It is time for Elton John to rest his pipes and pay gratitude for the music career that people in the United States gave him. In a newly released trailer of ‘Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium’, he will be performing his last concert in North America. The concert will be graced by Dua Lipa, Brandi Carlile, and Kiki Dee. He had a glorious 53 years of a musical career.
The artist, since his childhood, was interested in music. At three, he learnt to play the piano. Then on, he started playing at pubs, for American artists with his band ‘Bluesology’, and eventually, he started his music career with his debut album in 1969 titled ‘Empty Sky’. However, in his career, he has rarely written songs. When he answered an ad from Liberty Records, he came across someone who became a long-time friend and a collaborator.
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Bernie Taupin Became The Lyricist For Elton John
One of the biggest icons still alive in the pop world is Elton John. He lived the genre and he is up there with the other stalwarts of the genre. But, since the beginning of his career, Elton has had a collaborator cum companion. Bernie Taupin, a lyricist, has worked with the singer for five decades. The duo has given some chart-busting hits like ‘Your Song’, ‘Candle in the Wind’, and others. If you would have watched the Elton John biopic ‘Rocketman’, you would know how they met!
The year was 1967, and the ‘A Single Man’ artist was still playing for the band ‘Bluesology’. At that time, he came across an advertisement in NME, where Liberty Records wanted to audition new musicians. He went to the audition, but he could not crack it. At the audition, the then-aspiring musician told the executive that he is not good at writing. So, the executive handed him an envelope of poems that Bernie wrote. Since then, they became partners and released some exquisite music.
During an interview, Elton spoke about the process that he and Taupin executes. He said, “When I first started working with Bernie it was exactly the same as it is now; I would get a lyric, I would go away and write the melody and play it to him. That’s never changed. It’s the same thing now and it’s as exciting now as it was then. So if I write a song on this album and I’ve finished it I go and bring him in and say, ‘Listen, this is the song,’ and then the band come in and learn it and we put it down.”
But, John and Bernie are both thankful to each other for such a strong collaboration for 50 years and continuing. During interviews, the artist said that Bernie “has a god-given gift to write music to written words.” He also said, “Can you imagine if I had someone else’s lyrics? I wouldn’t be sitting here. Luck has played a huge part in my success.”
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“We’re Old Men With Distinctly Young Ideas”: Bernie Taupin On His Experience With The Artist
While talking to Rolling Stone, Bernie chalked out the process of collaboration with Elton. Talking about how he faxed or email the lyrics, he also added, “I don’t want you to think it is a cold connection. We do get together and discuss things.” Bernie admitted that he goes to the studio, because “he likes my presence, though I’m not sure why. But yeah, I’m there waving the flag.”
The two have been going from strength to strength for more than fifty years. Talking about that, he said, “We live such separate lives. We are two separate people. I think had we been the same kind of personalities and been in close proximity of each other these past years, I think there probably would have been a more acrimonious kind of thing between the two of us. We do talk on the phone a lot, but not a tremendous amount, and it’s usually about record collecting.”
During an interview with Esquire, Bernie talked about how they have grown together while making music. He said, “When Elton and I started out, we were literally kids. Then we became young adults. Then we became adults. Now we’re old men. But old men with distinctly young ideas.”
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