Elton John to play his final Philly shows at the Wells Fargo Center this fall

Elton John will retire from the road at the end of a three-year global tour that will bring him to Philadelphia for the last time in the fall.

John, 70, will perform at the Wells Fargo Center on Sept. 11 and 12 as part of his "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour. We're getting him near the beginning of his marathon run: The tour, which begins Sept. 8 in Allentown, will include some 300 dates throughout North America, Europe, South America, and Asia.

Tickets for the Wells Fargo Center shows go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 2  at WellsFargoCenterPhilly.com and at the Wells Fargo Center box office.

The conclusion of the tour will mark John's retirement from live performing after nearly 50 years in the music industry. He made his retirement announcement on Wednesday at an event in New York in which he sat at a piano and performed "Tiny Dancer" and "I'm Still Standing."

"I've had a good run, I think you'd admit that," John said, adding that he wanted to "leave people thinking, 'I saw the last tour and it was fantastic.' "

The 70-year-old singer, pianist, and composer said he wanted to spend time with his family. His children will be 10 and 8 when he stops in 2021, and he said he hoped he might be able to take them to soccer practice. "My priorities now are my children and my husband and my family," he said. "This is the end."

John said he decided on his retirement plans in 2015 in France. "I can't physically do the traveling and I don't want to," he said. He also ruled out a residency but vowed: "I will be creative up until the day I die."

At the Grammy Awards, to be presented in New York on Sunday, John is to perform alongside Miley Cyrus and will collect the President's Merit Award. His Vegas residency ends in May after six years.

His hits include "Your Song" and "Candle in the Wind." He has won five Grammys, an Oscar, a Golden Globe for The Lion King, and a Tony Award for Aida. He is the recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.

John, who has sold 300 million records, launched his first tour in 1970 and has  performed more than 4,000 times in more than 80 countries. The last time he played Philadelphia was 2013 on his "Diving Board" tour. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

He has suffered several medical setbacks lately, including a bacterial infection last year that he contracted during a South American tour and an E. coli bacterial infection in 2009. He's also suffered appendicitis and has been fitted with a pacemaker.

From 1970 to 1976, John released 10 original studio albums and seven consecutive chart toppers. He remained a hit maker over the next four decades, from The Lion King soundtrack song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" to a revision of his Marilyn Monroe ode "Candle in the Wind" released in 1997 after the death of his friend Princess Diana. It became one of the best-selling singles of all time.

This article contains information from the Associated Press.