Elton John – Rocket Man (Piano solo) with sheet music
Excerpt from the book: “Me, Elton John (autobiography)” (also available in the Library)
When the farewell tour was announced, a number of journalists had written pieces suggesting that there was absolutely no way I would really retire. They supported this argument with extensive knowledge of my history and impressive psychological insights into my character: tried to
retire before, addictive personality, born entertainer, music obsessive.
They could have supported it even more strongly by repeating what I’d said at the press conference, which was that I had no intention whatsoever of actually retiring from music, or even live performances. All I said was that I wasn’t going to schlep around the world anymore: one last huge tour – 300 gigs over three years, covering North and South America Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australasia, the kids getting a tutor and coming with us – and that’s that.
It isn’t the end. I was excited by the fact that stopping touring would give me more time to do different things. I want to write more musicals and more film scores. I want to spend time working with the AIDS Foundation, especially in Africa. I want to stand up for the LGBTQ community there, to try and talk to politicians in Uganda or Kenya or Nigeria and do something to change the way people are treated. I want to
collaborate with different artists.
I want to stage a huge exhibition, covering my whole career, maybe even think about opening a permanent museum, so people can see some of my
art and photography collections. I want to spend more time making albums, and to make them in the way I used to at the start of my solo career: get Bernie to spend time writing a lot of lyrics and develop a stockpile of material.
I haven’t gone into the studio with a big hoard of songs to choose from since Madman Across the Water, forty-eight years ago – I’ve just turned up and written on the spot, like the musical version of a painter with a blank canvas.
I want to go back to writing without recording what I’m doing, the same way we made Captain Fantastic, memorizing what I come up with as I go along. I want to play live, but much smaller shows, where I can concentrate on playing different material.
If there’s a problem with writing songs like ‘I’m Still Standing’, or ‘Rocket Man’, or ‘Your Song’ it’s that they become so huge; they develop a life of their own and overwhelm everything else you do. I love those songs to death, but I’ve written other songs I think are as good as them, that exist in their shadow, and I’d like to give those other songs a moment in the spotlight.
But most of all, I want to spend time being … well, normal, or as normal as I can ever hope to be. Less time on the road means more time doing the school run, more Saturday afternoons taking the kids to Pizza Express, or round Daniel’s, the department store in Windsor – things the boys enjoy,
I live and have lived an extraordinary life, and I honestly wouldn’t change it, even the parts I regret, because I’m incredibly happy with how it has turned out. I obviously wish I’d just kept walking when I saw John Reid chopping out coke in the studio, rather than sticking my nose in – in every sense of the phrase – but then, maybe I had to go through all that to
end up where I am now. It’s not where I expected to be at all – married to a man, a father of two, both things that seemed impossible to me not that long ago.
But that’s the other lesson my ridiculous life has taught me. From the moment I was ushered out of a failed audition and handed an envelope of
Bernie’s lyrics as I got to the door, nothing has ever really turned out how I thought it would. My history is full of what ifs, weird little moments that hanged everything.
What if I’d been so upset by failing my audition that I’d dumped Bernie’s envelope in a bin on the way to the station? What if I’d stood firm and not gone to America when Dick James told me I should? What if Watford had beaten West Bromwich Albion that Saturday afternoon in the early nineties and lifted my spirits, so that I didn’t feel the need to call a friend and beg him to bring some gay men to dinner?
What if I hadn’t noticed Lev at the orphanage in Ukraine? Where would I be now? Who would I be now? You can send yourself crazy wondering. But it all happened, and here I am. There’s really no point in asking what if? The only question worth asking is: what’s next?
