and professionals.

In addition, Jordan and fellow Dream Team member (and Bulls teammate) Scottie Pippen are the only players to have won both NBA championship and Olympic gold medal in the same year (1992).

After retiring as a player

After his third retirement, Jordan assumed that he would be able to return to his front office position of Director of Basketball Operations with the Wizards. However, his previous tenure in the Wizards' front office had produced the aforementioned mixed results and may have also influenced the trade of Richard "Rip" Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse (although Jordan was not technically Director of Basketball Operations in 2002). Since 2004, Jordan has owned Michael Jordan Motorsports, a professional closed-course motorcycle road racing team that competes with two Suzukis in the premier Superbike class sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). Jordan and his then-wife Juanita pledged $5 million to Chicago's Hales Franciscan High School in 2006, and the Jordan Brand has made donations to Habitat for Humanity and a Louisiana branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. On June 15, 2006, Jordan bought a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats, becoming the team's second-largest shareholder behind majority owner Robert L. Johnson. As part of the deal, Jordan was named "Managing Member of Basketball Operations," with full control over the basketball side of the operation. Despite Jordan's previous success as an endorser, he has made an effort not to be included in Charlotte's marketing campaigns.

In February 2010, it was reported that Jordan was seeking majority ownership of the Bobcats. As February wore on, it emerged that the leading contenders for the team were Jordan and former Houston Rockets president George Postolos. On February 27, the Bobcats announced that Johnson had reached an agreement with Jordan and his group, MJ Basketball Holdings, to buy the team pending NBA approval. On March 17, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved Jordan's purchase, making him the first former NBA player ever to become the majority owner of a league franchise.

Player profile

Jordan was a shooting guard who was also capable of playing small forward (the position he would primarily play during his second comeback with the Washington Wizards). Jordan was known throughout his career for being a strong clutch performer. He decided numerous games with last-second plays (e.g., The Shot) and performed at a high level even under adverse circumstances (e.g., ). His competitiveness was visible in his prolific trash-talk and well-known work ethic.

Jordan had a versatile offensive game. He was capable of aggressively driving to the basket and drawing fouls from his opponents at a high rate; his 8,772 free throw attempts are the ninth highest total of all time. As his career progressed, Jordan also developed the ability to post up his opponents and score with his trademark fadeaway jumpshot, using his leaping ability to "fade away" from block attempts. According to Hubie Brown, this move alone made him nearly unstoppable. Despite media criticism as a "selfish" player early in his career, Jordan's 5.3 assists per game and combined this with his ball-thieving ability to become a standout defensive player. His 2,514 steals are the second highest total of all-time behind John Stockton, while his steals per game average is third all-time. Jerry West often stated that he was more impressed with Jordan's defensive contributions than his offensive ones.

Legacy

Jordan's basketball talent was clear from his rookie season. Jordan's total of 5,987 points in the playoffs is the highest in NBA history. He retired with 32,292 points in regular season play, placing him third on the NBA's all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. Jordan placed second to Babe Ruth in the Associated Press's list of 20th century athletes. In addition, the Associated Press voted him as the basketball player of the 20th century. Jordan has also appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated a record 49 times. In the September 1996 issue of Sport, which was the publication's 50th anniversary issue, Jordan was named the greatest athlete of the past 50 years.

Jordan's athletic leaping ability, highlighted in his back-to-back slam dunk contest championships in 1987 and 1988, is credited by many with having influenced a generation of young players. Several current NBA All-Stars have stated that they considered Jordan their role model while growing up, including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. In addition, commentators have dubbed a number of next-generation players "the next Michael Jordan" upon their entry to the NBA, including Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, Grant Hill, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Vince Carter, and Dwyane Wade. Although Jordan was a well-rounded player, his "Air Jordan" image is also often credited with inadvertently decreasing the jump shooting skills, defense, and fundamentals of young players, Television ratings in particular increased only during his time in the league and have subsequently lowered each time he left the game. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in September 2009, with former Bulls teammates Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Charles Oakley, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, and Toni Kukoc in attendance.

Personal life

Jordan is the fourth of five children. He has two older brothers, Larry Jordan and James R. Jordan, Jr., one older sister, Deloris, and a younger sister, Roslyn. Jordan's brother James retired in 2006 as the Command Sergeant Major of the 35th Signal Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps in the U.S. Army.

He married Juanita Vanoy in September 1989, and they have two sons, Jeffrey Michael and Marcus James, and a daughter, Jasmine. Jordan and Vanoy filed for divorce on January 4, 2002, citing irreconcilable differences, but reconciled shortly thereafter. They again filed for divorce and were granted a final decree of dissolution of marriage on December 29, 2006, commenting that the decision was made "mutually and amicably". It is reported that Juanita received a $168 million settlement, making it the largest celebrity divorce settlement in history at the time on public record.

On July 21, 2006, a Cook County, Illinois judge determined that Jordan did not owe his alleged former lover Karla Knafel $5 million. Jordan had allegedly paid Knafel $250,000 to keep their relationship a secret. Knafel claimed Jordan promised her $5 million for remaining silent and agreeing not to file a paternity suit after Knafel learned she was pregnant in 1991. A DNA test showed Jordan was not the father of the child. Jeffrey graduated as a member of the 2007 graduating class and played his first collegiate basketball game on November 11, 2007, for the University of Illinois. After two seasons, Jeffrey left the Illinois basketball team in 2009. He later rejoined the team for a third season, then received a release to transfer to the University of Central Florida, where Marcus was attending. Marcus transferred to Whitney Young High School after his sophomore year and graduated in 2009. He began attending UCF in the fall of 2009.

In December of 2010, the Charlotte Observer reported that Jordan had purchased and combined the two top-floor penthouses at The Trust, a luxury condominium building in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina.

