Bernie Taupin, the prolific lyricist behind many of Elton John’s biggest hits, has been by the music icon’s side for over five decades — and the two are planning to soon make more music, Taupin said.
“People are under the conception that because [John is] retired from the road, they think it’s retired, but that’s only from the road, from touring,” Taupin told “CBS Mornings” on Wednesday. “I mean, we have not retired as a musical entity, and there are plans afoot to go in the studio very soon.”
Taupin is now out with his memoir, “Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton, and Me,” which offers a candid look into Taupin’s life, including his encounters with prominent figures like Andy Warhol and John Belushi. Taupin sheds light on his enduring partnership with John, filled with anecdotes from their long careers.
Taupin attributed their success to their polar-opposite personalities and said, “Nobody’s more opposite than each other than we are.”
“I think if we’d been like-minded in so many different ways, it probably wouldn’t have worked out,” he said.
The two artists, who started as an “army of two,” developed their own lives over the years while maintaining a strong connection. Taupin said they still talk frequently over Zoom.
John has spent the last several years on his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour, which concluded earlier this year after he performed 330 shows in 663 days.
Despite recent concerns about John’s health following a fall, Taupin reassured fans John is “fine”, and is “as tough as old boots.”
He said the song he is proudest of in his work with John is “Sacrifice,” but also joked that the song he is proudest of may still be unwritten.
“In the words of Duke Ellington, ‘The one I’m gonna write tomorrow, the next one,'” Taupin said.