Browse in the Library:
Artist or Composer / Score name | Cover | List of Contents |
---|---|---|
Waltz – Noce i Dnie OST (Nights and days) | ||
Waltz For Debby Bill Evans (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Waltz For Debby – Bill Evans (Complete) (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Waltz For Debby – Bill Evans (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Waltz From The Balet ‘coppelia’ (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Waltz In A Minor F. Chopin (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Waltz In E Minor Op. 39 No. 4 – Johannes Brahms (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Ward-Jackson’s Gymnastics For The Fingers And Wrist – based On Anatomical Principles (By Edwin Ward-Jackson) 1874 | ||
Watermark (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Watermelon Man (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Waters of Irrawaddy (Hans Zimmer) from the movie Beyond Rangoon | ||
Wave – Vou Te Contar Jobim (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Wayne Shorter – Ana Maria | ||
Wayne Shorter Artist Transcriptions The New Best of | Wayne Shorter Artist Transcriptions The New Best of | |
Wayward Sisters – Nocturnal Animals OST (Abel Korzeniowski) | ||
We are the champions (Queen) | ||
We Are The World Songbook | we are the world | |
We Shall Overcome Essays on a Great American Song (Book) by Victor B.Bobetsky | ||
We Wish You A Merry Christmas | ||
We Wish You A Merry Christmas – Anonymous (Guitar arr. sheet music with TABs) | We Wish You A Merry Christmas – Anonymous (Guitar arr. sheet music with TABs) | |
We Wish You A Merry Christmas – Guitar TABlature | ||
We Wish You A Merry Christmas (piano solo sheet music) | ||
We Wish You A Merry Christmas Trad. English Christmas carol | ||
We Wish You A Merry Christmas Trad. English Christmas carol.mscz | ||
Weather Report – A Remark You Made (Guitar TABS) | Weather Report – A Remark You Made (Guitar TABS) | |
Weather Report – The best of Weather Report (Full score) | Weather Report – The best of Weather Report (Full score) | |
Weather Report Best Of Weather Report Band Score Book | Best Of Weather Report Us Book | |
Weber – Der Freischütz (Ouvertüre) Piano Solo arr | ||
Weber – Der Freischütz (Ouvertüre) Piano Solo arr.mscz | ||
Weber – Der Freischutz Overture piano solo arr. | ||
Weber op 65 Invitation to the Dance (Invitation to the Waltz) | ||
Weber’s Last Thought – C.M. von Weber | ||
Wedding Collection for Piano Solo | Wedding Collection for Piano Solo | |
Wednesday Morning 3 A M – Simon & Garfunkel (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Weight Of The World – Nier Automata Piano Collections (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Weissenberg En Avril A Paris (April In Paris) Charles Trenet | ||
Well Tempered Praise – Mark Hayes piano | Well Tempered Praise – Mark Hayes piano | |
Well Tempered Praise II by Mark Hayes | Well Tempered Praise II by Mark Hayes | |
Well Tempered Praise III – Mark Hayes piano | Well Tempered Praise III – Mark Hayes piano | |
Well Tempered Praise Vol 4 Gospel Classics by Mark Hayes | Well Tempered Praise Vol 4 Gospel Classics by Mark Hayes | |
Well-Known Piano Solos – How To Play Them (By Charles W Wilkinson) (1915) | ||
Wes Montgomery Wine And Roses By Henry Mancini Solo Guitar | ||
Wes Montgomery – Unit 7 Solo Transcription | Wes Montgomery – Unit 7 Solo Transcription | |
Wes Montgomery – Artist Transcriptions for guitar by fred Sokolow | Wes Montgomery – Artist Transcriptions for guitar by fred Sokolow | |
Wes Montgomery – Au Privave transcription | ||
Wes Montgomery – Days of wine and roses transcription | ||
Wes Montgomery – Take The A Train transcription | ||
Wes Montgomery Essential Jazz Lines (Mel Bay) | Wes Montgomery Essential Jazz Lines (Mel Bay) | |
Wes Montgomery Jazz Guitar Artistry arr. by Zafar Soood with TABs | Wes Montgomery Jazz Guitar Artistry arr. by Zafar Soood | |
Wes Montgomery Jazz No Blues Guitar | ||
Wes Montgomery The Early Years (Mel Bay) Jazz Guitar Solos Tablature | Wes Montgomery The Early Years (Mel Bay) Jazz Guitar Solos Tablature | |
Wes Montgomery The End Of A Love Affair Guitar Tabs | ||
West Side Story – Somewhere (Voice and Piano) Leonard Bernstein | West Side Story – Somewhere | |
West Side Story (The Musical) Vocal Score Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim | West Side Story Vocal Score – Leonard Bernstein | |
Westlife – Cant Lose What You Never Had | ||
Westlife – Flying Without Wings | ||
Westlife – If I Let You Go | ||
Westlife – Mandy | ||
