Elton John Performs 3,000th Live Show, Shows No Sign of Slowing

He's shared a stage with John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Eminem, Stevie Wonder and Axl Rose. He's performed in some 74 countries and each of the 50 United States. He's even been knighted by the Queen of England. And with more than 1,200 live performances since the turn of the millennium, Sir Elton John shows no sign of slowing down.

Elton John marked his career's 3,000th live performance on October 8, 2011 at the Colosseum Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, more than four decades following his first public performance on March 25, 1970 (Elton's 23rd birthday). That first performance, at London's Revolution Club, helped launch Elton's eponymous first album for label DJM.

Three thousand performances over 42 years is no small feat. Averaging almost one show every five days for over four decades, Elton has kept his show fresh by playing both solo and with his band. Elton has performed in a two-man show with percussionist Ray Cooper, a series of shows Billy Joel, and with a host of choirs and orchestras. In addition, Elton managed to release 30 studio albums and four live albums, plus lend songs to 13 soundtracks, including the 10x platinum Lion King soundtrack. Elton, who with civil partner David Furnish partnered with a surrogate mother to produce his son, Zachary, shows no signs of letting fatherhood slow his place. Over the past decade, Elton has averaged one show every three and a half days.

Interest in Elton and his music remains strong. A planned biopic of the Rocket Man has drawn interest from actors such as Ewan McGregor, who has made known his interest in the role as the flamboyant star. Later this year, Elton will take a break from his standing show at the Colosseum (note: Elton's also played the Coliseum in Rome) to venture on an international tour.

So how do Elton's 3,000+ performances compare to other music legends? The Grateful Dead performed live just over 2,300 times (not counting performances by the Dead following Jerry Garcia's death). But this pales in comparison to another still-active musician, legendary bluesman B.B. King, whose resume reportedly includes over 15,000. But even King can't hold a candle to the most prolific performers, such as country artist Wayne Newton. Newton capitalized on the Las Vegas show scene to log over 30,000 live shows, earning the title "Mr. Las Vegas" in the process. Elton would need to keep pace for another 320 or so more years to catch Newton.

Or, if Elton keeps pace until 2021, we can celebrate show number 4,000.