It’s never changed, the thrill has never gone, because I don’t know what I’m going to get next. If I haven’t got it within 40 minutes, I give up. “I just go into the studio, look at the lyrics for the first time when I put them on the piano, and go. So began a four-decade music-lyrics collaboration which EltonĬheerily describes as “probably the strangest relationship in pop history”: in 46 years, the two have never written a song in the same room, and John never reads Taupin’s lyrics before setting them to music. He wrote the music for several of these and mailed the packet back to Taupin. When Elton arrived for his first meeting, he was handed a sheaf of lyrics by Taupin. The two were introduced in 1967 when each of them answered an ad for musicians in the British magazine New Musical Express. A photo of the two collaborators is shown at left. Photograph: Ed Caraeff.Ī unique feature of Elton John’s career was his decades-long collaboration with lyricist Bernie Taupin. Elton subsequently left high school at age 17 to pursue a career in pop music.īernie Taupin and Elton John, California, 1973. Elton’s recollection is that although he was able to play many compositions after hearing them just one time, he was not a diligent student and was not particularly attracted to classical music. Embed from Getty ImagesĪt age 11, Elton John was awarded a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. Here is a photo of a young Elton John performing in Los Angeles. His parents had an eclectic record collection, and Elton remembers becoming hooked on rock ‘n roll after first hearing Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. His father had been a trumpet player in a semi-professional big band. In 1967 Dwight adopted the stage name “Elton John” as a composite of Elton Dean, saxophonist in his first band, and blues singer and mentor Long John Baldry.īoth of Dwight’s parents were musically inclined. We will then discuss a cover version by Kate Bush, and we will review a “spoken-word” cover by William Shatner.Įlton John was born Reginald Dwight in a suburb of London in 1947. We will review the original performed by Elton John. That's not bad for a song with such unique origins.Hello there! Our song this week is Rocket Man, a remarkably successful pop tune written by Bernie Taupin and Elton John. 245 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs Ever Written. In 2010, Rolling Stone even ranked it at No. In fact, the song is so widely well-regarded, that it's generally believed to be one of the best songs ever written - period. "Rocket Man" was not only a hit for John at the time of its release but has become one of his most well-known and beloved songs. And the rest of the song just followed through from there."įortunately for both Taupin and Elton John, those lyrics have gone on to become iconic. The minute I got there, I rushed in and wrote it down. That whole stanza was going around and around in my head for two hours until I got to my parents' home, which was in a very rural area, so there was nowhere I could stop on the way and find somewhere I could write it down. "The story was on my mind, and I was in the car, and the whole first part of the song came into my head. "I was going to visit my parents up in the north of England," said Taupin.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |