Elton John has recently announced that “Scarecrow,” the song that began his legendary songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin in 1967, and five other deep cuts from Elton: Jewel Box have been made available worldwide on streaming and digital formats for the first time. The release, and with it the unification of the complete Jewel Box on digital formats, is timed to celebrate Elton’s 74th birthday.
Elton and Bernie Taupin first met in 1967 after answering an advert placed in the NME that summer searching for new songwriting talent. Despite the lyrics being written before the 17-year-old Bernie and 20-year-old Reg Dwight had even met, “Scarecrow” marks the first time Elton put his music to Bernie’s lyrics and set the pair on the road to becoming one of the greatest and most enduring songwriting duos and friendships of all time. “Scarecrow” will always hold a special place amongst one of pop and rock’s greatest songbooks, and today’s digital release will provide fans new and old with a tantalizing insight into the rich treasure trove of 24-carat classics the twosome would create over the coming decades. It would later be referenced in Bernie’s lyrics to “Curtains” from the seminal 1975 classic album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy – “I used to know this old scarecrow, He was my song, My joy, and sorrow.” And in 2018, when Taupin sold his lyric manuscripts, “Scarecrow” would be one of the only original sheets he didn’t take to auction, its place in rock history and the duo’s story deeming it too important.
Elton says, “‘ Scarecrow’ will always have a very special place in my heart, and I know that Bernie feels the same way too. It’s the song that started it all. This last year in lockdown has given us all time to look back and reflect – finding this song again when I put together the Jewel Box and thinking of everything that has happened in our careers and friendships that has sprouted from this one point is just remarkable. Jewel Box contains the embryos of something special, and Scarecrow goes right to the heart of that, naive compositions of a time and place that went on to become something very special indeed. What a wild ride it’s been so far, and how lucky we are to have found each other.”
Also, in celebration of Elton’s 74th birthday, BBC4 will be broadcasting re-runs of some of the most revered and renowned programs from their Elton John archives. The celebration kicks off tomorrow, on the evening of Friday, March 26th, with “Elton John: Electric Prom” (7pm), before “Elton John at the BBC” broadcasts at 9pm. “Elton John: Uncensored,” his remarkable and intimate world exclusive interview with Graham Norton from 2019, rounds off the evening at 10pm.
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