A_MichaelUK wrote:From mr.barlow:
""wish I Were Born In Beverly Hills" I think was another song originally composed by Taupin with Elton John in mind."
There can't be much truth in that if, as Dick Wagner claimed, it was he and Alice that were the originators of most of the material (musically) on the album. Is there anything about this in the book that Wagner wrote?
Wagner wrote that the music on the album was written by David Foster and himself. He participated in writing 8 of the 10 songs on the album. He also states the first song written for the album was "How You Gonna See Me Now" which he wrote in 20 minutes after being handed the lyrics by Alice and Taupin.
He also states that he considered Bernie Taupin to be the best lyricist in the business next to Dylan and that he was thrilled to learn that he would be writing with him. He also states the affection he had for the songs of Elton John.
I was wrong to state that a few songs may have been written for Elton John. But, after going back and re-reading Wagner's comments, I'm sure that the music of Elton influenced his writing on those songs, especially since he was writing them with Taupin. I also think it would be quite safe to say that Taupin had a lot of influence over the composition of the music which would have led to the Elton influence in the songs.
I have always thought that "Wish I Were Born in Beverly Hills" could have been a #1 hit for Elton John. The song to me IS an Elton John song. It reeks of Elton John. But....that's my opinion
The same goes for "Jackknife Johhny". That's a quintessential Bernie Taupin/Elton John "story" song. But again...just my opinion.
I also think that Taupin introduced Alice to Davey Johnstone and Dee Murray and had them play on the album which even further added to the Elton influence on the album.
I think it was around this time that Alice was neighbors with Elton John too. I'm not too sure but maybe someone can confirm this.
I've always called FTI Alice Cooper's Elton John album.