Handwritten lyrics to some of Elton John’s biggest hits to be auctioned

Elton John fans will be able to snap up a piece of songwriting history when a rare collection of original handwritten lyrics goes on sale at Bonhams next month.

The London-based auction house is selling a collection of six song lyrics handwritten for John by Bernie Taupin, the lyricist behind most of his greatest hits.

Singer Elton John performs in 1973.

John appears in one of his first publicity photos in 1968. The singer had officially changed his name to Elton John a year earlier after being born as Reginald Kenneth Dwight in Pinner, England, in 1947. The name was inspired by members of his early band, Bluesology, whose saxophone player was Elton Dean and lead singer was Long John Baldry.

Elton John plays the piano in 1970, the year he launched his first world tour.

John appears in a 1973 documentary that detailed the production of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." Hit songs from that album included "Candle in the Wind," "Bennie and the Jets," "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" and the title track.

John and his songwriting collaborator, Bernie Taupin, hold gold records in 1973. Taupin has written the lyrics for many of John's songs over his career, and the two have worked together for decades.

John and singer Rod Stewart have a bath at the stadium of Watford Football Club in 1973. John, a lifelong Watford fan, later owned the English soccer club. Today, one of the stadium's stands is named after him.

John is overwhelmed by multiple shots on goal while playing around at Watford's stadium in 1974.

John gives a typical energetic performance in 1974. Some of the other hit songs he had by this time: "Tiny Dancer," "Levon," "Crocodile Rock" and "Rocket Man."

John appears on stage with John Lennon at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1974.

John plays the Pinball Wizard in the 1975 film "Tommy," which is based on The Who's album of the same name.

John reads some fan mail circa 1975.

John poses for a portrait circa 1975.

John performs at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in 1975. During his career, he has been nominated for 34 Grammy Awards and won five times. He also has an Academy Award and a Tony Award.

John tips his hat after having a star dedicated to him on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1975.

John poses for a photo with Cher and Diana Ross in the mid-1970s.

John performs at Earl's Court, a popular arena in London, in the late 1970s.

John appears on "The Muppet Show" in 1978. He performed four of his songs on the episode.

John waves from his car in 1978.

Fans watch John embrace singer and friend Kiki Dee in 1978. The two had a No. 1 hit, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," in 1976.

John stands in the bedroom of his home in Old Windsor, England, in 1978.

John poses with his mother and stepfather while touring the Kremlin in Moscow in 1979. He was the first rock or pop star from the West to perform in the Soviet Union.

John stands in Tiananmen Square while touring Beijing in 1983.

John married German recording engineer Renate Blauel in 1984. They divorced in 1988. and John told Rolling Stone magazine that year he was "comfortable" being gay. He told the magazine in 1976 that he was bisexual.

John performs in 1986.

John stands by the bed of AIDS patient Ryan White at a Florida hospital in 1990. Two years later, the singer established the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

John, far left, sits at a table with other celebrities, including actress Kate Capshaw, singer Bruce Springsteen, actor Tom Hanks and director Steven Spielberg, at one of his foundation's parties in 1994. The party was held after the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

From left, Billy Joel, John and Sting perform at a benefit concert for the Rainforest Foundation in 1995. Joel and John toured together often during their careers.

John sings "Candle in the Wind" at Princess Diana's funeral in 1997. The tribute became one of the best-selling singles of all time. Proceeds were donated to charity.

John and rapper Eminem performed Eminem's "Stan" at the Grammy Awards in 2001.

John gives his final performance of "The Red Piano" in 2009. The show had been held in Las Vegas since 2004. In 2011, John started another Las Vegas residency, "The Million Dollar Piano."

John holds his son Zachary Jackson Levon in 2011. John and his longtime partner, David Furnish, had the baby through a surrogate. They later welcomed a second son to their family, Elijah Joseph Daniel.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II shakes hands with John at her Diamond Jubilee Concert in 2012. In 1998, the Queen knighted John for his music and charity work.

John performs at the Diamond Jubilee Concert.

John performs with Ed Sheeran at the 2013 Grammy Awards. They teamed up for Sheeran's song "The A Team."

John and Furnish kiss at the Human Rights Campaign's National Dinner in 2014. They married in December of that year.

John meets with US Secretary of State John Kerry in 2014. The two talked about John's foundation as well as PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

John, Furnish and their two boys pose for a photo in 2015.

John joins talk-show host James Corden for a a little "carpool karaoke" in 2016.

John attends Vanity Fair's Oscars party in February 2017.

John performs in Victoria, British Columbia, in March 2017.

John and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive to speak to a crowd in Paris in June 2019. John was being honored with France's highest civilian award.

John makes a surprise curtain call appearance in Sydney as he visits the cast of "Billy Elliot: The Musical" in November 2019. John did the music for the production.

John and Taupin hold the Oscars they won for best original song in 2020. They won for "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from the John biopic "Rocketman."

John performs in January 2022 during his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.

US President Joe Biden, joined by first lady Jill Biden, presents John with the National Humanities Medal after a concert on the South Lawn of the White House in September 2022. The medal, according to the presentation, was to honor John "for moving our souls with his powerful voice and one of the defining song books of all time. An enduring icon and advocate with absolute courage, who found purpose to challenge convention, shatter stigma and advance the simple truth — that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect."

Fans watch Elton John perform on stage during the Glastonbury Festival in Glastonbury, England on June 25. The artist has said this will be his last ever live show in the UK.

The legendary Elton John

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The collection comprises original handwritten lyrics for “Your Song,” “Bennie and the Jets,” “Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road,” “Candle in the Wind,” “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” and “The Border Song,” which features rare annotations by Elton John.

Bonhams said the collection reveals Taupin’s “careful wordcraft and his famously inconsistent spelling.”

Fans will need to dig deep to buy the memorabilia when it comes up for sale in Los Angeles on December 9, however – individual items have estimates of between $30,000 and $250,000.

Elton John and Bernie Taupin attend the photocall for "Rocketman" during the 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2019.

The lyrics are being sold from the collection of Bernie Taupin’s ex-wife, Maxine Taupin – who was the inspiration for the song “Tiny Dancer” and was privy to her former husband’s creative writing process, Bonhams said.

“When Bernie had completed an album’s worth of lyrics, we would pay Elton a visit,” she said.

“I was always amazed how prolific they were. When I heard the finished songs, I was instantly transported to that magical place these two creative forces have been taking us all for so many years.”