Media figure and business interests

is a silhouette of Jordan used by Nike to promote the Air Jordan shoes, among other merchandise.]] Jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history. He has been a major spokesman for such brands as Nike, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Gatorade, McDonald's, Ball Park Franks, Rayovac, Wheaties, Hanes, and MCI. Jordan has had a long relationship with Gatorade, appearing in over 20 commercials for the company since 1991, including the "Like Mike" commercials in which a song was sung by children wishing to be like Jordan.

Nike created a signature shoe for him, called the Air Jordan. One of Jordan's more popular commercials for the shoe involved Spike Lee playing the part of Mars Blackmon. In the commercials Lee, as Blackmon, attempted to find the source of Jordan's abilities and became convinced that "it's gotta be the shoes". The brand has also sponsored college sports programs such as those of North Carolina, Cincinnati, Cal, St. John's, Georgetown, and North Carolina A&T;.

Jordan also has been connected with the Looney Tunes cartoon characters. A Nike commercial shown during the 1993 Super Bowl XXVII featured Jordan and Bugs Bunny playing basketball against a group of Martian characters. The Super Bowl commercial inspired the 1996 live action/animated movie Space Jam, which starred Jordan and Bugs in a fictional story set during his first retirement. They have subsequently appeared together in several commercials for MCI. In addition, when Jordan's power at the ticket gates was at its highest point the Bulls regularly sold out every game they played in, whether home or away. Due to this, Jordan set records in player salary by signing annual contracts worth in excess of $30 million US dollars per season. An academic study found that Jordan’s first NBA comeback resulted in an increase in the market capitalization of his client firms of more than $1 billion.

Most of Jordan's endorsement deals, including the first deal with Nike, were engineered by his agent, David Falk. Jordan has said of Falk that "he's the best at what he does", and that "marketing-wise, he's great. He's the one who came up with the concept of 'Air Jordan.'"

In June 2010, Jordan was ranked by Forbes Magazine as the 20th most powerful celebrity in the world with $55 million earned between June 2009 and June 2010. According to the Forbes article, Brand Jordan generates $1 billion in sales for Nike.

Honors and awards

at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill game honoring the 1957 and 1982 men's basketball teams.]]

Jordan won numerous awards and set many records during his career. The following are some of his achievements:

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2009

2 Olympic Gold Medals – 1984, 1992

6-time NBA Champion

6-time NBA Finals MVP

5-time NBA MVP

10 NBA Scoring Titles

3-time steals leader

3-time minutes leader

14 NBA All-Star Selections

3-time NBA All-Star Game MVP

11 All-NBA Selections

9 All-Defensive First Team Selections

2-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion – 1987, 1988

NBA Rookie of the Year – NBA Defensive Player of the Year –

ACC Freshman of the Year – 1981–82

2-time Consensus NCAA All-American First Team – 1982–83, 1983–84

ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year – 1983–84

USBWA College Player of the Year – 1983–84

Naismith College Player of the Year – 1983–84

John R. Wooden Award – 1983–84

Adolph Rupp Trophy – 1983–84

Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year – 1991

Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996

Ranked #1 by SLAM Magazine's Top 50 Players of All-Time

Ranked #1 by ESPN Sportscentury's Top 100 Athletes of the 20th century

Elected to North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame

See also

List of National Basketball Association top rookie scoring averages

List of National Basketball Association top individual scoring season averages

List of individual National Basketball Association scoring leaders by season

List of National Basketball Association season steals leaders

List of National Basketball Association players with most points in a game

List of National Basketball Association players with most steals in a game

List of National Basketball Association players with 50 or more points in a playoff game

List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders

List of National Basketball Association career assists leaders

List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders

List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders

List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders

List of highest playoff series scoring averages in National Basketball Association history

List of National Basketball Association players with most championship rings

; Outside basketball

Michael Jordan Steakhouse

Michael Jordan's Restaurant

Michael Jordan in Flight

NBA 2K11

References

External links

NBA History: Jordan bio

NBA.com historical playerfile

NBA Player Stats

Michael Jordan Motorsports

Category:1963 births Category:ACC Athlete of the Year Category:African American basketball players Category:African American sports executives Category:Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Category:Basketball players at the 1983 Pan American Games Category:Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players from North Carolina Category:Birmingham Barons players Category:Charlotte Bobcats executives Category:Charlotte Bobcats owners Category:Chicago Bulls draft picks Category:Chicago Bulls players Category:Living people Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Minor league baseball players Category:National Basketball Association executives Category:National Basketball Association owners Category:NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award winners Category:NBA Finals MVP Award winners Category:NBA Slam Dunk Contest champions Category:North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Category:National Basketball Association players with retired numbers Category:Olympic basketball players of the United States Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Brooklyn Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:People from Highland Park, Illinois Category:People from Wilmington, North Carolina Category:Shooting guards Category:Sportspeople of multiple sports Category:United States men's national basketball team members Category:Washington Wizards executives Category:Washington Wizards players

Name	Heather Graham
Caption	Heather Graham in June 2007
Birth name	Heather Joan Graham
Birth date	January 29, 1970
Birth place	Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, producer, writer, fashion model
Years active	1984–present

Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. She has appeared in such films as , Lost in Space, Bowfinger, From Hell, Anger Management, and The Hangover. She received critical acclaim for her performance in the 1989 film Drugstore Cowboy and for her role as Rollergirl in 1997's Boogie Nights directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Early life

Heather Graham was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to a family of Irish descent. Her family relocated repeatedly before settling down in when she was nine years old. The girls were raised with traditional Roman Catholic values. She was introduced to acting during a school production of Wizard of Oz. Graham graduated from Agoura High School in California in 1988.

After high school, Graham enrolled in extension classes of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and studied English for two years.

Her first starring role was in 1999 as Felicity Shagwell in . She also appeared in the music video for Lenny Kravitz's cover of "American Woman" by The Guess Who. Also in 1999, she appeared in the hit comedy Bowfinger.

