John Legend: A World-Class Pianist, Singer, Songwriter, Producer, and Actor
John Legend’s career began with an early break playing piano behind Lauryn Hill on her 1998 hit Everything Is Everything. He also made uncredited appearances on recordings with Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, which helped him establish a name in the music industry.
In 2004, Kanye West signed him to his label, and Legend released his debut album Get Lifted. The album featured the piano ballad Ordinary People, which became a massive hit, selling over 2.5 million copies as a single.
During his early years, Legend enjoyed other notable successes, including So High from his debut album and Green Light (2008), a collaboration with Andre 3000, known for his work on Hey Ya!.
2008 proved to be a particularly fruitful year for Legend, with the release of American Boy, a song he co-wrote with Estelle, will.i.am, and Kanye West. He even appeared in the music video, playing the “American Boy” character.
In 2010, Legend released Wake Up!, a collaboration with The Roots. This album featured Compared To What, my personal favourite of his tracks, which offered a seriously funky groove.
In 2013, Legend returned to his piano ballads with All of Me, a song that became his biggest success to date. It reached #1 in both the U.S. and the U.K., as well as the Top 5 worldwide.
You might think that at this point, Legend would stick to what he clearly does best—producing more piano ballads. But instead, he ventured into new territories, writing a song for the film Selma, producing Jitney for Broadway, and even playing Jesus in a TV adaptation of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar.
His wide-ranging success across music, theatre, and television made him the first Black man to achieve the prestigious EGOT status, winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.
John Legend has certainly proven that his ambitions extend far beyond the piano, living up to his name in every possible way.
John Legend Tunes | Related Pages
American Boy | Chords + Lyrics
You can learn how to play American Boy by Estelle using chords, chord analysis, a chord chart, lyrics, and the original recording.
| Emaj9 | Cmaj7 |
Just another one champion sound (yea), yeah, Estelle, we ’bout to get down…
John Legend on the web
