How popular was Elton John in the 70s?

[Oliverlogan263]

Was he as famous as the likes of Zeppelin, Bee Gees, The Who etc. or even bigger? Nowadays he's obviously more popular than any of those bands due to his recent hits.

[MrOracle]

Elton John was a pretty major star in the mid-and-late 70s, and into the mid-80s, but I would say that this was mostly in the areas of the country where pop and soft-rock was important - so, not as much in the mid-western and especially the southern states as on the coasts.

While there were far fewer "silos" of music at the time, the three main ones were "rock", pop" and "country", and in the south, country dominated and Elton John wasn't as well-known. While very much a pop artist, he was certainly known to the rock crowd as well, as the scene from the movie Almost Famous depicts the fictional rock band singing Tiny Dancer on their tour bus driving between shows.

His celebrity expended in the 80s, with MTV videos, major collaborations and concert appearances, and of course, even more when he scored Disney's The Lion King in the mid 90s (which was not only a hugely popular animated movie, but also became a live theater show for a decade or more). But he was still a top 20 act in the industry in the late 70s. He was filling stadiums at his concerts.

[FunkyMonkee]

Extremely popular! Did you ever watch the show, "One Day At A Time"? The character Valleri Bertanelli played was absolutely gobsmacked with Elton and I'm pretty sure her older sister, played by MacKenzie Phillips, was, too.
I don't know if one has anything to do with the other but, at the same time that show was on t. v., John Lennon wrote and recorded a song called, "One Day At A Time" which Elton also recorded around the same time.
Elton started in the late `60's but never got any notice until his 3rd album, I think; "Madman Across The Water". Before then, he was the pianist in a band called, Argosy who only did one single. After that, Elton went solo and the rest of the band became Supertramp.

[Nikki1989]

He must have been huge considering Goodbye Yellow Brick Road has sold over 30 million copies and that is just one of many albums.

[strateguy632]

far less than beegees at the time 70s 80s.

but British history boosted him.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Elton John touched millions of hearts, that is one man who can sing. Yes, he is popular.

[handsomelad70]

Popular but nowhere near the Bee Gees, the Who and Led Zeppelin.