Bernie Taupin, the songwriter who for decades has collaborated with Elton John, will tell the story of his life and career in a new memoir, Rolling Stone reports.
The lyricist’s Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton, and Me, will be published this summer by Hachette Books. The press describes the book as “an evocative, clear-eyed, and revealing memoir.”
Taupin grew up in England, and first started working with John in 1967, when Taupin was 17. Two years later, John released his debut album, Empty Sky, which featured nine songs the duo wrote together.
Taupin wrote the lyrics to some of John’s most famous songs, including “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” and “Candle in the Wind.” Taupin has also collaborated with other musicians and bands, including Starship, Heart, and Courtney Love.
“An exciting, multi-decade whirlwind told in a non-linear yet grounded narrative, Scattershot whizzes around the world as we ride shotgun with Bernie on his extraordinary life,” Hachette says. “Unique and utterly compelling, Scattershot will transport the reader across the decades and around the globe, along the way meeting some of the greatest creative minds of the 20th century, and into the vivid imaginings of one of musics most legendary lyricists.”
Scattershot is scheduled for publication on Sept. 12.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
