David didn't follow trends, he set them; whereas Elton found his niche and excelled in it. David's discography is the most varied and entertaining out there. Even looking at strictly late 60's and 70's material, my vote goes for David Bowie for amazing albums like The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, Aladin Sane. Not to mention, Elton's post '75 material isn't near the level of the Berlin Trilogy

Strange poll. Bowie has my vote of course. I only like "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road " from Elton John. And by the way, he didn't do anything worth in the sixties (only one album which was a complete flop).

Early career (1962–1969)

At the age of 15, with the help of mother Sheila and stepfather "Derf", Reginald Dwight became a weekend pianist at the nearby http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwood_Hills - Northwood Hills pub, playing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Known simply as "Reggie" (a small, unassuming name in Britain), he played everything from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Reeves - Jim Reeves http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_music - country songs " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_Have_to_Go - He'll Have to Go " to Irish tribute numbers " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Irish_Eyes_Are_Smiling - When Irish Eyes Are Smiling ," old pub favourites such as, " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Barrel_Polka - Roll Out The Barrel ," hits of the day, " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Road_%28song%29 - King of the Road ," and songs he had written himself. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_John#cite_note-Costello_interview-13 - [14]} He received a modest, steady income and substantial tips. "During that whole period, I don't think I ever missed a gig," he said later. A stint with a short-lived group called the Corvettes rounded out his time.

In 1964, Dwight and his friends formed a band called http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluesology - Bluesology . By day, he ran errands for a music publishing company; he divided his nights between solo gigs at a London hotel bar and working with Bluesology. By the mid-1960s, Bluesology was backing touring American http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_music - soul and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%26B - R&B musicians like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Isley_Brothers - The Isley Brothers , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Lance - Major Lance , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Stewart - Billy Stewart , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doris_Troy - Doris Troy and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaBelle - Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles . It was during this period that Dwight first heard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_from_Big_Pink - Music from Big Pink —he would derive much of his compositional thinking from stagecraft picked up in the 1970s, but it was learning how fully the blues could be played which was a "turning point in his life". ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_John#cite_note-Costello_interview-13 - [14] [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cleanup - contradiction ]} In 1966, the band became musician http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_John_Baldry - Long John Baldry 's supporting band and began touring cabarets in England.

After failing lead vocalist auditions for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Crimson - King Crimson ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_John#cite_note-KC-14 - [15]} and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentle_Giant - Gentle Giant , Dwight answered an advertisement in the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NME - New Musical Express placed by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Williams_%28producer%29 - Ray Williams , then the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26R - A&R manager for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Records - Liberty Records . At their first meeting, Williams gave Dwight a stack of lyrics written by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Taupin - Bernie Taupin , who had answered the same ad. Dwight wrote music for the lyrics, and then mailed it to Taupin, and thus began a partnership that continues to this day. 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 American-sounding ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_John#cite_note-Costello_interview-13 - [14]} name "Elton John", in homage to Bluesology saxophonist http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_Dean - Elton Dean and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_John_Baldry - Long John Baldry .

The team of John and Taupin joined http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_James - Dick James 's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJM_Records - DJM Records as staff songwriters in 1968, and over the next two years wrote material for various artists, like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Cook_%28songwriter%29 - Roger Cook and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lulu_%28singer%29 - Lulu . 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. For two years, they wrote http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easy_listening - easy-listening tunes for James to peddle to singers. Their early output included an entry for British song for the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest - Eurovision Song Contest in 1969, called "Can't Go On (Living Without You)". It came sixth of six songs. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_John#cite_note-15 - [16]}

During this period, John also played on sessions for other artists including playing piano on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hollies - The Hollies ' " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_Aint_Heavy,_Hes_My_Brother - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother " and singing backing vocals for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scaffold - The Scaffold . ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_John#cite_note-16 - [17]} 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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caleb_Quaye - Caleb Quaye , former Bluesology guitarist. In 1969, with Quaye, drummer Roger Pope, and bassist Tony Murray, John recorded another single, " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Samantha - Lady Samantha ", and an album, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empty_Sky_%28album%29 - Empty Sky . Despite extraordinary reviews, none of the records sold well.