He was born in Pinner, England, as Reginald Kenneth Dwight. His parents, Stanley Dwight, a member of the Royal Air Force, and Sheila Eileen Dwight, divorced when he was a teenager. His mother remarried but had no more children. His father also remarried and had three more sons, half brothers for young Elton.
With his father often absent, John was more or less raised by his maternal grandparents in Pinner. Eventually, he lived with his mom and stepdad for years, even after he had a handful of musical hits. He didn’t move out until he had multiple albums in the American Top 40.