Although Graham has taken roles in mainstream films, including Mary Kelly in the 2001 film From Hell, based on the story of Jack the Ripper, and Judy Robinson in 1998's film Lost In Space, she has also been cast in a number of independent films. Some of those films, like 2006's Bobby, have brought her critical praise. She also starred in the erotic thriller Killing Me Softly.

Graham also played herself on one episode of the TV series Sex and the City. In 2003, she appeared in the comedy Anger Management. She was given special guest-star status on nine episodes of NBC-TV's Scrubs during its fourth season (2004–2005), and also appeared as George Michael Bluth's ethics teacher in an episode of Fox's television series, Arrested Development. In 2005, Graham became the spokeswoman and TV model for the Garnier brand of hair care products. Graham's print ad for Skyy vodka, which was photographed in 2003 (titled "#3, Entourage") is still appearing in national magazines today. In 2003, she also posed for a photoshoot by photographer Sam Jones, during which she was levitated several feet into the air by a magician, who later also sawed her in half. Also in 2003, Graham appeared on the cover of Time magazine for an article titled "The Science of Meditation". In 2001, Graham was named by People Magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People". Graham voiced the character of Antonia Bayle in the online role-playing game EverQuest 2.

Graham starred in the US ABC-TV comedy series Emily's Reasons Why Not, in 2006. However, ABC canceled the show after its first airing on January 9, 2006. Graham had posed for a Life Magazine cover story, printed weeks in advance of the assumed series schedule, referring to her as "TV's sexiest star" which appeared two weeks later in their January 27, 2006 issue.

In 2009 she played the stripper Jade in The Hangover. The film was released to critical and box office success.

Graham is a public advocate for Children International.

Filmography

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- |+ Film & Television |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1984 || Mrs. Soffel || Factory Girl || Uncredited |- | 1986 || Scrabble || Contestant || Teen Week |- | 1987 || Growing Pains || Cindy/Samantha || TV series; 2 episodes |- | 1987 || Student Exchange || Dorrie Ryder || |- | 1988 || License to Drive || Mercedes Lane || Nominated–Young Artist Award for Best Actress Starring in a Motion Picture Comedy or Fantasy |- | 1988 || Twins || Young Mary Ann Benedict || Uncredited |- | 1989 || Drugstore Cowboy || Nadine || Nominated–Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress |- | 1990 || I Love You to Death || Bridget || |- | 1991 || Guilty as Charged || Kimberly || |- | 1991 || Shout || Sara Benedict || Nominated–Young Artist Award for Best Actress Starring in a Motion Picture |- | 1991 || Twin Peaks || Annie Blackburn || TV series; 6 episodes |- | 1992 || || Annie Blackburn || |- | 1992 || O Pioneers! || Young Alexandra Bergson || |- | 1992 || Diggstown || Emily Forrester || |- | 1993 || The Ballad of Little Jo || Mary Addie || |- | 1993 || Even Cowgirls Get the Blues || Cowgirl Heather || |- | 1993 || Six Degrees of Separation || Elizabeth || |- | 1994 || Don't Do It || Suzanna || |- | 1994 || Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle || Mary Kennedy Taylor || |- | 1995 || Toughguy || Olive || |- | 1995 || Desert Winds || Jackie || |- | 1995 || Let It Be Me || Perfumery Salesgirl || |- | 1995 || Fallen Angels || Carol Whalen || TV series, 1 episode |- | 1996 || Kiss & Tell || Susan Pretsel || |- | 1996 || Swingers || Lorraine || |- | 1996 || || Maggie Bowen || |- | 1996 || Bullet Hearts || Carlene Prue || |- | 1996 || The Outer Limits || Alicia || TV series; 1 episode |- | 1997 || Nowhere || Lilith || |- | 1997 || Boogie Nights || Brandy 'Rollergirl' || Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best CastMTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough PerformanceNominated–Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |- | 1997 || Scream 2 || Herself/'Stab' Casey || Cameo Appearance |- | 1998 || Lost in Space || Dr. Judy Robinson || |- | 1998 || Two Girls and a Guy || Carla Bennett || |- | 1998 || Fantasy Island || Jackie || TV series; 1 episode |- | 1998 || Alexandria Hotel || N/A || short |- | 1999 || || Felicity Shagwell || Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Best Actress in a ComedyShoWest Award for Female Star of TomorrowNominated–Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Movie Couple Nominated–Saturn Award for Best Actress |- | 1999 || Bowfinger || Daisy || Nominated–Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress in a Comedy |- | 1999 || Alien Love Triangle || Elizabeth || short |- | 2000 || Committed || Joline || |- | 2001 || Say It Isn't So || Josephine Wingfield || |- | 2001 || Sidewalks of New York || Annie Matthews || |- | 2001 || From Hell || Mary Kelly || |- | 2002 || Killing Me Softly || Alice || |- | 2002 || The Guru || Sharonna || |- | 2003 || Anger Management || Kendra || Uncredited |- | 2003 || Hope Springs || Mandy || |- | 2004 || Blessed || Samantha Howard || |- | 2004 || Arrested Development || Beth Baerly || TV series; 1 episode |- | 2005 || Cake || Pippa McGee || |- | 2005 || Scrubs || Molly Clock || TV series; 9 episodes |- | 2005 || Mary || Elizabeth Younger || |- | 2006 || | The Oh in Ohio || Justine || uncredited |- | 2006 || Emily's Reasons Why Not || Emily Sanders || TV series; 7 episodes (6 unaired) |- | 2006 || Bobby || Angela || Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Ensemble CastNominated–Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |- | 2006 || Broken || Hope || |- | 2006 || Gray Matters || Gray Baldwin || |- | 2007 || Adrift in Manhattan || Rose Phipps || |- | 2008 || Miss Conception || Georgina Salt || |- | 2008 || Have Dreams, Will Travel || Cassie's Aunt || |- | 2008 || Baby on Board || Angela || |- | 2009 || Boogie Woogie || Beth Freemantle || |- | 2009 || The Hangover || Jade || Detroit Film Critics Society for Best Ensemble |- | 2010 || ExTerminators || Alex || |- | 2010 || Father of Invention || Fibbi || |}

