BERNIE TAUPIN

BERNIE TAUPIN- OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO BRITISH MUSIC

When Bernie Taupin was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year, his friend and songwriting partner Sir Elton John was by his side – just as he has been for most of their supremely productive, seven-decade-spanning collaboration.

“Without Bernie Taupin,” Sir Elton declared, “there wouldn’t have been any Elton John at all.”

And he had a point. Sir Elton’s showmanship may grab the headlines, but their partnership was always built on the most solid songwriting foundations, with Bernie Taupin’s quiet lyrical genius at its core.

Thrown together by chance after they both answered the same 1967 small ad for songwriters, they went on to forge one of the most successful songwriting partnerships in rock history, responsible for hundreds of millions of record sales and billions of streams.

And Sir Elton’s recent retirement from touring also served as a memorable showcase for Taupin’s turn of phrase. He is, after all, the man who wrote the lyrics to Rocket Man, Tiny Dancer, Candle In The Wind, I’m Still Standing, I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues and countless other songs that have soundtracked the big moments in people’s lives across the planet.

Over the years, Taupin has also done great work with musicians as varied as Alice Cooper, Starship, Brian Wilson and Courtney Love, as well as solo projects, film soundtracks and work in musicals.

But it’s the partnership with Sir Elton that has endured through the ages and that will echo into the future. Even Elton’s 2019 biopic, Rocketman, featured an original composition with Taupin, (I’m Gonna) Love Me Again, which won the Best Original Song Oscar.

So it’s fitting that today, Bernie Taupin receives his own accolade from the home of songwriting. After all, as he wrote on Elton’s international breakthrough hit, Your Song, back in 1970: “My gift is my song – and this one’s for you.”