![\"Elton](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Elton-John-Tommy-1975-Far-Out-Magazine-F-1140x855.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
(Credits: Far Out \/ Alamy)<\/p>\n
Sat 3 January 2026 13:00, UK <\/p>\n
Elton John<\/a> is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars the music industry has ever produced, but it is no secret that he has had his fair share of help along the way.<\/p>\n The English titan has reached a level of success over his career that only a handful of other artists can boast of, although he certainly didn\u2019t do it all on his own taking full advantage of the talent he had access to from the very start, most notably, his career-long songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin<\/a>, which is a piece of trivia that still hasn\u2019t reached all his fans and followers. <\/p>\n This is most likely because he is and has always been the face of the operation, which, combined with his larger-than-life personality and public presence, probably plays a massive role in obscuring the contributions of others to his product; plus, even though he is technically a solo act, and few would question his greatness, it is still important to recognise the role his collaborators played in cementing his status as such.<\/p>\n Decades into his career, John returned after a four-year break in 2001 and released a dozen fresh cuts packaged as his 26th studio album, Songs from the West Coast, which was well received, but more importantly, proved that he wasn\u2019t even remotely close to losing steam at 54 years old; however, not everyone knows that this triumph wasn\u2019t solely the result of his brilliant mind.<\/p>\n In addition to working with an army of talented instrumentalists and singers, he had even more people come by the studio to fine-tune his recordings, and the LP was engineered with the utmost precision, all thanks to veteran producer Patrick Leonard<\/a>. <\/p>\n Regardless, despite how solid each cut turned out, the two never worked together again, and in hindsight, John sees the seasoned studio wizard as the one who got away, certain that they would\u2019ve surely made more magic had they continued their alliance.<\/p>\n