Songwriters Hall of Famer, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Academy Award winner, and iconic lyricist Bernie Taupin chats about his longtime collaboration with Elton John, his love for Merle Haggard and Leonard Cohen, the unprecedented approach to his new solo record, and much more.

PART ONE:
Paul and Scott talk about Paul's recent Dove Award win, Scott's brand new soul book, and why this episode instantly became Paul's favorite in Songcraft history.

PART TWO:
Our in-depth conversation with the legendary Bernie Taupin

ABOUT BERNIE TAUPIN

Bernie Taupin is one of the most successful and enduring lyricists in the history of popular music. Best known for his extraordinary partnership with Elton John, Taupin has spent more than five decades writing the words to some of the most recognizable songs of the rock era, including “Your Song,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man,” “Daniel,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Bennie and the Jets,” ”Candle in the Wind,” “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” “Philadelphia Freedom,” “Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word,” “I'm Still Standing,” “Sacrifice,” and “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from the film Rocketman, which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Beyond his work with Elton John, Bernie has written songs with and for Alice Cooper (“How You Gonna See Me Now”), Starship (“We Built This City”), Heart (“These Dreams”), Willie Nelson (“Mendocino County Line”), Courtney Love (“Uncool”), Brian Wilson (“What I Really Want for Christmas”), Emmylou Harris (the Oscar-nominated “A Love That Will Never Grow Old”), and many others.

In addition to his Academy Award, Taupin has been honored with two Golden Globes, the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an appointment as Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and most recently, the Grammy’s Trustees Award in 2026.

Bernie released a spoken-word poetry album in 1971 called Taupin and released two albums as an artist, He Who Rides the Tiger and Tribe, in the 1980s. In the 1990s, his group Farm Dogs issued two albums, Last Stand in Open Country and Immigrant Sons. His brand-new solo release, The Sea Has No Mercy, finds Bernie writing some of his most intimate songs to date. His first album without a co-writer, it features Bernie crafting both lyrics and melodies that emerge from a deeply personal place.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.