Notes

External links

The Observer">"Close Up" on Heather Graham from The Observer

Category:1970 births Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Living people

Category:People from Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni Category:Actors from Wisconsin

Name	Elton John
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Reginald Kenneth Dwight
Born	March 25, 1947Pinner, Middlesex, England
Instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards
Occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer
Years active	1964–present
Genre	Rock, glam rock, soft rock, R&B;, pop rock
Label	DJM, Uni, MCA, Geffen, Rocket/Island, Universal, Interscope, Mercury, UMG
Associated acts	Bernie Taupin, Tim RiceJohn Lennon, Kiki Dee, Billy Joel, George Michael, Eminem
Url

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist. He has worked with his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.

In his four-decade career John has sold more than 250 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single "Candle in the Wind 1997" has sold over 33 million copies worldwide, and is the best selling single in Billboard history. He has more than 50 Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 US albums, 56 Top 40 singles, 16 Top 10, four No. 2 hits, and nine No. 1 hits. He has won six Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Tony Award. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him Number 49 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.

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 LGBT social movements. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him as the most successful male solo artist on "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists" (third overall, behind only The Beatles and Madonna).

Biography and career

Early life

John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947, the eldest child of Stanley and only child of Sheila Eileen (née Harris) Dwight and was raised in Pinner, Middlesex in a council house of his maternal grandparents. His parents did not marry until he was 6 years old, when the family moved to a nearby semi-detached house. He was educated at Pinner Wood Junior School, Reddiford School and Pinner County Grammar School, until age 17, when he left just prior to his A Level examinations to pursue a career in the music industry.

When John began to seriously consider a career in music, his father, who served as a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force, tried to steer him toward a more conventional career, such as banking.

Pub pianist to staff songwriter (1962–1969)

At the age of 15, with the help of his mother and stepfather, Reginald Dwight became a weekend pianist at a nearby pub, the Northwood Hills Hotel, playing Thursday to Sunday nights for £35 a week and tips. Known simply as "Reggie", he played a range of popular standards, including songs by Jim Reeves and Ray Charles, as well as songs he had written himself. A stint with a short-lived group called the Corvettes rounded out his time.

After failing lead vocalist auditions for King Crimson and Gentle Giant, Dwight answered an advertisement in the New Musical Express placed by Ray Williams, then the A&R; manager for Liberty Records. At their first meeting, Williams gave Dwight a stack of lyrics written by Bernie Taupin, who had answered the same ad. Dwight wrote music for the lyrics, and then mailed it to Taupin, beginning a partnership that . In 1967, what would become the first Elton John/Bernie Taupin song, "Scarecrow", was recorded; when the two first met, six months later, Dwight was going by the name "Elton John", in homage to Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean and Long John Baldry. Taupin would write a batch of lyrics in under an hour and give it to John, who would write music for them in half an hour, disposing of the lyrics if he couldn't come up with anything quickly.

During this period, John also a session musician for other artists including playing piano on The Hollies' "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" and singing backing vocals for The Scaffold.

Debut album to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1969–1973)

On the advice of music publisher Steve Brown, John and Taupin started writing more complex songs for John to record for DJM. The first was the single "I've Been Loving You" (1968), produced by Caleb Quaye, former Bluesology guitarist. In 1969, with Quaye, drummer Roger Pope, and bassist Tony Murray, John recorded another single, "Lady Samantha", and an album, Empty Sky.

For their follow-up album, Elton John, John and Taupin enlisted Gus Dudgeon as producer and Paul Buckmaster as musical arranger. Elton John was released in the April of 1970 on DJM Records/Pye Records in the UK and Uni Records in the USA, and established the formula for subsequent albums; gospel-chorded rockers and poignant ballads. The first single from the album, "Border Song", made into the US Top 100, peaking at Number 92. The second single "Your Song" made the US Top Ten, peaking at number eight and becoming John's first hit single as a singer. The album soon became his first hit album, reaching number four on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Backed by ex-Spencer Davis Group drummer Nigel Olsson and bassist Dee Murray, John's first American concert took place at The Troubadour in Los Angeles in August 1970, and was a success.

The concept album Tumbleweed Connection was released in October 1970, and reached the Top Ten on the Billboard 200. The live album 17-11-70 (11-17-70 in the US) was recorded at a live show aired from A&R; Studios on WABC-FM in New York City. Sales of the live album were heavily hit in the US when an east coast bootlegger released the performance several weeks before the official album, including all 60 minutes of the aircast, not just the 40 minutes selected by Dick James Music. John and Taupin then wrote the soundtrack to the obscure film Friends and then the album Madman Across the Water, the latter reaching the Top Ten and producing the hit "Levon", while the soundtrack album produced the hit "Friends". In 1972, Davey Johnstone joined the Elton John Band on guitar and backing vocals. The band released Honky Chateau, which became John's first American number 1 album, spending five weeks at the top of the charts and spawning the hit singles "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)" (which is often compared to David Bowie's "Space Oddity") and "Honky Cat".

