An evocative, clear-eyed, and revealing memoir by Bernie Taupin,
the lyrical master and long-time collaborator of Elton John"I loved
writing, I loved chronicling life and every moment I was cogent, sober, or
blitzed, I was forever feeding off my surroundings, making copious notes as
ammunition for future compositions. . . . The thing is good, bad, or
indifferent I never stopped writing, it was as addictive as any drug."
This is the memoir music fans have been waiting for. Half of one of the greatest
creative partnerships in popular music, Bernie Taupin is the man who wrote the
lyrics for Elton John, who conceived the ideas that spawned countless hits, and
sold millions and millions of records. Together, they were a duo, a unit, an
immovable object. Their extraordinary, half-century-and-counting creative
relationship has been chronicled in biopics (like 2019's Rocketman) and even
John's own autobiography, Me. But Taupin, a famously private person, has kept
his own account of their adventures close to his chest, until now. Written with
honesty and candor, Scattershot allows the reader to witness events unfolding
from Taupin's singular perspective, sometimes front and center, sometimes from
the edge, yet always described vibrantly, with an infectious energy that only a
vivid songwriter's prose could offer. From his childhood in the East Midlands
of England whose imagination was sparked and forever informed by the distinctly
American mythopoetics of country music and cowboy culture, to the glittering,
star-studded fishbowl of '70s and '80s Beverly Hills, Scattershot is
simultaneously a Tom Jones--like picaresque journey across a landscape of
unforgettable characters, as well as a striking, first-hand account of a
creative era like no other and one man's experience at the core of it. An
exciting, multi-decade whirlwind told in a non-linear yet grounded narrative,
Scattershot whizzes around the world as we ride shotgun with Bernie on his
extraordinary life. We visit Los Angeles with him and Elton on the cusp of global
fame. We spend time with him in Australia almost in residency at an infamous
rock 'n' roll hotel in an endless blizzard of drugs. And we spend late, late
night hours with John Lennon, with Bob Marley, and hanging with Frank Sinatra.
And beyond the world of popular music, we witness memorable encounters with
writers like Graham Greene, painters like Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali, and
scores of notable misfits, miscreants, eccentrics, and geniuses, known and
unknown. Even if they're not famous in their own right, they are stars on the
page, and we discover how they inspired the indelible lyrics to songs such as
"Tiny Dancer," "Candle in the Wind," "Bennie and The
Jets," and so many more. Unique and utterly compelling, Scattershot will
transport the reader across the decades and around the globe, along the way
meeting some of the greatest creative minds of the 20th century, and into the
vivid imaginings of one of music's most legendary lyricists.