Bernie Taupin, the prolific and successful lyricist who’s a storied collaborator with Sir Elton John, will receive the Outstanding Career Achievement Award during the 15th Annual Hollywood Music in Media Awards™ (HMMA) to be held on November 20 at The Avalon in Hollywood. The Hollywood Music in Media Awards honor composers, songwriters, and music supervisors around the world for their contributions over the previous year in music for film, TV, video games, and more.
Submissions for all HMMA categories are open through October 31, 2024.
During his illustrious career spanning more than five decades, Taupin co-wrote the vast majority of Elton John’s songs, including a multitude of global chart hits that became pop-rock masterpieces, such as “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Bennie & the Jets,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Your Song,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting’,” and “Crocodile Rock,” to name a few. Beyond his voluminous work with John, Taupin’s has written for and with other artists including Heart (“These Dreams”) and Starship (“We Built This City”), among others. Most recently, Taupin cowrote (with Elton John, Brandi Carlile, and Andrew Watt) the original song “Never Too Late” for the new Disney+ documentary Elton John: Never Too Late. The song is performed by Sir John and Brandi Carlile.
Among his host of accolades, Taupin was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992. Earlier this year, Taupin and John received the Library of Congress’s Gershwin Prize, as well as an Ivor Novello for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. The duo was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence Award category in 2023. In 2020, they received both an Oscar for Best Original Song and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song (Motion Picture) for co-writing “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from Elton John’s biopic Rocketman. Additionally, Taupin’s song “A Love That Will Never Grow Old” sung by Emmylou Harris for the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song (Motion Picture).
Past HMMA Career Achievement Award recipients include Marc Shaiman, Kenny Loggins, Smokey Robinson, Diane Warren, Earth Wind & Fire, Glen Campbell, Dave Mason, John Debney, and Christopher Young. Past HMMA winners who went on to win Oscars include Billie Eilish and FINNEAS for Barbie and No Time To Die, Hans Zimmer for Dune, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste for Soul, Hildur Guðnadóttir for Joker, Ludwig Göransson for Black Panther, Alexandre Desplat for The Shape of Water, songs from Judas & The Black Messiah, and Justin Hurwitz for La La Land. The HMMA voting academy consists of select journalists and Oscar, Grammy, Golden Globe, and Emmy voters.
The Hollywood Music in Media Awards is the premier awards organization honoring original music (Song and Score) in all visual media from around the world including film, TV, video games, trailers, commercial advertisements, documentaries and special programs. It is considered the bellwether for upcoming nominations, and award winners from the Golden Globes, Academy Awards, Grammys, and Emmys held months later. The annual HMMA ceremonies feature music performances, celebrity presenters, tributes to music industry icons, and awards presentations to composers, songwriters, and artists.