The pop album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player came out at the start of 1973, and produced the hits "Crocodile Rock" and "Daniel"; the former became his first US Billboard Hot 100 number one hit. Both the album and "Crocodile Rock" were the first album and single, respectively on the consolidated MCA Records label in the USA, replacing MCA's other labels including Uni.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road gained instant critical acclaim and topped the chart on both sides of the Atlantic, remaining at Number 1 for two months. It also temporarily established John as a glam rock star. It contained the number 1 hit "Bennie and the Jets", along with the popular and praised "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", "Candle in the Wind", "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", "Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" and "Grey Seal" (originally recorded and released in 1970 as the B-side to the UK-only single, "Rock and Roll Madonna"). There is also a VHS and DVD as part of the Classic Albums series, discussing the making, recording, and popularity of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" through concert and home video footage including interviews.

Rocket Records to 21 at 33 (1974–1979)

John formed his own MCA-distributed label Rocket Records and signed acts to it – notably Neil Sedaka ("Bad Blood", on which he sang background vocals) and Kiki Dee – in which he took personal interest. Instead of releasing his own records on Rocket, he opted for $8 million offered by MCA. When the contract was signed in 1974, MCA reportedly took out a $25 million insurance policy on John's life.

In 1974 a collaboration with John Lennon took place, resulting in Elton John covering The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and Lennon's "One Day at a Time", and in return Elton John and band being featured on Lennon's "Whatever Gets You thru the Night". In what would be Lennon's last live performance, the pair performed these two number 1 hits along with the Beatles classic "I Saw Her Standing There" at Madison Square Garden. Lennon made the rare stage appearance to keep the promise he made that he would appear on stage with Elton if "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" became a number 1 single.

Caribou was released in 1974, and although it reached number 1, it was widely considered a lesser quality album. Reportedly recorded in a scant two weeks between live appearances, it featured "The Bitch Is Back"

To celebrate five years since he first appeared at the venue, in 1975 John played a two-night, four-show stand at The Troubadour. With seating limited to under 500 per show, the chance to purchase tickets was determined by a postcard lottery, with each winner allowed two tickets. Everyone who attended the performances received a hardbound "yearbook" of the band's history. That year he also played piano on Kevin Ayers' Sweet Deceiver, and was among the first and few white artists to appear on the black music series Soul Train on American television.

In 1976, the live album Here and There in May, then the Blue Moves album in October, which contained the single "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word", were released. His biggest success in 1976 was the "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", a duet with Kiki Dee that topped both the American and British charts. Finally, in an interview with Rolling Stone that year entitled "Elton's Frank Talk", John stated that he was bisexual.

Besides being the most commercially successful period, 1970 - 1976 is also held in the most regard critically. Within only a three year span, between 1972-75 John saw seven consecutive albums reach Number 1 in the charts, which had not been accomplished before.

In November 1977 John announced he was retiring from performing; Taupin began collaborating with others. Now only producing one album a year, John issued A Single Man in 1978, employing a new lyricist, Gary Osborne; the album produced no singles that made the Top 20 in the US but the two singles from the album released in the UK, Part-Time Love and Song for Guy, both made the Top 20 in the UK with the latter reaching the Top 5. In 1979, accompanied by Ray Cooper, John became the first Western pop star to tour the Soviet Union (as well as one of the first in Israel), then mounted a two-man comeback tour of the US in small halls. John returned to the singles chart with "Mama Can't Buy You Love" (number 9, 1979), a song originally rejected in 1977 by MCA before being released, recorded in 1977 with Philadelphia soul producer Thom Bell. Elton reported that Thom Bell was the first person to give him voice lessons; Bell encouraged John to sing in a lower register. A disco-influenced album, Victim of Love, was poorly received. In 1979, John and Taupin reunited. 21 at 33, released the following year, was a significant career boost, aided by his biggest hit in four years, "Little Jeannie" (number 3 US), although the lyrics were written by Gary Osborne.

The 80s:Too Low For Zero to Sleeping with the Past (1981–1989)

26 March 1979]]

His 1981 album, The Fox, was recorded in part during the same sessions as 21 at 33, and also included collaborations with Tom Robinson and Judie Tzuke. On 13 September 1980, John, with Olsson and Murray back in the Elton John Band, performed a free concert to an estimated 400,000 fans on The Great Lawn in Central Park in New York City. His 1982 hit "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)", came from his Jump Up! album, his second under a new US recording contract with Geffen Records.

He married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel on Valentine's Day 1984 - the marriage lasted three years. The Biography Channel Special detailed the loss of Elton's voice in 1986 while on tour in Australia. Shortly thereafter he underwent throat surgery, which permanently altered his voice. Several non-cancerous polyps were removed from his vocal cords, resulting in a change in his singing voice. In 1987 he won a libel case against The Sun which published allegations of sex with rent boys.

With original band members Johnstone, Murray and Olsson together again, John was able to return to the charts with the 1983 hit album Too Low For Zero, which included "I'm Still Standing" and "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues", the latter of which featured Stevie Wonder on harmonica and reached number 4 in the US, giving John his biggest hit there since "Little Jeannie". He placed hits in the US Top Ten throughout the 1980s – "Little Jeannie" (number 3, 1980), "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" (number 5, 1984), "Nikita" boosted by a mini-movie pop video directed by Ken Russell (number 7, 1986), a live orchestral version of "Candle in the Wind" (number 6, 1987), and "I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That" (number 2, 1988). His highest-charting single was a collaboration with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder on "That's What Friends Are For" (number 1, 1985); credited as Dionne and Friends, the song raised funds for AIDS research. His albums continued to sell, but of the six released in the latter half of the 1980s, only Reg Strikes Back (number 16, 1988) placed in the Top 20 in the United States.

In 1985, Elton John was one of the many performers at Live Aid held at Wembley Stadium. He enlisted Michael to sing backing vocals on his single "Wrap Her Up", and also recruited teen idol Nik Kershaw as an instrumentalist on "Nikita". John also recorded material with Millie Jackson in 1985. In 1986, he played the piano on two tracks on the heavy metal band Saxon's album Rock the Nations.

In 1988, he performed five sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden, giving him 26 for his career. Netting over $20 million, 2,000 items of John's memorabilia were auctioned off at Sotheby's in London.

