Summary :
- Elton John and Bernie Taupin are to be bestowed with the 2024 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.
- The recognition will be celebrated through a tribute concert in Washington, D.C. scheduled for March 20, followed by the premiere of the show on PBS on April 8.
Elton John will soon have another accolade to add to his growing collection.
The British artist and his longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin will be honored with the 2024 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.
A tribute concert in their honor will be held in Washington, D.C. on March 20. The show will premiere on PBS on April 8.
What is the Gershwin Prize?
The Gershwin Prize was established in 2007 and named after the American songwriting team George and Ira Gershwin, whose collection is housed in the Library of Congress. Last year’s honoree was the legendary Joni Mitchell.
The annual award was chosen by the current librarian Carla Hayden who said the pair was selected because of “the quality and broad appeal” of their music.
“More than 50 years ago, they came from across the pond to win over Americans and audiences worldwide with their beautiful songs and rock anthems,” Hayden said.
Along with Hayden, members of the music and entertainment communities, as well as curators from the Library’s Music Division, American Folklife Center and National Audio-Visual Conservation Center were consulted to name this year’s honoree.
This year, it is handed to John and Taupin for their decades of musical triumph with timeless masterpieces including “Rocket Man,” “Your Song,” “Tiny Dancer,” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” John and Taupin will be in the same Gershwin Prize class as Joni Mitchell, Lionel Richie, Garth Brooks, Tony Bennett, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, and Emilio and Gloria Estefan.
In a statement, the artists expressed their gratitude for receiving an award honoring American songwriters.
John expresses his excitement in joining these ranks alongside Taupin. “I’ve been writing songs with Bernie for 56 years, and we never thought that that one day this might be bestowed upon us,” John was quoted as saying in the press release. “It’s an incredible honour for two British men to be recognized in this way.” I am extremely honored.”
Taupin went on to say, “To be in a house along with the great American songwriters, to even be in the same avenue is humbling, and I am absolutely thrilled to accept.”
According to the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, the duo initially met in 1967, and by 1970, “Taupin could present John with a lyric and he could compose to it within the hour.” Tiny Dancer, Rocketman, and Crocodile Rock are among the pair’s most popular tunes. Over the course of his six-decade career, John has released more than 70 Top 40 songs and sold over 300 million records worldwide. He has performed over 4,000 times in 80 countries and holds the record for the best-selling physical single of all time, Candle in the Wind from 1997, with lyrics updated by Taupin following John’s original 1973 version.
This accolade comes on the heels of another great feat for John: his Emmy win for Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium made him the 19th individual to gain the designation of EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony).
While John has spent decades in the spotlight, his writing partner frequently prefers to remain out of it.
This is also a continuation of Taupin’s accolades, since John inducted him into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November with the Musical Excellence Award.
Taupin told Billboard upon his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023, “It’s funny because I don’t refer to myself as a songwriter. I’m just basically a guy who writes stories.”
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