Bernie Taupin

Legendary lyricist Bernie Taupin, who co-wrote many of Elton John's multi-million selling songs, joins Vernon Kay to choose ten songs from his life.

Growing up in Lincolnshire, Bernie Taupin's life changed after answering an advert in the New Musical Express looking for new songwriters. Elton John answered the same advert and they were brought together, going on to collaborate on more than thirty albums to date. Their hits together include Rocket Man, Candle in the Wind, Crocodile Rock, Your Song, I'm Still Standing and many many more - making them one of the most successful collaborations in music history with a long list of awards. In addition to his work with Elton, Bernie has also written lyrics for artists like Starship (We Built This City), Heart and Alice Cooper. He is also a visual artist working with mixed media. In 2022, Bernie was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to music. This month he releases his new solo album The Sea Has No Mercy - his first solo album in almost forty years and his first to be entirely self-written. He has described the album as a late-life manifesto and says it was inspired by his acclaimed 2023 autobiography Scattershot. It features guest vocals from Brandi Carlisle and Bernie's daughter, Georgey.

You can also watch Vernon's conversations for Tracks Of My Years on BBC iPlayer and Radio 2's YouTube channel, just search for 'Tracks Of My Years'.

A BBC Audio production for BBC Radio 2.