In May 2017, an official music video for 'Rocket Man' premiered at the Cannes Film Festival as a winner of Elton John: The Cut, a competition organised in partnership with AKQA, Pulse Films, and YouTube in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of his songwriting relationship with Bernie Taupin. In tribute to David Bowie after his death in January 2016, John performed a piano rendition that combined 'Rocket Man' with Bowie's ' Space Oddity'. Among numerous other performances, John played 'Rocket Man' at the launch site of Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998. The song has been a staple of John's concerts.

245 in the list's 2010 revision, and 149 in the 2021 revision. 242 in the 2004 list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time it was ranked No.

Record World said, 'Elton John explores the outer limits of the possibilities of pop music' and that the song 'should be a huge hit it's one of his best.' Legacy The first stanza of 'Rocket Man' was thought of by Bernie Taupin while he was on the motorway heading to his parents' home he had to 'repeat it to himself for two hours,' which was 'unfortunate', but in later interviews he said that since it gave him a hit, it was all worthwhile. It is also known for being the first song in John's catalogue to feature what would become the signature backing vocal combination of his band at the time, Dee Murray, Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone. Musically, the song is a highly arranged classical rock ballad anchored by piano, with atmospheric texture added by synthesizer (played on the recording by engineer Dave Hentschel) and slide guitar. And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then.' Rosenthal's account goes on to relate that the notion of astronauts no longer being perceived as heroes, but in fact as an 'everyday occupation', led Taupin to the song's opening lines: 'She packed my bags last night, pre-flight. The song describes a Mars-bound astronaut's mixed feelings at leaving Earth to do his job. According to an account in Elizabeth Rosenthal's book His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John, the song was inspired by Taupin's sighting of either a shooting star or a distant aeroplane. Taupin has denied that the Bowie song was an inspiration, but has acknowledged borrowing from Pearls Before Swine's 1970 ' Rocket Man,' written by Tom Rapp, which was also influenced by the Bradbury story. The song was inspired by the short story 'The Rocket Man' in The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury, and echoes the theme of David Bowie's 1969 song ' Space Oddity' (both recordings were produced by Gus Dudgeon). William Shatner's spoken-word version from 1978 has been widely parodied. John himself, alongside producer Pnau and singer Dua Lipa, included the song in his 2021 mashup single ' Cold Heart (Pnau remix)'. The song has been covered by many artists, most notably by Kate Bush in 1991 with a reggae-tinged version, and by Portuguese singer David Fonseca in 2007. 149 of its 500 greatest songs of all time. With sales of 3 million in the US the song was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). On 21 January 2022, the song was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streams of 1,200,000 digital downloads and streaming equivalent sales. 6 in the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming a major hit single for John. The song first charted in the UK on 22 April, rising to No. It was originally released on 17 April 1972 in the US, as the lead single to John's album Honky Château. ' Rocket Man' (officially titled ' Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)') is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John.

Rocket man