Bernie Taupin, lyricist behind Elton John hits, on not holding back in his new memoir

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10 ай бұрын

Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics to many of Elton John's most beloved songs, including "Your Song," "I'm Still Standing," "Tiny Dancer" and "Candle in the Wind." Taupin joins "CBS Mornings" to share details about his new memoir, "Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton, and Me," how the duo worked together in the early days and the song he is most proud of.
#bernietaupin #eltonjohn #music
Each weekday morning, "CBS Mornings” co-hosts Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson bring you the latest breaking news, smart conversation and in-depth feature reporting. "CBS Mornings" airs weekdays at 7 a.m. on CBS and stream it at 8 a.m. ET on the CBS News app.
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Пікірлер: 199

@jeffthewhiff 10 ай бұрын

Bernie and Elton are unquestionably one of the most talented duos in popular music history!👍

@kamkam2526 10 ай бұрын

For sure

@bev9708 10 ай бұрын

NO QUESTION!!!!!! 👍🏻

@yvonneplant9434 9 ай бұрын

Precisely correct! What would Rodgers have been without Hart, and then later. Hammerstein ? Or Bernstein without Stephen Sondheim?

@pattifraas5375 10 ай бұрын

This gentleman got me through adolescence in the 70s.

@waynej2608 10 ай бұрын

Same here. And his and Elton's Empty Garden helped me deal with John Lennon's death, which shook me to the core as a young guy.

@lindadixon4341 10 ай бұрын

110% AGREE!

@patricialescano8323 10 ай бұрын

Yes me too! Bernie thank you.

@lillyboldlyshewhispers7145 10 ай бұрын

A lyricist creates fluid poetry. Bernie Taupin is so humble. A genuine poet storyteller of our times. Elton John and Bernie Taupin have graced us with the most Beautiful music of our lifetime. In the ranks of McCartney and Lennon.

@Thund12o 10 ай бұрын

Bernie is a poetry genius when it comes to lyrics.

@kingoftheseamusic 10 ай бұрын

A poultry genius

@dorklyasmr6017 10 ай бұрын

Bernie Taupin is a god damned genius. His lyrics are so weird and lovely and perfect.

@mookiebomber 10 ай бұрын

They seem weird? I wouldn't use that exact word to describe them, I'd say distinctive, characteristic and representative

@dougdavis8986 10 ай бұрын

Why has he been damned? Are you one of those flat earthers?

@geoycs 10 ай бұрын

They are kind of weird. But that’s not any kind of put down. It’s intriguing.

@IPlayOneOnT.V. 10 ай бұрын

I won't disagree one bit. Yet, it's always been astounding to me that Elton could take Bernie's lyrics cold and pound out melody after melody after melody with Bernie's lyrics, and the melodies would be wonderful and magical and even grandiose. Just so appropriate for the lyrics, time and time again.

@oppothumbs1 10 ай бұрын

@@mookiebomberSometimes weird or trying too hard: And someone saved my life tonight, sugar bear (sugar bear) You almost had your hooks in me, didn't you, dear?

@christopherrobbins9985 10 ай бұрын

Brilliant story teller. His gifts keep on giving. Thank you, Bernie Taupin.

@hopehealthhappiness465 10 ай бұрын

Bernie is extremely talented. He should be knighted too!❤

@markfilla9305 10 ай бұрын

I heard an interview with Bernie on Marc Maron's WTF podcast and he said he has absolutely no interest in any royal honors. And I think he really meant it as he also said that has zero interest in anything to do with the UK.

@austinskaggs4184 10 ай бұрын

You consider writing lyrics as ‘extreme talent’ ? You should consider raising your standard

@YeahRight-dy8un 2 ай бұрын

@@austinskaggs4184write a lyrics that can out sell rocket man, your song, and every other top Elton John songs, let’s see how talented you are.

@YGardenRose 10 ай бұрын

He has such a calming effect just listening to him speak about music, his life, writing, Elton, etc..I think many of us need someone in their lives to help balance relationships. I think Elton was so fortunate to meet Bernie.

@YGardenRose 9 ай бұрын

@@50milliondownthedraintonym16 Bernie is a very smart guy. He was well read and educated. That helped him write lyrics. Elton couldn't write. Yes, Elton was trained as a classical pianist & is wonderful at writing to many lyrics. Over the years Bernie has had some input in how the songs are constructed.

@ScottlandShaffner0423 9 ай бұрын

Nice comment.

@goldsgolds2010 10 ай бұрын

Total genius..even to this day,I Don't know how he does it!!!!❤❤❤

@Falcon-um7vo 10 ай бұрын

And he probably says the same thing about Elton's ability to set those lyrics to the perfect music. Each is a gift--you can't teach it; you've just got to have it.