The 90s: "Sacrifice" to Aida (1990–1999)

In 1990, John would finally achieve his first UK number one hit on his own, with "Sacrifice" (coupled with "Healing Hands") from the previous year's album Sleeping with the Past; it would stay at the top spot for six weeks. The following year, John's "Basque" won the Grammy for Best Instrumental, and a guest concert appearance he had made on George Michael's cover of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" was released as a single and topped the charts in both the US and UK.

In 1992 he released the US number 8 album The One, featuring the hit song "The One". John and Taupin then signed a music publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music for an estimated $39 million over 12 years, giving them the largest cash advance in music publishing history. In April 1992, John appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium, performing "The Show Must Go On" with the remaining members of Queen, and "Bohemian Rhapsody" with Axl Rose and Queen. The following year, he released Duets, a collaboration with 15 artists including Tammy Wynette and RuPaul. This also included a new collaboration with Kiki Dee, entitled "True Love", which reached the Top 10 of the UK charts, and a duet with Eric Clapton on "Runaway Train", which also charted.

Along with Tim Rice, Elton John wrote the songs for the 1994 Disney animated film The Lion King, which became the 3rd highest-grossing animated feature of all time. At the 67th Academy Awards ceremony, The Lion King provided three of the five nominees for the Academy Award for Best Song, which John won with "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". Both that and "Circle of Life" became hit songs for John. "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" would also win Elton John the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 37th Grammy Awards. Also, a compilation called Love Songs was released the following year.

Early in 1997 John held a 50th birthday party, costumed as Louis XIV, for 500 friends. John also performed with the surviving members of Queen in Paris at the opening night (17 January 1997) of Le Presbytère N'a Rien Perdu De Son Charme Ni Le Jardin De Son Éclat, a work by French ballet legend Maurice Béjart which draws upon AIDS and the deaths of Freddie Mercury and the company's principal dancer Jorge Donn. Later in 1997, two close friends died: designer Gianni Versace was murdered; Diana, Princess of Wales died in a Paris car crash on 31 August.

In early September, John contacted his writing partner Bernie Taupin, asking him to revise the lyrics of his 1973 song "Candle in the Wind" to honour Diana, and Taupin rewrote the song accordingly. On 6 September 1997, John performed "Candle in the Wind 1997" at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in Westminster Abbey. The song became the fastest, and biggest-selling single of all time, eventually selling 5 million copies in the United Kingdom, 11 million in the US, and over 33 million worldwide, John has publicly performed "Candle in the Wind 1997" only once, at Diana's funeral, vowing never to perform it again unless asked by Diana's sons.

In the musical theatre world, in addition to a 1998 adaptation of The Lion King for Broadway, John also composed music for a Disney production of Aida in 1999 with lyricist Tim Rice, for which they received the Tony Award for Best Original Score at the 54th Tony Awards, and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album at the 43rd Grammy Awards. The musical was given its world premiere in the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. It went on to Chicago and eventually Broadway. He also released a live compilation album called Elton John One Night Only - The Greatest Hits from the show he did at Madison Square Garden in New York City that same year.

2000 to present

in Doncaster, July 2008]] In 2000, John and Tim Rice teamed again to create songs for DreamWorks' animated film The Road To El Dorado. Returning again to musical theatre, John composed music for a West End Theatre production of Billy Elliot the Musical in 2005 with playwright Lee Hall. John's only theatrical project with Bernie Taupin so far is , based on the Anne Rice vampire novels. However it was slammed by the critics and closed in May 2006 after 39 performances.

John was named a Disney Legend for his numerous outstanding contributions to Disney's films and theatrical works on 9 October 2006, by The Walt Disney Company. In 2006 he told Rolling Stone magazine that he plans for his next record to be in the R&B;/hip-hop genre. "I want to work with Pharrell {Williams}, Timbaland, Snoop {Dogg}, Kanye {West}, Eminem and just see what happens."

In March 2007 he performed at Madison Square Garden for a record breaking 60th time for his 60th birthday, the concert was broadcast live and a DVD recording was released as Elton 60 - Live at Madison Square Garden; a greatest-hits compilation CD, Rocket Man – Number Ones, was released in 17 different versions worldwide, including a CD/DVD combo; and his back catalogue - almost 500 songs from 32 albums - became available for legal download.

In a September 2008 interview with GQ magazine, John said: "I’m going on the road again with Billy Joel again next year," referring to "Face to Face," a series of concerts featuring both musicians. The tour began in March and will continue for at least two more years.

In October 2003, John announced that he had signed an exclusive agreement to perform 75 shows over three years at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. The show, entitled The Red Piano, was a multimedia concert featuring massive props and video montages created by David LaChapelle. Effectively, he and Celine Dion share performances at Caesars Palace throughout the year - while one performs, one rests. The first of these shows took place on 13 February 2004. On 21 June 2008, he performed his 200th show in Caesars Palace. A DVD/CD package of The Red Piano was released through Best Buy in November 2008. A two year global tour was sandwiched between commitments in Las Vegas, Nevada, some of the venues of which were new to John. The Red Piano Tour closed in Las Vegas in April 2009.

Elton John performed a piano duet with Lady Gaga at the 52nd Grammy Awards. On 6 June 2010, John performed at the fourth wedding of conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh for a reported US$1 million fee. Eleven days later, and 17 years to the day after his last previous performance in Israel, he performed at the Ramat Gan Stadium; this was significant because of other than-recent cancellations by other performers in the fallout surrounding an Israeli raid on Gaza Flotilla the month before. In his introduction to that concert, Elton John noted he and other musicians should not "cherry-pick our conscience", in reference to Elvis Costello, who was to have performed in Israel two weeks after Elton did, but cancelled in the wake of the aforementioned raid, citing his [Costello's] conscience.

