I'm getting laughed at (in a loving way, of course) for spamming this topic recently, and it has been suggested that I toss up something less random and go with my favorites.
I tell people I don't have a single favorite artist or band, but that isn't true when I really think about it. I love good song writing, great singing and really love amazing piano players. While I can think of a few that fit all of those criteria (some personally), one always stands out as my first and best pick, since I heard him on the radio in my Dad's T-Bird as a young teen singing Crocodile Rock (and I'm betting fans thank the fact that most of his lyrics were written by another amazing artist if they've ever listened to stuff he's tried writing on his own

).
Sir Elton John (yup, he's been knighted) is filthy rich, and doing his final tour slowly, taking years to finish across the globe, though he keeps adding more years to it (I get to see him here just before a trip south next month... like a few hours before heading to the airport, but no way we are missing it

). He's got more hits than I can remember, but there are a few songs that are more speshul here. One being something about how I got so happy while I was away, but you don't get that one
*Spoilerz*
You get a song that I get laughed at for because I can't even come close to playing it on my little 64 key KB here, but I keep trying (and swearing, which causes the laughter). There are better quality videos and versions around, but not many with him doing the full range of keys he uses in some versions (without even caring about what his fingers are doing), so you'll have to put up with a crappy old YouTube capture clip. It isn't a pretty song, and is quite depressing (morbid in fact), but I hardly even heard the words the first time I listened to the album.
Elton John - Ticking - Live in Baltimore 1999