Elton John (“EJ”) is an artist that almost everyone recognizes. But there’s another side to the singer’s success, and that’s his long-time lyricist partner, Bernie Taupin, or the other half of Elton John. Taupin has been writing the lyrics for one of music’s greatest showmen for over half a century. Yet, to many, he is a virtual unknown.
The pair met in 1967, when each of them replied to an advertisement placed in the music magazine
NME by Liberty Records searching for singer/songwriter artists. Taupin, who was a farmer’s son, was only 17 at the time, and EJ (who still went by the name Reg Dwight) was 20.
Though they were relatively close in age when they first met, 17-year-old Taupin was in awe of EJ. “I was the quintessential country bumpkin and he was sophisticated,” Taupin told the Daily Mail of their early years together. “He lived in London and played in clubs! So, he looked out for me. He was like a big brother.”
At that time, EJ...
