About this episode
Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin wrote so many great songs over the years that it was impossible to pick a single one for Strong Songs. So, why not do two? Kirk dives into a pair of classics by the storied songwriting duo, talking about Elton's chameleon-like voice, his love of pedal tones and embrace of the circle of fourths, the fascinating relationship between lyricist and songwriter, and what it means for a song to sound "piano-y." Both songs by : Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin Album 1: Madman Across the Water, 1971 Listen/Buy via Album.Link Album 2: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road , 1973 Listen/Buy via Album.Link ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED: "I'm Still Standing," "Your Song," and "Grey Seal," all by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. "I Want Love" by John/Taupin, as performed in the 2019 movie Rocketman . NEW THEME MUSIC! Strong Songs has a new theme song! It'll evolve a bit over the next few episodes as Kirk adds a couple more musicians to the mix, so that should be fun. Hope you dig it. --------------- WHOLE-NOTE BACKERS: Caleb Rotach - Chad Barnard - Dan Apczynski - Dave Florey - Sara Walsh HALF-NOTE BACKERS: Andre Bremer - Andrew Lee - Arjun Sharma - Chas Lednicky - Earl Lozada - Emily Williams - Fishbones - Forrest Chang - Jaehoon Jeong - James Johnson - Jasmine Fellows - Jeff Dixon - John and Sharon Stenglein - Jon O’Keefe - joujou - Justin Liew - Justin McElroy - Kevin Morrell - Kevin Pennyfeather - Kyle Simons - Max Schechter - Michael Blackwell - Shane DeLeon - Tom Lauer ----LINKS----- 💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS! Patreon | One-Time Donation 🏠 HOMEPAGE 👚 MERCH 💬 DISCORD SERVER 📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTER 🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTS 🎶 KIRK'S MUSIC 📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram | Bluesky 🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music 🎨 SHOW ART: Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics