Editor’s spotlight — updated daily
Elton John
United Kingdom
In 1970, Elton John released Your Song, a track he claims to have written in 15 minutes, launching a career that made him one of the best-selling pop artists of all time with 250 million albums sold by 2006. He also performed Candle in the Wind at Princess Diana's funeral in 1997 and founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992. Knighted in 1997, he survived addiction and has continued to record and tour.