This Twitter post is moving fast around the world, Elton John fans are loving their chance to look back at the very creation of one of his most famous songs.
This video gives a behind-the-scenes look at how one song became a cultural phenomenon. Watching Sir Elton so quickly craft this piece seems like magic.
The viral clip on Twitter shows a young Elton John sitting at the upright piano and playing a ditty that would become one of the biggest hits in the world. While doodling at the piano, he is sifting through a short stack of papers with lyrics on them written by his long-time partner, Bernie Taupin.
Elton finally lands on a page he had worked on putting music to a few days earlier. The lyrics were important to him because it was about Bernie’s girlfriend and he thought he would appreciate them.
The song was called “Tiny Dancer.”
The camera cuts to a young Bernie with a full head of hair and he says,
“Reg [Elton] has to write very fast because he hasn’t got the patience to sort of spend hours or days on something.”
Elton seems to agree with the comment and then talks through his process explaining how the music needs to have an upbeat tempo right up until the word, “ballerina.” Then he says the music is “you know it’s not gonna be fast, it’s gonna be gentle.” What a treasure to have this process recorded.
As Elton plays the song with the lyrics on a crumpled piece of paper, you see Maxine Feibelman, Bernie’s girlfriend, and the “Tiny Dancer” herself. She hears the song for the first time.
The song would go through significant editing before producers thought it was right for radio. It has become one of rock music’s staples and is still loved today.
Watch:
????ELTON JOHN
???? TINY DANCER (1970)
Just days after writing it, Elton pulls out a crumpled piece of paper, and plays his new song for the very first time. pic.twitter.com/H8zP3BzG2I
— James Leighton (@JamesL1927) October 18, 2022
