Bernie Taupin Was Surprised by Little Big Town’s Elton John Cover
Little Big Town are among the artists who joined in for a new country music tribute to Elton John, and in a new interview with Taste of Country Nights, his longtime collaborator, Bernie Taupin, admits he was pleasantly surprised by their version of "Rocket Man."
"Their take on it could have been very glee club-ish," Taupin says. "And Frank Liddell's production just turned it on its ear. It's really spectacular."
Taupin is also a particular fan of Maren Morris, who undertook a new version of one of the pair's most beloved hits.
"Maren Morris just killed 'Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,'" Taupin states. "It sounds like an old Memphis track now."
Elton John Is a Maren Morris Fan!
Both tracks appear on Restoration, the country music-leaning disc of a two-album project that tributes the music of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Taupin was mostly in charge of landing the country artists for Restoration, while John mostly worked on the pop-leaning Revamp project ... with the exception of one major country artist.
"I know Elton gave Chris [Stapleton] a call, because I was having trouble getting to him; I couldn't locate him," Taupin recounts. "I give credit to Elton for getting Chris on board for that, and then I was the one who said, 'I really think he needs to do this song, 'I Want Love.'"
Other country artists featured on Restoration include Dierks Bentley, Rosanne Cash and Emmylou Harris, Miley Cyrus, Vince Gill and Don Henley, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson, Brothers Osborne, Rhonda Vincent and Dolly Parton, and Lee Ann Womack.
Morris is set to join join Keith Urban, Lambert, Morris and Little Big Town as part of the lineup for a two-hour television special in salute to Elton John. Elton John: I'm Still Standing — A Grammy Salute will air on April 10 at 9PM ET on CBS.
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