@AsFewFalseThingsAsPossible 10 ай бұрын

One of the most amazing things is how he wrote "Country Comfort" perfectly evocative of the US heartland, without (I believe), ever having been to the States.

@chrissharkey9644 10 ай бұрын

I love how Berni tells it like it is!

@user-nt6ry3be4q 10 ай бұрын

Come Down in Time my favorite! Brilliant poet!

@PJGRAND 10 ай бұрын

Bernie is one of the greatest songwriter lyricists ever it's the people with the most talent that don't even think their talented You are great Bernie !!!

@anastasiabeaverhausen8220 10 ай бұрын

I've always thought of him as a poet. Listened to Elton's LPs when I was a teen just about every day.

@charlie-obrien 10 ай бұрын

One of the first albums I ever bought with my own money was "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and it had all of Bernie's lyrics printed on the inside cover. I poured over those lyrics and still know them all by heart. Other albums at the time may have also included the lyrics, but I wouldn't know. Only Bernie and Elton touched me so that I needed to know them.

@YGardenRose 10 ай бұрын

Thank you Bernie & Elton both so much! ❤ They are more geniuses than they will ever understand.

@annehajdu8654 10 ай бұрын

Bernie Taupin is a true genius. The song "Ticking" alone puts him in the stratosphere of lyricists.

@cynthiamason4069 10 ай бұрын

Really looking forward to reading this book!☆♡☆♡☆♡

@georgiehollander2199 10 ай бұрын

One of the Genius' of the musical world. He is incredible.............I love ' The Greatest Discovery ' written when he was 17 years old I think...........

@sheilasimmons9394 10 ай бұрын

He is brilliant!💕

@kjam4236 10 ай бұрын

First there was Lennon and McCartney but then there was Elton and Bernie "Someone saved my life tonight and Your Song" are probably two of my favs....

@monatoney3474 10 ай бұрын

SO AMAZING WHAT A TEAM. SIR ELTON AND BERNIE. SACRIFICE IS A BEAUTIFUL SONG 🎵 ❤ ♥

@mrbear1302 10 ай бұрын

Gail would you please stop interrupting the guests and actually let them answer your questions

@justaroundthecorner2883 10 ай бұрын

Agreed , its the guests opportunity to shine not the interviewer.

@kurtissjacobs5618 2 ай бұрын

Yeah she talks to much, she talks over the answer to the question that she asked. That's awful interviewing.

@waynej2608 10 ай бұрын

An amazing artist! I'm anxious to see what he and Elton will come out with in the future.

@patwilson7596 2 ай бұрын

You are a story teller.. and an excellent one.. " The Song"👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾Thank you Bernie Taupin

@BridgetR72 9 ай бұрын

My favorite will always be "Friends." Such beautiful lyrics.

@thepunadude 9 ай бұрын

TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION, 11.17.70, MADMAN ACROSS THE WATER ... COULD LISTEN TO THEM FOR HOURS ... I HAVE!

@katiequimby5576 10 ай бұрын

Have never heard him interviewed. Always wanted to.

@benniebarrow348 10 ай бұрын

Had those three air heads not done their 10 minutes of prep prior to the show they wouldn’t know who Bernie was or his significance in the world of poetry/songwriting. Awesome guy…..he an Elton were magic together.

@VValkyrie 10 ай бұрын

Poor prep indeed ❤Bernie

@DeanLancasterMusic 9 ай бұрын

#truth

@josebenito15 8 ай бұрын

I'm reading his book these days and it's just a wonderful Book Bernie is a great writer, not doubt about that. Very Dickensian indeed. Great stuff 👍

@christopherdavison652 10 ай бұрын

"Mona Lisa And Mad Hatters" My personal fave.

@gthomas3964 10 ай бұрын

Nancy Wilson of "Heart" does a very good version of this song...

@buddrossi6451 9 ай бұрын

So many of the songs they wrote became part of my life’s soundtrack. I loved them when I was younger, and I didn’t truly appreciate or understand Bernie’s lyrics until I was older, but he’s a true artist and a genius, and he gave Elton the words he’d sing. (Both of them have worked with other writers over the years and both had a fair degree of success that way, but the bulk of Elton’s catalog are songs for which Bernie wrote the lyrics. Bernie wrote the lyrics for “These Dreams” by Heart!)

@davidabbett7011 10 ай бұрын

❤ A lifetime of beautiful memories, from the age old 10 to 62 and beyond.

@pakababy3710 10 ай бұрын

As far as him telling a story, my favorite Bernie Taupin lyrics are "Blues for Baby and Me" sung beautifully by Elton.

@Miketheman926 9 ай бұрын

Yes I agree great lyrics... blues for baby and me.... my favorite

@thewkovacs316 10 ай бұрын

brilliant lyricist

@trout211 10 ай бұрын

'Friends' from '71 is my favorite Elton song.

