Elton John Plays His 3,000th Live Public Performance

Caesars sent out background about the milestone: Elton has enjoyed an extraordinary and unique voyage from the first ever public concert he played on his 23rd birthday, March 25, 1970, at the Revolution Club in London. At that time Elton was promoting the Elton John album, which had just been released on the DJM label.

Over the past forty-one years Elton's concerts have been presented in many formats. He has played with his band, solo, in a two-man show with percussionist Ray Cooper, with Billy Joel, with Leon Russell, with Eric Clapton, with orchestras, with choirs and, now, with a full band plus four backing vocalists and the 2CELLOS. Two of the great musicians in his current band, drummer Nigel Olsson and guitarist Davey Johnstone, have been with Elton since those very early concerts in the 1970s.

Since 1970 Elton has played and replayed the alphabet of cities, from Aalborg, Denmark, which he played on June 6, 2004, to Zurich, Switzerland, which he has played sixteen times in his career. Elton has performed concerts in 74 countries, some of which have changed names, and in some cases political systems, between his performances. Still today he is actively seeking to increase the number of countries in which he has played.

Elton has played the most concerts in the US, with a total of 1,608 performances. In fact, Elton has played concerts in every one of the 50 states. Great Britain comes next (497), followed by Australia (138), Germany (133) and Canada (102). The remaining countries have less than 90 shows each.

Breaking down those 3,000 concerts by decade, Elton performed 616 in the 1970s, 537 in the 1980s, 590 in the 1990s, an astonishing 1,064 in the 2000s and, so far, 193 in the 2010s. On two occasions he has performed at two cities on the same day. On September 18, 1971 he played in Oakland and San Diego, while on July 2, 2005 he played at Live 8 in London and at R.D.S. Arena in Dublin, Ireland.

Following his 3,000th concert, this October Elton will play an additional nine shows of "The Million Dollar Piano" at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. He will then head out on tour for the rest of the year, with concerts in Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia. His touring plans for 2012 include additional engagements of "The Million Dollar Piano," as well as summer concerts in England.

Additional show dates of "The Million Dollar Piano," are now on-sale. Tickets for performances in February 2012 are available and range in price from $55 to $250, not including taxes and fees. Limited VIP tickets are available through the Caesars Palace Box Office.

2012 performance dates now on-sale for "The Million Dollar Piano" include: