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Elton John · S2 E2
Bernie Taupin
A farm boy from Lincolnshire who writes poetry. He writes the words, Elton writes the music. They almost never discuss it
A shy farm boy from Lincolnshire steps off a train at a London station, clutching a suitcase and looking for a piano player he has never met. Bernie Taupin is about to move into Reg Dwight's childhood bedroom.
Elton John -- Honky Cat. A song about leaving the country for the city, which is exactly what Bernie did when he traded his family farm for Pinner. The swinging brass and rolling piano capture the thrill of arriving somewhere new.
TAP TO REVEAL: What happened when Elton and Bernie first met face to face?
The Method
Bernie writes lyrics in another room, often at the kitchen table or on scraps of paper. He slides the finished sheet across to Elton, who sits at the piano. Within thirty minutes, sometimes less, the melody is complete. They almost never discuss the song beforehand or after.
Frome Court, Pinner
The flat where Sheila Dwight took in a teenage lyricist from Lincolnshire. Every early Elton and Bernie song was born in this building.
What is unusual about the Elton/Bernie songwriting process?
Amoreena -- Elton John
From Tumbleweed Connection (1970), this track captures the warmth of the countryside Bernie left behind. The rolling piano and gospel backing vocals feel like a letter home. It is one of the earliest songs where you can hear how perfectly their two voices fit together.
Songs are piling up at Frome Court, but nobody in the music industry wants to release them. Next: a publisher signs the duo for ten pounds a week, and two years of rejection push them to the breaking point.
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