Do You Think Bernie Taupin Should Receive More Praise Than He Does

Do you think Paul McCartney was a better songwriter with John Lennon, or on his own?

There is a misunderstanding about the Lennon-McCartney partnership that persists to this day among some commentators. They were not a conventional songwriting partnership like Rogers and Hammerstein for example (or more recently, Elton John and Bernie Taupin), with one supplying the lyric, the other the tune. They wrote separately and collaborated in finishing off their songsPaul wrote a few songs ‘with’ John Lennon - legend has it that they came up with alternate lines for ‘She Loves You’ - but generally speaking they each wrote their own songs and ‘tried them out’ on the other, who might suggest a different line here or there or perhap a chord change or a twist to the melody.Some of their songs were hybrids: for example, the middle section of ‘A Day in the Life’ (‘woke up, fell out of bed’) was composed by Paul, the rest by John.So really, after the partnership split, Paul went on writing songs just as he had done all along. Some songs - though I can’t really think of one off-hand - might have been slightly different if John had had some input, but I doubt if anybody would have noticed.

Why are poets less successful than writers?

It is a sad fact (sad may be the wrong word) that most people can write.This leads to 'authors' like Martina Cole being in the best seller list, even though she can hardly string a sentence together (and I make no apologies to her fans....because you are reading her drivel!).Poetry is at the higher end of the literary art form... and unfortunately some poets take it upon themselves to write a complicated, elitist form of the art.Most brightly of all burned the hair of my evening loved one:to her I send the coffin of lightest wood.Waves billow round it as round the bed of our dream in Rome;it wears a white wig as I do and speaks hoarsely:it talks as I do when I grant admittance to hearts.It knows a French song about love, I sang it in autumnwhen I stopped as a tourist in Lateland and wrote my lettersto morning.A fine boat is that coffin carved in the coppice of feelings.I too drift in it downbloodstream, younger still than your eye.Now you are young as a bird dropped dead in March snow,now it comes to you, sings you its love song from France.You are light: you will sleep through my spring till it's over.I am lighter:in front of strangers I sing.Poet: Paul Celan,now without extensive study, the above poem is hard to understand....the average reader looks at it, and gives up.But poetry is fantastic, a good poet will weave a whole story into as few words as possible....it IS an art form.    There are Christians, there are humanists.More than one's a Jew.One fella sings a name for God(I think he calls her Hugh). Republicans and democrats,Maybe a commie or two:In politics, like everything elseWe make a varied stew. Some of us write poems that rhymeSome write verse that's blank.No one requires us to write as we doWe have only ourselves to blame or to thank. Mostly we will tolerateEach other's views, each other's rhyme.But woe unto the readerWho takes up too much time....I was in heavenPoet: Rich Accetta-EvansThe second poem is accessible to everyone, as is most poetry.But because of the elitism of poetry, people give up on it before they even try it....so it leads to some brilliant poets being generally unrecognised, and some really BAD writers (yes, Ms Cole...Yes Ms Meyer), becoming sucessful.

How much do songwriters earn when they sell a song to a top artist like Rihanna or Shakira?

It depends. Songwriters get mechanical rights, which means that anyone singing their song has to pay a percentage of the sales. More often than not songwriters are signed to a publishing company who will take a percentage of this fee for representing them. The rules vary from country to country, but in most countries writers also get paid for radio, television and public performances of their works.Things that complicate the arrangement are that some artists that you have “"heard” of, insist on a co-write credit for putting a song on their “Gazillion” selling album, of course most writers are realistic enough to understand that half their royalty is still an enormous amount of money.two things I would mention, firstly I watched a documentary on the highest earning songs of all time and they talked about something like White Christmas making about £5,000,000 being the highest of all time. This is absolutely rubbish, its many times that and will still pay out to Irving Berlins relatives for a good number of years until the 75th anniversary of his death. Secondly I've got a couple of close friends that have had songs on albums that sold around a million copies and the royalties on those sales were around £120,000 per song.Many of the richest people in the music business are people you’ve never really heard of or would not recognise simply because they are writers and not performers. It is this reason as to why so many bands split a few years in. Often the songs are written by one member and as such he makes a whole more money than the others leading to resentment Spandau Ballet was an example of that, but they buried the hatchet as their is a lot of money to be made from nostalgia shows these days. Smart songwriter members, often offer a part stake in songs to keep the other members involved so the bands stick together.

How do singers come up with songs?

Hello, I'd love to say, over time you'll develop that skill on your own, but you won't, well, it's possible but unlikely. So let me give you some tips and tricks I followed earlier on in my musical career:1. Work on rhythm,A song is nothing without a rhythm and hence work on that first, There are plenty of lessons dealing with this matter, do a search to the right for the keywords. Also practicing with metronome is essential, starting at very low tempos and then increase the tempo. Back in the old day's I was also playing a lot to records along with my favourite artists. A good idea today might be to always practice to some kind of rhythm, eg. a drum pattern or metronome, if you can't play any instrument even at a basic level try clapping to the rhythm and singing with your lyrics to the beat.2. Sing it, a lot.When you are done with the lyrics and beat, keep singing it to yourself, at a medium- loud voice. This way your ears get used to it and it's easier to make improvements and adjustments.3. Work as a groupIf you can't play an instrument, your best bet is to get someone who can. That way not only do you get an instrument player, you get additional perspective.4. Learn Tablature or better yet, learn to read music.This way you'll be able to identify when a note is supposed to hit(rhythm), learn what note goes after the previous one(this is quite complicated to explain, but you'll know after you learn it yourself), it's possible to compliment one type of tone with another, adding this to your lyric will produce a 4x improvement compared to just the lyric and singular, linear tone. [Please excuse the vague explanation]5. Next time, try working on the music firstWhen you are able to put words to music its much easier. I've been writing lyrics for over 5 years, but only in the past 2 have I been able to put words to music. Trust me its much easier this way, and even makes it more efficient in a commercial setup, many bands do this- Simply because, if you get stuck on the words of a song, you can get some new beats or riffs out then go back to the previous one.Hope I helped.p.s. This maybe just me but if I have to write some music, I avoid listening to other, already produced music, other than the stuff I am working on, this helps me have a clear head.

Why do people constantly criticize Madonna for continuing to make music? Why do people say she should retire yet nobody tells Elton John to retire?

Because she's a woman whose always created controversy. Back in the 80s, she was the ultimate sex icon with the cone bra and having ‘Like a Virgin' banned by the Catholic church because the song was about losing her virginity. She embodies the female psyche that women are uncomfortable with, men love and society loathes.I don't know your age, but in the early 2000s, she created quite a stir when she mouth-kissed Britney Spears.Elton John is a gay man. He's also British. The Brits don't tend to create a stir the way Americans do. As far as I know, since his stardom was WAY before I came around, he hasn't performed any songs that cause controversy or dress in a manner deemed ‘inappropriate.’As far as I know, they're both around the same age. It's also somewhat unheard of for a woman her age to keep performing. But look at The Rolling Stones. They're in their 80s and nobody is telling THEM to retire.I honestly believe in Madonna's case, it's because she's a controversial woman who does what SHE wants and; in a society that is ridiculously offended by anything regarding sex and speaking your mind, she's ALWAYS been a target. Especially when her soft-core porn book called ‘Sex' came out. I didn't even know this book existed until I came across it at a retail job. There were provocative pics of naked her and naked black men in sexually compromising positions.