Elton John Shares Award With Bernie Taupin for First Time as ‘Rocketman’ Song Wins Golden Globe

By Chris Willman

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” picked up best original song at the Golden Globes, with Elton John using the occasion to note that the award for the “Rocketman” tune he and lyricist Bernie Taupin wrote marked a hard-to-believe first for the two, as a duo: they’d never shared an award before.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever won an award with him, ever,” John said from the stage. “We never won a Grammy — we never did anything (award-winning) together except for this.

John previously won a Globe for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from “The Lion King” in 1994, which he shared with that Disney musical’s lyricist, Tim Rice.

“This is really sweet,” Taupin said, “because this is not just about a song we wrote for a movie. It’s about a song we wrote for a movie that deals with our relationship. And it’s a relationship that doesn’t happen very often in this town: It’s a 52-year-old marriage.”

Their “” end titles theme topped a slate of nominees that included “Beautiful Ghosts,” written by Taylor Swift and Andrew Lloyd Webber for “Cats”; “Into the Unknown” from “Frozen 2”; “Spirit,” sung and co-written by Beyonce for the remake of “”; and “Stand Up,” co-written and sung by the star of “Harriet,” Cynthia Erivo.

John also thanked Giles Martin and Greg Kurstin, who produced the song in a neo-Motown style, and Tarin Egerton, who sang it with John in a battle-of-the-Eltons duet. He offered praise for “everyone involved in this film — it was one of the most emotional moments in my life.”

Incredibly, John was not misremembering when it came to the lack of previous awards for one of pop music’s most beloved songwriting teams. John never won a Grammy until 1987, and never got one for an original song with music and lyrics until he shared the award with Rice for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” in 1995.