Bernie Taupin questions whether he's being honored by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the ‘Musical Excellence Award’ because of what Elton John, his songwriting partner, did when he was inducted in 1994.
Bernie recalls that evening. He said, "One of the beautiful things of the evening was that he brought me up on the stage and actually gave me his award and said, 'You deserve this more than me,' which was probably a little over the top and probably didn't go down to well with certain aspects of the committee. So I think in many ways, you know, there were certain elements that thought, 'Well, he's got one, so he doesn't need another one in his name.' So I don't know if that contributed to any push back over the years, but obviously he's got his own now and it's nice to get one with your own name on it." [Courtesy of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame]
Bernie's wife Heather said he still has the trophy, which is on the bookcase in his sitting room. She said, "I’m pretty sure [the one we have] will stand proudly next to Bernie’s new statue arriving this November."
Back in 2011, then Hall chairman Jann Wenner told Bernie that he had another trophy made for Elton.
Bernie also wrote on Instagram, "And they said, 'Welcome to the club.' 2023 is a time to shake a lot of hands and thank several sincere souls who had my back. Being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame may include a modicum of cynicism on some people’s parts, but in the long run gratitude overrides questionability. I’m happy…are you? Hell, I’m going in with Willie Nelson."
The 38th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on November 3rd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]