Elton John reveals to Stephen Colbert the importance of changing his name

The Grammy-winning music legend talks to Stephen Colbert about many things in his life like a name change, and then a persona overhaul.

During his Tuesday John discussed the transformation that secured his rise to fame, reiterating how crucial it was for him to escape the birth name he was given by his parents.

"You weren't always Elton John," host Stephen Colbert pointed out early in their conversation. "You were born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, which is also a lovely name."

John was quick to disagree, replying. "It's a s--- name." 

"Agree to disagree," Colbert said, but John wasn't quite done lamenting his old moniker.

"Who the hell calls their— a little baby," he complained, miming as though cradling an infant. "A little baby? 'Reginald, oh Reginald.'"

He then delved into the origins of his OG name, explaining, "I was named after my mum's brother because she wanted to call me Raymond, but my father disagreed so they had a huge argument — which wasn't unusual — and I became Reginald and I hated it."

The singer-songwriter went on to explain the origins of his chosen name: Elton Hercules John. He got the idea from two members of Bluesology, the British blues band that he performed with in the '60s.  "The saxophone player was called Elton Dean," he explained. "And I thought, 'Elton! There's not many Eltons in the world, that's pretty unusual." As for John, he took that from the band's vocalist Long John Baldry, and made his middle name Hercules, after the horse from the popular British sitcom, Steptoe and Son (Sanford And Son in America).

"The sad thing about it was, by 1975, when I was Elton Hercules John, Reg had been lost, and I craved to find that little boy that I used to be," he shared. "I had become 'Elton John: Superstar' and I paid the price for being so famous and not having that foundation."

He continued, "Fame is a very weird thing. I enjoyed every single minute of it until I realized that the only thing in my life was fame. I didn't like it and I got very unhappy, my moods shifted, I started doing drugs, and I just thought, 'Where am I? Who am I? What have I become?' And all that changed in 1990 when I did get sober, when I refound my old self, and it was lovely to find that little boy again." 

He's always interesting to listen to as you'll see in this extended interview with Sir Elton.