@crisrose521 10 ай бұрын

Nobody mentioned or talked about his greatest piece of work . . ROCKET MAN . Perplexing 🤔

@bitmaxim 8 ай бұрын

Indian Sunset is my favorite Taupin lyric, followed closely by Ticking, The Greatest Discovery, Elton's Song, and I've Seen That Movie, Too.

@lemurianchick 10 ай бұрын

Yay!!!! I can't wait to read Bernie's book!

@stingylizard 10 ай бұрын

I just could not grasp reading. Age 10...the dunce. I was kind of freaked out by the graphics accompanying Bernie's lyrics inside Don't Shoot Me and Goodbye YBR album,but after a weeks of looking at the words while listening- suddenly it all came together for me. I learned to read! But it made me think and visualize in Taupin words...they had "colors"...his words were like magic visions. Add in the sounds of that whole band... Wow,what a gift to the dunce kid in Class 7. I owe that man. Thanks,Sir

@ibleebinU 10 ай бұрын

Bernie has a natural talent and seems like an unassuming bloke.

@debbralehrman5957 10 ай бұрын

Good interview👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🌺

@Murph110 4 ай бұрын

Bernie is a gifted artist. His colors are so vivid. Beautiful

@jeannehall6546 10 ай бұрын

Honestly, he should be knighted, if he isn’t already! If wasn’t for Bernie Taupin, Sir Elton John’s career, and maybe even 1970’s Rock music as a whole, would have taken a very different turn!

@terri6854 10 ай бұрын

You could say the same about cocaine.

@grod1360 10 ай бұрын

I love when the interviewer keeps interrupting and I cannot hear what the subject has to say. It is great

@horacioolvera7360 10 ай бұрын

Thank you Bernie !

@TheBent139 10 ай бұрын

He has the best of both worlds. He is highly respected but virtually anonymous. He can still walk through an airport unrecognized. Elton could never do that.

@blakemoon123 10 ай бұрын

Bernie Taupin is underestimated in my opinion. At their best, his lyrics were as good as Dylan or Van Morrison. Elton and Bernie were (are) a perfect pop team.

@dionehackworth1767 7 ай бұрын

Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters! What a song.

@southpaw1755 9 ай бұрын

Levon and Tiny Dancer are my favorites.

@SUMMERFUN1969 10 ай бұрын

Great interview with the exception of Gails interruptions.

@ross798 10 ай бұрын

To me, their best song was "Your Song" and I will never forget when I first started dating someone who I loved intensely, but, sometimes love or even love and lust is not enough to make things work out, but on one of our early dates, we had already done the nice dinner thing, so, I wanted to do what I prefer, which was a drive along the California coast, a hike down the cliffs, a picnic basket backpack, with a bottle of wine and a blanket around us as the Sun started setting on the ocean. I started singing "Your Song" to her, and did not know that was her all-time favorite song. We would have some amazing times together, really the best in my life, but in the end, we just could not find a way to work it out. Everytime I hear that song, I think of her, who is still a friend and we keep in touch. But someone asked if I would give it another shot, the answer is, of course.

@phillpearson7531 10 ай бұрын

I hope Elton appreciates Bernie as much as we do.

@LJ-ze6ro 10 ай бұрын

The lyrics are what makes the song ..

@terri6854 10 ай бұрын

Not even close. Without the music almost no one would be reading his book of poems. But Elton's music would still work even with bad words.

@johnnyxmusic 10 ай бұрын

@@terri6854Hmm…

@jdenino6022 4 ай бұрын

@@terri6854 I've heard EJ's songs where he himself wrote the word and they weren't anywhere near as good as the ones he wrote with Bernie. It was a match made in heaven...when EJ has Bernie's lyrics in front of him magic happened esp in the 1970s.

@roberturibe3150 10 ай бұрын

Don't let the sun go down on me. Is a favorite too.

@Luileadolfo 10 ай бұрын

Few fans know that he recorded several solo albums.

@TravelinBand747 9 ай бұрын

REAL fans do know that! Elton helped with backup vocals on some of the tracks, but Bernie was a decent vocalist too.

@gavinballin2323 10 ай бұрын

I love sacrifice!

@kristine8338 10 ай бұрын

Exceptionally revealing.

@lorrainem.swartzentruber3077 10 ай бұрын

Two words: These Dreams.

@digidrum2003 10 ай бұрын

I never knew he wrote that song.....so awesome!

@DeanLancasterMusic 9 ай бұрын

"Have Mercy On The Criminal". My all-time fave Taupin lyrics

@comeconcon569 9 ай бұрын

"If the River can bend" is one of his masterpiece.

