Entertainment
Sir Elton John releases first song he and Bernie Taupin made in honour of his 74th birthday
Sir Elton John has marked his 74th birthday by giving his fans a present instead, by releasing the first song he and Bernie Taupin wrote together.
The legendary entertainer has made the track Scarecrow available on streaming and digital formats for the first time, along with five other songs and B-sides.
Sir Elton was 20 and Bernie was 17 when they first met after both answering an advert in NME looking for songwriters.
Bernie had already written the lyrics to the song but Scarecrow is the first time Sir Elton had put his melody to the words, which marked the start of their collaborative relationship, which has lasted over five decades.
Sir Elton said: ‘Scarecrow will always have a very special place in my heart, and I know that Bernie feels the same way too. It’s the song that started it all.
‘This last year in lockdown has given us all time to look back and reflect – finding this song again when I put together the Jewel Box and thinking of everything that has happened in our careers and friendships that has sprouted from this one point is just remarkable.
‘Jewel Box contains the embryos of something special, and Scarecrow goes right to the heart of that, naive compositions of a time and place that went on to become something very special indeed.
‘What a wild ride it’s been so far and how lucky we are to have found each other.’
Elton: Jewel Box is a collection of 148 of his songs spanning from 1965 until 2019 and the release of Scarecrow and five more songs – Holiday Inn, Keep It A Mystery, Smokestack Children, Two Of A Kind and Conquer The Sun – means the collection is now available in its entirety for the first time on digital formats.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Elton John jokes he will ‘hit someone’ if Phoebe Bridgers does not win a Grammy