John's latest studio album is entitled The Union and was released on 19 October 2010. John says his collaboration with American singer-songwriter and sideman Leon Russell marks a new chapter in his recording career, saying: "I don't have to make pop records any more."

Artistry

Songwriting

John has written with his song-writing partner Bernie Taupin since 1967 when he answered an advertisement for talent placed in the New Musical Express by Liberty records A&R; man Ray Williams. The pair have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.

The 1991 film documentary Two Rooms described the writing style that John and Taupin use, which involves Taupin writing the lyrics on his own, and John then putting them to music, with the two never in the same room during the process.

Music style

John's voice was originally a tenor, it is now a baritone. He used Paul Buckmaster to arrange the music on his studio albums during the 1970s.

Personal life

In April 2009, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated John's wealth to be £175 million ($265 million), and ranked him as the 322nd richest person in Britain.

In a 1976 Rolling Stone interview, he talked about bisexuality, his belief that everyone is bisexual to a degree, and that his first sexual experience was with a woman, the secretary Linda Woodrow to whom he proposed, and who is mentioned in the song "Someone Saved My Life Tonight". John married German recording engineer Renate Blauel on Valentine's Day, 1984, in Sydney, with some speculation that the marriage was a cover; when they divorced four years later John told Rolling Stone that he was "comfortable" being gay.

He met his Canadian-born partner David Furnish, a former advertising executive and now filmmaker, in 1993. On 21 December 2005, they entered into a civil partnership. The night before the event, a host of his closest celebrity friends helped him celebrate his stag party at the cabaret nightclub Too2Much in London's West End. On the actual day, a low-key ceremony with their parents, photographer Sam Taylor-Wood and her husband Jay Jopling, and John and Furnish's dog Arthur in attendance was held at the Windsor Guildhall, followed by a lavish party at their Berkshire mansion, thought to have cost £1 million. Many famous guests were invited, but were delayed just outside John's Windsor household in a traffic jam of guests waiting to get inside.

John has ten godchildren as of March 2006. They include David and Victoria Beckham's sons Brooklyn and Romeo, Sean Lennon, Elizabeth Hurley's son Damian Charles, and the daughter of Seymour Stein.

In September 2009, while touring an AIDS orphanage in Ukraine (Makiivka), John stated he wanted to adopt one of the resident children, a 14 month old HIV positive boy named Lev. However, Ukrainian Minister of Family, Youth and Sport Yuriy Pavlenko stated that under Ukrainian law John could not adopt Lev due to his age and marital status. though John could adopt the baby if the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a separate special law on making him an adoptive parent of the child. In December 2009 Furnish told BBC radio John was devastated that he wasn't allowed to adopt Lev but that the couple were working to ensure Lev and his brother "have the best health care, education and family options available to them" and the couple would campaign for a change in Ukrainian law.

Throughout his career, John has battled addictions to alcohol and cocaine. By 1975, the pressures of stardom began to take a serious toll on the musician. During "Elton Week" in Los Angeles that year, John suffered a drug overdose. He also battled the eating disorder bulimia. In a CNN interview with Larry King in 2002, King asked if John knew of Diana, Princess of Wales' eating disorder. John replied, "Yes, I did. We were both bulimic."

Aside from his main home, 'Woodside' at Old Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, John splits his time in his various residences in Atlanta, Nice, Holland Park in London; and Venice. John is an art collector, and is believed to have one of the largest private photography collections in the world.

During the 2000 court case, in which John sued both his former manager John Reid, the CEO of Reid's company and accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers, he admitted spending £30 million in just under two years – an average of £1.5 million a month, the High Court in London heard. The singer's lavish lifestyle saw him spend more than £9.6m on property and £293,000 on flowers between January 1996 and September 1997. John accused the pair of being negligent, and PwC of failing in their duties. Mark Hapgood QC for defendants PwC suggested that John went "spending mad" following a £42 million deal with recording company Polygram in February 1996. When quizzed by Mr Hapgood about the £293,000 spent on flowers, John said, "Yes, I like flowers." John stated that the terms of the contract, whereby John paid Reid 20% of his gross earnings, were agreed in Saint-Tropez in the summer of 1984 – but that he could not remember the exact occasion on which the deal was made. After losing the case, he faced an £8 million bill for legal fees.

In June 2001 John sold 20 of his cars at Christie's, saying he didn't get the chance to drive them because he was out of the country so often. The sale, which included a 1993 Jaguar XJ220, the most expensive at £234,750, and several Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, and Bentleys, raised nearly £2 million.

In 2003, John sold the contents of his Holland Park home in a bid to create more room for his collection of contemporary art which includes many works of art by YBAs such as Sam Taylor-Wood and Tracy Emin. The auctioneer Sotheby's catalogue had a list of more than 400 items, expected to fetch £800,000, including: Biedermeier furniture; early 16th- and 17th-century items, including an Edward Bower estimated at £20,000–£30,000, and two busts of Napoleon.

A longtime tennis enthusiast, John wrote the song "Philadelphia Freedom" in tribute to longtime friend Billie Jean King and her World Team Tennis franchise of the same name. John and King also co-host an annual pro-am event to benefit AIDS charities, most notably John's own Elton John AIDS Foundation, for which King is a chairperson. The fund was involved in The Reign, too.

John, who maintains a part-time residence in Atlanta, Georgia, became a fan of the Atlanta Braves baseball team when he moved there in 1991.

Every year since 2004, he has opened a shop, selling his second hand clothes. Called "Elton's Closet" the sale this year of 10,000 items was expected to raise $400,000

John was an Honorary Chair of the Imperial Court of New York's Annual Charity Coronation Ball, Night of A Thousand Gowns on 21 March 2009. Other Honorary Chairs for the evening's charity event included Patti LuPone, Idina Menzel, John Cameron Mitchell, Joan Rivers and Dame Robin Strasser.