Westlife – You Raise Me Up Guitar arr. with TABs | Westlife – You Raise Me Up Guitar arr. with TABs | |
Westlife Unbreakable Greatest Hits | ||
Wet Wet Wet – Love Is All Around | ||
Wexford Carol (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Wham , George Michael And Me By Andrew Ridgeley (Book) | ||
Wham Make It Big Piano Vocal Guitar Chords | Wham Make It Big Piano Vocal Guitar Chords | |
What a Wonderful World – Thiele & Weiss | ||
What a wonderful world – Louis Armstrong.mscz | ||
What A Wonderful World (Lead Sheet With Lyrics ) Musescore File.mscz | ||
What a Wonderful World (lead sheet) – Thiele & Weiss | What a Wonderful World (lead sheet) – Thiele & Weiss | |
What A Wonderful World (Musescore File).mscz | ||
What a wonderfull World (Jazz Standard) Guitar Tablature TABs | What a wonderfull World (Jazz Standard) Guitar Tablature TABs | |
What A Wonderlful World (Lead Sheet) (Musescore File).mscz | ||
What You’re Made Of – Même Si (Lucie Silvas – Grégory Lemarchal | ||
What’s That Sound An Introduction To Rock And Its History By John Covach And Andrew Flory (Book) | ||
When A Man Loves A Woman Calvin Lewis & Andrew Wright | ||
When Almonds Blossomed – Giya Kancheli | When Almonds Blossomed – Giya Kancheli-1 | |
When Almonds Blossomed (Musescore File).mscz | ||
When I Fall In Love – Victor Young (Bill Evans Ver.) (Musescore File).mscz | ||
When I fall in love Bill Evans version | When I fall in love Bill Evans version | |
When I’m Sixty-Four (Beatles) | ||
When Lights Are Low (Benny Carter) As Played By Miles Davis (Musescore File).mscz | ||
When The Saints Go Marchin In – Gospel Traditional Folk song (Piano solo with Lyrics) | When The Saints Go Marchin In – Gospel Traditional Folk song (Piano solo with Lyrics) SAMPLE | |
When The Saints Go Marching In – Fun piano arrangement | When The Saints Go Marching In – Fun piano arrangement | |
When you told me you loved me (Jessica Simpson) | ||
When You Wish Upon A Star (Musescore File).mscz | ||
When You Wish Upon A Star (From The Film Pinocchio) Easy Piano Solo Arr. Sheet Music (Musescore File).mscz | ||
When You Wish Upon A Star (Leigh Harline and Ned Washington) from Pinocchio Jazz Piano Solo arr. sheet music | When You Wish Upon A Star (Leigh Harline and Ned Washington) from Pinocchio Jazz Piano Solo arr. sheet music | |
When You Wish Upon A Star (Solo Piano Arr ) David Dinh | ||
When You’re Gone (Avril Lavigne) | ||
When You’re Smilling (Musescore File).mscz | ||
Where have all the-flowers gone (guitar & voice) | Where-have-all-the-flowers-gone (guitar & voice) | |
While your lips are still red (Nightwish) | ||
Whistling away the dark (Darling Lili OST) Henry Mancini | ||
White Album 2 Ending 3 Sayonara No Koto | ||
White Christmas -Irving Berlin – Piano sheet music | ||
White Christmas Irving Berlin (Musescore File).mscz | ||
White Christmas Medley (Liberace) | ||
White skin like the moon (Jane Eyre 2011 OST) Dario Marianelli | ||
Whitesnake – Here I Go Again | ||
Whitesnake Guitar Collection with TABs | Whitesnake Guitar Collection with TABs | |
Whitesnake Is This Love Piano Vocal Guitar Chords | Whitesnake Is This Love Piano Vocal Guitar Chords | |
Whitney Houston – Jesus Loves Me Sheet Music | ||
Whitney Houston The Best Of | Whitney Houston, The Best Of | |
Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You | ||
Whitney Houston – It’s Easy To Play Whitney Houston | Whitney Houston – It’s Easy To Play Whitney Houston | |
Whitney Houston – Saving All My Love For You | ||
Whitney Houston – The Greatest Hits | Whitney – The Greatest Hits | |
Whitney Houston – The Greatest Love Of All | ||
Whitney Houston I will always love you | Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You | |
Whitney Houston My Love Is Your Love | Whitney Houston My Love Is Your Love | |
Who wants to live forever (Queen) | ||
Whole New World Sheet Music, A – Alan Menken | ||
Why Jazz? A Concise Guide – Kevin Whitehead (book) | ||
Wicked The Musical Sheet Music Full song Book Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz | Wicked the musical contents — Wicked The Musical Sheet Music Full Book | |
Wieck – Piano Studies | ||
Wiklund Adolf Fran Mitt Fonster (From my Window) Piano Solo | ||
Wild – Fantasy On Gershwin’s Porgy And Bess | Wild Fantasy On Gershwin’s Porgy And Bess | |
Wild Gershwin Seven Virtuoso Etudes | Wild Gershwin Seven Virtuoso Etudes | |
Wild, Earl – Gershwin Étude No. 4 based on Embraceable You Piano | Wild, Earl – Gershwin Etude No. 4 based on Embraceable You Piano | |
Wilde Theme (Debbie Wiseman) | ||
Wilhelm Kempff Musik Des Barock Und Rokoko – Nr. 13 Menuett G-Moll G.F. Händel (Musescore File).mscz |