@johnryman1366 10 ай бұрын

A humble genius.

@charlie-obrien 10 ай бұрын

Bernie could never have stayed on that chicken farm, anymore than an eagle could live in the ocean.

@That_Guy_Says_Hi 10 ай бұрын

Hey, Bernie! Many of us call ourselves "Poets." "The poet's function is to make his imagination ... become the light in the minds of others. His role, in short, is to help people to live their lives." - Wallace Stevens

@randysteele6741 10 ай бұрын

"You can't plant me in your penthouse...goin' back to my plow." He really was a country boy.

@13madamkitty 8 ай бұрын

plough

@randysteele6741 8 ай бұрын

@@13madamkitty Oh, I forgot. Taupin is British. My bad.

@jerryemt2001 10 ай бұрын

Such hard hitting and informative interview, said no one ever

@JamesKenneally-le1zd 10 ай бұрын

Brutal!!

@zekelucente9702 10 ай бұрын

Bernie is looking great.

@johnscialfa7391 10 ай бұрын

Good interview

@heydavemyers1 10 ай бұрын

In my life I had Bernie and Elton, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, Lennon and McCartney and scores of others. Who are going to be the legends 50 years from now for today's kids?

@stevepitts7998 10 ай бұрын

You've just named them

@mikegruber172 10 ай бұрын

Most people dont know that he wrote ALL THE WORDS!

@narabdela 9 ай бұрын

Amazing! I thought that he only wrote every third word! 🙄

@julieannemichelle 10 ай бұрын

❤️

@deanallen927 10 ай бұрын

Wow what a cool guy!.

@terrypeckham4744 10 ай бұрын

When i was in elelentary school i thought when you heard a song on the radio the actual band was playing live at the radio station

@Tuftsedge1 10 ай бұрын

Talk about icons😊

@allisonoconnor8055 10 ай бұрын

A modern day English Poet.🎯

@fritzcat6198 10 ай бұрын

How about poet? You’re one of my favorites!

@guitarquartet 10 ай бұрын

interesting, "Sacrifice" is my favourite too!!!

@dennisboegel1786 9 ай бұрын

Love that Gayle got to know Bernie, especially since Oprah & Elton go back forever.

@changelocation 9 ай бұрын

Bernie Taupin and Rod Temperton from LINCOLNSHIRE 😊

@jodie4609 10 ай бұрын

Easy ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ bernie

@niltomega2978 8 ай бұрын

He has Elton's demeanor.

@mjphoto45 10 ай бұрын

I agree Sacrifice

@kevinparker461 10 ай бұрын

"He danced in death like a marionette on the vengence of the law", you can only write lyrics like that after having some experience, & now i heard he was on a poultry farm & was a country boy this is where he got inspriration, seeing life at the raw end.

@mgeeees460 9 ай бұрын

Madman across the water

@tw9535 10 ай бұрын

Stop. Interrupting. The. Guest.

@mgeeees460 9 ай бұрын

Lincolnshire boy done good

@ronpivo7385 10 ай бұрын

Tiny Dancer hands down

@galeabernathy3921 10 ай бұрын

No. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

@richoneplanet7561 10 ай бұрын

👍👍👍👍👍

@jackquinn5385 10 ай бұрын

These people interviewing him are just dreadful -- It's like an SNL skit. Follow up on the Belushi thing --- What the hell?

@MotownGuitarJoe 10 ай бұрын

Grey Seal.

@brittscott4673 10 ай бұрын

I love the Beatles ,but their is a sophistication to the best Elton John and Bernie Taupin songs that is beyond the Beatles. Elton John studied at the Royal Academy of music in London. Extensive musical training can sometimes be a hindrance to composers and songwriters . Elton John is probably the best example of a songwriter who had extensive musical training ,but didn't lose his incredible creativity. Elton was a child prodigy so he likely developed his own style before going to the Royal Academy.Elton also incorporated gospel into his classical /pop/rock style.

@simongilbert2704 9 ай бұрын

goodbye yellow brick road ,- is one of the best albums ,,, check it out ;;

@BenNgo 9 ай бұрын

As much as he had such great influence on all of us and the entire pop culture with his legendary lyrics as weird it seems to me that, after watching this interview and the one where he was talking about "Candle in the wind" on Graham Norton, I'm getting very negative, eccentric, arrogant and totally non-charming vibes about the way he talks from the man who wrote so many lyrics I'd loved all my life.

@xyztrade 10 ай бұрын

Bernie has similar mannerisms to Elton John. His movements and voice pauses and inflections. Anyone else notice that? They were cut from the same cloth

@kurtissjacobs5618 2 ай бұрын

In my opinion, The Retreat is both Bernie's best lyric and Elton's best melody--if not "best melody" per se, then at least "best melody match with lyric."