Elton John said he “never knew” what inspired his 1972 classic song “Rocket Man” in a resurfaced clip.
John – during a discussion with longtime collaborator and writer Bernie Taupin – reflected on the hit that ranks among Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”
“It was a pretty easy song to write a melody to because it’s a song about space so it’s quite a spacious song,” said John before Taupin spilled the tea about what led up to the hit.
Taupin explained that the song was inspired by author Ray Bradbury’s 1951 book “The Illustrated Man” and its story “The Rocket Man.”
″[It] was about how astronauts in the future would become sort of an everyday job so I kinda took that idea and ran with it,” Taupin explained.
“Do you know, I never knew that,” John replied.
“Rocket Man” eventually served as the inspiration for the title of “Rocketman,” the 2019 musical about John.
The start of the hit song’s chorus was also recycled in John’s collaboration with Dua Lipa “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)” in 2021.