Having just achieved EGOT status, Elton John is crowning his successful career with another prestigious award: the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, which he will share with his longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin.
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced Tuesday that John and Taupin, the duo responsible for countless hits over the past half-century — including “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” — will receive the honor an invitation-only tribute concert on March 20 at DAR Constitution Hall, which will air on PBS on April 8 at 8 p.m.
This is the 14th time the Library of Congress has awarded the Gershwin Prize since its inception in 2007, and the third time it has gone to a songwriting duo (after Gloria and Emilio Estefan in 2019 and Burt Bacharach and Hal David in 2012). . Joni Mitchell received the award last year, and other honorees included Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Carole King and Lionel Richie.
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“I’ve been writing songs with Bernie for 56 years and we never imagined this would be ours one day,” John said in a statement. “It is an incredible honor for two Brits to be recognized in this way. I feel so honored.”
Taupin added: “To be in the same house with the great American songwriters, to even be on the same page, is humbling, and I'm absolutely thrilled to embrace it.”
The recognition comes after John completed his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour in July, a five-year, 330-date extravaganza that he describes as his final concert tour. With grosses of over $900 million, it is just behind Taylor Swift's Eras Tour as the most successful concert tour of all time.
The Library of Congress calls the Gershwin Prize – named for legendary songwriters George and Ira Gershwin – “the nation’s highest honor for influence, impact and achievement in popular music.” Hayden consulted with a panel of scientists, producers, performers, songwriters and music specialists before selecting John and Taupin as this year's honorees.
“Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote some of the most memorable songs of our lives,” Hayden said in a statement. “Their careers are distinguished by the quality and broad appeal of their music and their influence on their fellow artists. More than 50 years ago, they came from across the pond to delight Americans and audiences worldwide with their beautiful songs and rock anthems. We are proud to honor Elton and Bernie with the Gershwin Prize for their incredible influence on generations of music lovers.”
John, 76, and Taupin, 73, met in 1967 when they both responded to an ad Liberty Records placed in the British music magazine New Musical Express looking for singer-songwriters. The label connected them, and the partnership between John, then a budding pianist in London, and Taupin, a lyricist from Lincolnshire in central England, proved to be one of the most fruitful in the history of the entertainment industry.
Since penning the lyrics for John's 1969 debut album, Empty Sky, Taupin has enjoyed a transcendent career in which John has sold more than 300 million records and landed more than two dozen songs in the top 10 of the Billboard charts , his trusted collaborator, remained on the Hot 100 and had nine singles reach No. 1 in the United States. John and Taupin's “Candle in the Wind 1997,” a rewritten version of their 1973 song that John performed at Princess Diana's funeral, ranks only behind Bing Crosby's “White Christmas” as the most popular physical single of all time, with more than 33 million copies sold.
John became the 19th person to complete an EGOT – claiming every major award in the North American entertainment industry – when he won an Emmy earlier this month, winning Outstanding Diversity for “Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium.” won in the special category (Live).
He has also won five Grammys, a Tony and two Oscars, including one he shared with Taupin for the song “(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again” from the 2019 film “Rocketman.” The Dexter Fletcher-directed biopic, which starred Taron Egerton as John and Jamie Bell as Taupin, highlighted the highs and lows of their collaboration, including their two-year break from working together in the mid-1970s and subsequent reconciliation.
When John was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, he welcomed Taupin to the stage and presented him with the statuette. “Without him the trip wouldn’t have been possible,” John said. “Somehow I feel [like I’m] Cheating to stand up here and accept that, because without Bernie, Elton John wouldn’t have existed at all.”
Last November, John made this symbolic gesture official and gave the induction speech when Taupin was finally inducted into the Hall.
“We have climbed mountains we never thought possible,” John said in that speech, “and we have scaled heights we never thought possible.”