ROCKET MAN

"'Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be a Long, Long Time)'" is a song composed by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and popularized by John. It is loosely based on the short story "The Rocket Man" in Ray Bradbury's book ''The Illustrated Man'', and shares a similar theme to the David Bowie song "Space Oddity". It first appeared on John's 1972 album ''Honky Château'' and became a hit single and popular album track. As Taupin once noted, "It became very popular among the listeners."
The lyrics in the song, written by John's longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin, describe a Mars-bound astronaut's mixed feelings at leaving his family in order to do his job. Musically, the song is a highly arranged pop ballad anchored by John's piano, with atmospheric texture added by synthesizer and processed slide guitar.
It was ranked #242 in the 2004 List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Another "Rocket Man" song (also based on Bradbury's short story) was released by the musical group Pearls Before Swine on their 1970 album ''The Use of Ashes''. In an interview in Billboard magazine, Taupin acknowledged that the original Pearls Before Swine song, written by Tom Rapp, had been a direct inspiration for his own lyrics.

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Performed by other artists

Other media

External links

Performed by other artists

The song has been performed by many others but arguably the most famous performance was in 1978, at a science fiction film awards ceremony, Bernie Taupin personally introduced William Shatner's unique interpretation of ''Rocket Man''. Shatner's version utilized then-modern chromakey video techniques to portray simultaneously three different facets of the ''Rocket Man's character. Videos of this performance circulate on the Internet. It built up a cult following, and was parodied on the U.S. animated series ''Family Guy'', ''Freakazoid'', ''Futurama'', Canadian CGI series ''ReBoot'', as well as in the video for "Where It's At" by Beck.
Ryan Adams praises Elton John as well as this song, performing it many times throughout 2001-2002
Kate Bush released a cover of "Rocket Man" in 1991 as part of the Elton John/Bernie Taupin tribute album, ''Two Rooms''. Her reggae-inflected version reached #11 in the UK.
Jason Mraz sang a cover of "Rocket Man" in 2003, in which he changed the line "Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids" to "Mraz ain't the kind of guy to raise your kids". In 2007 this version won The Observer readers award for Greatest Cover of all time[1]
On an episode of Late Night with David Letterman in 1992, Chris Elliott did a bang-on parody of Shatner's performance, complete with cheesy chroma-key effects.
A cover version by My Morning Jacket appeared in the pilot episode of Californication.

Other media

★ In the 1996 action film ''The Rock'', the song is played early on, and near the climax Nicolas Cage's character asks a Marine if he knows of the song, and states that the Marine is the eponymous "rocket man" before launching a missile into him.

★ The 1997 comedy movie titled ''Rocket Man'' starring Harland Williams was about a goofy guy who goes to explore Mars with some other scientists and a chimpanzee. Elton John's song was played during the closing credits.

★ In the 1998 biopic ''Without Limits'', based on the life of American runner Steve Prefontaine, "Rocket Man" is playing on the car radio at the time of Prefontaine's fatal accident.

★ In the 1998 Black Isle game, ''Fallout 2'', in the gambling city of New Reno, the character Renesco is called to his chagrin "the Rocketman." One of the player's possible responses is "Rocketman, huh? Know the line in that Elton John song, 'Rocketman, burning off the mmmncfnfm there at home?' What's he really saying there?"

★ In the FX show ''Nip/Tuck'', "Rocket Man" was played while Sean McNamara's mistress, Megan O'Hara, commits suicide to cope with her recurring cancer, in season one.

★ In the Thomas Pynchon novel ''Gravity's Rainbow'', Slothrop, the main character, at one point takes on the persona of "Rocketman" by donning a cape and using the tip of a V2 rocket as a helmet. Certain moments of the novel seem to mirror the emotional tone of the song. However, this is a debatable reference as rocketry figures heavily in the novel.

★ It is featured in Episode 303 of ''Six Feet Under'' ("The Eye Inside").

★ It is featured at the end of Episode 3-11 of ''Numb3rs'' ("Killer Chat") when Peter MacNicol's Dr. Larry Fleinhardt is taking off on his Space Shuttle mission.

★ During the first Face to Face tour featuring John and Billy Joel, ads promoted the event as "Rocket Man meets Piano Man".

★ During Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens' tenure with the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros, ''Rocket Man'' was played at Yankee Stadium and Minute Maid Park when Clemens was taken out of a game in the middle of an inning. The song was also played on the Fenway Park organ as Clemens took the mound as a member of the Boston Red Sox, where he first received the nickname "Rocket."

★ The song played during the ending credits of The Astronaut Farmer.

★ The theme song to the 2005 BBC drama "Rocket Man"

★ In the film K-PAX, the song is played at prot's leaving party.

★ In the episode "And the Wiener Is..." of ''Family Guy'', Stewie sings "Rocket Man" (in a manner reminiscent of William Shatner) after telling Meg that she should "Come see me sometime, I know what it takes to be cool."

★ In the "Pilot" episode of Showtime's ''Californication'', a cover version performed by My Morning Jacket it is used as the credits song.

External links

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★ http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/157656 Stephen Hawking Performing Rocket Man