Elton John and Bernie Taupin to receive 2024 Gershwin Prize
Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s songwriting partnership is set to be honoured with the 2024 Gershwin Prize for ‘Popular Song’.
The duo, who have blessed the world with a catalogue of hits, join past recipients of the prestigious award such as Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Emilio and Gloria Estefan, Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson, Tony Bennett, Lionel Richie, and Garth Brooks.
The news of the dynamic pairing winning the 2024 prize has been confirmed by the Library of Congress, who described John and Taupin as “one of the great songwriting duos of all time.” The ceremony is set to take place in Washington DC on March 20th, and will later be broadcast on PBS in the United States.
In a statement, John said of the accolade: “I’ve been writing songs with Bernie for 56 years, and we never thought that that one day this might be bestowed upon us. It’s an incredible honour for two British guys to be recognised like this. I’m so honoured.”
Meanwhile, Taupin added: “To be in a house along with the great American songwriters, to even be in the same avenue is humbling, and I am absolutely thrilled to accept.”
In November, when John inducted Taupin into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the singer revealed the pair had recently completed writing a new studio album.
In a speech, John told the crowd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn: “Our success story is what it is, you all know… Through the years, we grew, and we grew, and we grew. We climbed mountains that we never thought were possible to climb, and we scaled heights that we never thought were possible to scale. And throughout that time, we never ever really had an argument.”
“He was disgusted with my behaviour, yes, that’s a given. But to this day, we are still growing as a partnership,” he added.
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