Rocket Man (song): Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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== Background ==

[[File:Elton John Hamburg 1972 1603720004.jpg|thumb|Elton John, 1972]]

The song was inspired by [[Ray Bradbury]]'s short story "The Rocket Man" in ''[[The Illustrated Man]]'', about a professional [[astronaut]] whose work keeps him away from his anguished family for months at a time. It echoes the theme of [[David Bowie]]'s 1969 song "[[Space Oddity]]" (both recordings were produced by [[Gus Dudgeon]]).<ref>{{cite news |last=Petridis |first=Alexis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/jul/23/guardianobituaries.alexispetridis#maincontent |title=Gus Dudgeon |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=22 July 2002 |access-date=5 June 2020 }}</ref> Taupin has denied that the Bowie song was an inspiration, but has acknowledged borrowing from [[Pearls Before Swine (band)|Pearls Before Swine]]'s 1970 "[[The Use of Ashes|Rocket Man]]", written by [[Tom Rapp]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Dasgupta |first=Pubali |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-story-behind-elton-john-song-rocket-man-was-created/ |title=The Story Behind the Song: How Elton John's classic 'Rocket Man' was created |work=[[Far Out Magazine]] |date=1 March 2021 |access-date=27 July 2021 }}</ref> which was also influenced by the Bradbury story. 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 [[meteoroid|shooting star]] or a distant aeroplane.<!-- "aeroplane" should be used here because it is the UK spelling --><ref name="Billboard Books">{{cite book |last1=Rosenthal |first1= Elizabeth J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RBN6mKz83kgC |title=His Song The Musical Journey of Elton John |publisher=Billboard Books |year=2001 |page=48 |isbn=978-0823088935 |access-date=5 June 2020 }}</ref>