Elton John marked his 74th birthday on Thursday with the digital release of “Scarecrow,” the song that kicked off his iconic creative partnership with Bernie Taupin in 1967.
It is one of six deep cuts from last year’s Elton: Jewel Box that now available on streaming and digital platforms. The others are “Holiday Inn,” “Keep It A Mystery,” “Smokestack Children,” “Two Of A Kind” and “Conquer The Sun.”
John was 20-year-old Reginald Dwight when he put music to lyrics penned by Taupin, then 17.
“‘Scarecrow' will always have a very special place in my heart, and I know that Bernie feels the same way,” the singer said, in a release. “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.”
John added that the song “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.”
Last year, John and Taupin won Best Original Song at the Golden Globes and Oscars for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” which plays over the closing credits of the biopic Rocketman.