Elton John- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road pt 2- Elton, Bernie Taupin

For the backstory of Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, one of the most popular albums of all time, Elton John lyricist Bernie Taupin declared regarding the bane of the touring musician, “The road tears families apart. It destroys relationships. But a guitar is the best heart that beats, man!”

This is the conclusion of my classic rock interviews with Sir Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin about the blockbuster double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, which includes a segment on the remake of “Candle in the Wind ’97”, the tribute written in less than a week by Taupin and performed live by Elton at the funeral of Princess Diana to a broadcast audience estimated at 2.2 billion viewers. With all proceeds going to Princess Diana’s charity trust, “Candle in the Wind ’97” is the biggest-selling recording in history.

To acknowledge the fiftieth anniversaries for Honky Chateau,  as well as  one of the best-selling double albums ever made, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton and his superb band recently wrapped the massive multi-year final international concert trek of some three hundred performances. Titled “Farewell Yellow Brick Road”, it challenged all previous world records for the largest, longest concert tour playing to the most people in concert history! ( Elton John (l) and lyricist Bernie Taupin)

And be sure to put the  long-awaited Bernie Taupin autobiography Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton, and Me at the top of your must-read shopping list. It’s a sure shot to be a best-seller. – Redbeard