At seventeen, Reggie leaves the Royal Academy without graduating. He takes a job at a music publisher running errands for £5 per week. At night, he plays piano in pubs for tips.
He’s talented. He’s ambitious. He’s going absolutely nowhere.
The Sideman: 1965-1967
In 1965, at eighteen, Reggie joins Bluesology—a blues/soul band backing visiting American artists. He plays piano, wears a suit, stands in the background.
He backs Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles. He backs visiting R&B acts. He’s competent, professional, invisible.
He hates it. He doesn’t want to be a sideman. He wants to be a star.
But how? He can write music brilliantly—melodies pour out of him. But he can’t write lyrics. His attempts at words are terrible. And without frontman charisma or complete songs, he’s just another piano player in London, where there are thousands of competent piano players.
By 1967, Reggie is twenty years old, broke, living with his mother again. He auditions for bands. Answers ads. Sends demos. Nothing works.
He’s running out of time. Out of money. Out of hope.
June 1967: The Newspaper Ad
Reggie sees an ad in New Musical Express: “Liberty Records seeks talent.”
He shows up at the Liberty Records office. Plays piano. They listen. They’re impressed by his musicianship but blunt about the problem: “You’re a good musician, but you can’t write lyrics.”
Then they say something that changes everything: “We’ve got someone who can write lyrics but can’t write music. Here’s his address. Maybe collaborate?”
They hand Reggie an envelope containing poems written by a seventeen-year-old farm boy from Lincolnshire named Bernie Taupin.
Reggie takes the envelope home. Reads Bernie’s lyrics—raw, honest, poetic, full of images Reggie’s never thought about but somehow understands.
He sits at the piano.
Music pours out. Instantly. Naturally. Like the lyrics had been waiting for him.
The Partnership
Here’s what’s extraordinary about Reggie and Bernie: they never write in the same room. Never.
For over fifty years, Bernie writes lyrics and mails them. Reggie reads them and composes music—usually in under an hour. They don’t discuss meaning. They don’t collaborate face-to-face.
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