John and partner David Furnish entered a civil partnership in 2005 after 12 years together. Their son Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John was born 25 December 2010 in California via a surrogate. Zachary weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces.

Watford Football Club

John became chairman and director of Watford Football Club in 1976, appointing Graham Taylor as manager and investing large sums of money as the club rose three division into the First Division. The pinnacle of the clubs' success was finishing runners up in the First Division and reaching the FA Cup Final a year later. He sold the club to Jack Petchey in 1987, but remained their life-long president. For a time he was also a part-owner of the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League.

AIDS Foundation

John has been associated with AIDS charities since the deaths of his friends Ryan White and Freddie Mercury, raising large amounts of money and using his public profile to raise awareness of the disease. For example, in 1986 he joined with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder to record the single "That's What Friends Are For", with all profits being donated to the American Foundation for AIDS Research. The song won John and the others the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (as well as Song of the Year for its writers, Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager). In April 1990, John performed "Skyline Pigeon" at the funeral of White, a teenage haemophiliac he had befriended.

John founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 as a charity to fund programmes for HIV/AIDS prevention, for the elimination of prejudice and discrimination against HIV/AIDS-affected individuals, and for providing services to people living with or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. This cause continues to be one of his personal passions. In early 2006, John donated the smaller of two bright-red Yamaha pianos from his Las Vegas, Nevada show to auction on eBay to raise public awareness and funds for the foundation.

To raise money for his AIDS charity, John hosts annually a glamorous White Tie & Tiara Ball, to which many famous celebrities are invited. On 28 June 2007, the 9th annual White Tie & Tiara Ball took place. The menu consisted of a truffle soufflé followed by Surf and Turf (filet mignon with Maine lobster tail) and a giant Knickerbocker glory ice cream. An auction followed the dinner held by Stephen Fry. A Rolls Royce ‘Phantom’ drophead coupe and a piece of Tracey Emin's artwork both raised £800,000 for the charity fund, with the total amount raised reaching £3.5 million. Later on in the event, John sang "Delilah" with Tom Jones and "Big Spender" with Shirley Bassey. Tickets for the Ball cost £1,000 a head. The event raised £4.6 million for his AIDS Foundation in 2006.

Activism

On 1 April 2010, John joined Cyndi Lauper in the launch of her Give a Damn campaign to bring a wider awareness of discrimination of the LGBT community as part of her True Colors Fund. In the advertisement, John states: "Imagine walking down the street and wondering if this is the day you'll get beaten up, or even killed, simply because of who you are". For his charitable work, John was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on 24 February 1998. In October 1975, John became the 1,662nd person to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

He became a recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor in 2004, and a Disney Legends Award in 2006. In 2010, Elton John was awarded with the PRS for Music Heritage Award, which was erected, on The Namaste Lounge Pub in Watford, where Elton performed his first ever gig.

Music awards include the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from The Lion King (award shared with Tim Rice); the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1994 for "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" from The Lion King (award shared with Tim Rice); and the Tony Award for Best Original Score in 2000 for Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida (award shared with Tim Rice)

John has six Grammy Awards:

1987 - Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "That's What Friends Are For", performed by Dionne Warwick & Friends (award shared with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder)

1991 - Best Instrumental Composition for "Basque", performed by James Galway

1994 - Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Can You Feel The Love Tonight"

1997 - Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Candle In The Wind" 1997

1999 - Grammy Legend Award

2000 - Best Musical Show Album for Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida (award shared with Tim Rice, Chris Mountain, Frank Filipetti, Guy Babylon, Paul Bogaev and Frank Filipetti)

Discography

;Studio albums

Empty Sky (1969)

Elton John (1970)

Tumbleweed Connection (1970)

Madman Across the Water (1971)

Honky Château (1972)

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (1973)

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)

Caribou (1974)

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975)

Rock of the Westies (1975)

Blue Moves (1976)

A Single Man (1978)

Victim of Love (1979)

21 at 33 (1980)

The Fox (1981)

Jump Up! (1982)

Too Low for Zero (1983)

Breaking Hearts (1984)

Ice on Fire (1985)

Leather Jackets (1986)

Reg Strikes Back (1988)

Sleeping with the Past (1989)

The One (1992)

Duets (1993)

Made in England (1995)

The Big Picture (1997)

Songs from the West Coast (2001)

Peachtree Road (2004)

The Captain & the Kid (2006)

The Union (with Leon Russell) (2010)

;Soundtracks, scores & theatre albums

Friends (1971)

The Lion King (1997)

Aida (1998)

The Muse (1999)

The Road to El Dorado (soundtrack) (2000)

Billy Elliot (2005)

Lestat (2005)

;Films

(2007) autobiography as himself

The Country Bears, US (2002) as himself

Spice World, UK (1997) as himself

Tommy, UK (1975) as Pinball Wizard

Born to Boogie, US playing as himself with Marc Bolan and Ringo Starr

Elton John Band

References

;Bibliography

Elton John: A Visual Documentary, Nigel Goodall, Omnibus Press, 1993 ISBN 0711930783

His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John, Elizabeth Rosenthal, Billboard Books, 2001, ISBN 0823088928

External links

Elton John's official website

Category:1947 births Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:AIDS activists Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Ballad musicians Category:Best Song Academy Award winning songwriters Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:English football chairmen and investors Category:English-language singers Category:English musical theatre composers Category:English pop pianists Category:English rock pianists Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English tenors Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Knights Bachelor Category:LGBT composers Category:LGBT musicians from the United Kingdom Category:LGBT parents Category:LGBT people from England Category:Living people Category:Musicians from London Category:People from Old Windsor Category:People from Pinner Category:People self-identifying as alcoholics Category:Religious skeptics Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Silver Clef Awards winners Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:Torch singers Category:Watford F.C. directors