Rocket Man The Life of Elton John
By Mark Bego
Sorry might be the hardest word but I am sorry. I am sorry that this book exists. Well, that wasn’t so hard. I am sorry I wasted time reading this book when I just recently finished “ME!” by the man himself.
You could skip Mark Bego’s look at Elton John and go straight to the horse's mouth. That would be a gold and diamond tiara-wearing horse with a majestic flowing bedazzled cape and a pair of rhinestone-studded glasses—yes that horse’s mouth.
I don’t want to give you the impression that this is a bad book because it’s not. The problem with Mark Bego’s book is timing as much as anything else. Timing has killed a lot of things in general but it happens in rock and roll too. Both with musicians and writers. In this case, it was a case of horrible timing by the writer.
Sir Elton was the one who caused this issue for Mr. Bego. Had the autobiography “ME!” Not been released a mere 2 months prior to the release of “Rocket Man”. What’s a poor writer to do? Keep on writing man, keep on writing. I haven’t read anything else by Mr. Bego but he is good. The book is well written.
Given the name of the book, one has to wonder if someone was aware of “ME!” and, of course, they knew of the movie “Rocket Man” and figured they could just fall in line with the naming convention and have a hit on their hands. If things were that calculated, and they often are, then they failed. The writer or publisher, or whoever, failed when they released just barely 2 months after an autobiography.
Why would they do that? They just wanted to glom onto the movie of the same name, which they had no part in. If the movie is a hit then the public might get confused and buy the book thinking it was related to the movie.
I gotta say that the unpaid intern usually assigned to grab pictures for biographies did a fine job. Either she actually knew who Elton John was or she actually bothered to find out before she grabbed the pics. There were some fun pictures and a few that might be new to your eyes. So good work on the photos. But photos do not a biography make.
The book is just fine. There was a good bit of chat about Elton’s habitual homosexual hobby. Turns out it was more than a hobby or a lifestyle it was just Elton. Bego just seems a little caught up in it all, almost as though it’s important to him in some way. Get over it already. Sheesh! Is it all that important? Of course not but it is who Elton is so it does need to be discussed.
There is a detailed discography, which is great. It lists the release dates of albums and singles and their chart positions both in the US and the UK. I didn’t check the dates to see if everything was correct. Often in lists like these, there are errors. But the list was fun to read and if the dates and numbers are correct then all is great!
Given that “ME!” by Elton John was released just 2 months before this one, yes that 2 months period really bothers me, there seems to be no real reason to read this. If you have read the book “ME!” you’ll know that Elton John isn’t shy about his life and times.
So where does this leave “Rocket Man The Life of Elton John”? Well, I am SORRY (it’s really not the hardest word) to say that you really have no reason to buy let alone read it. That 2-month period between “ME!” and “Rocket Man” has removed any reason for you to buy it.
I do try to read books in a vacuum but it’s truly hard when Elton John has released “ME!”. So pass on it unless you are an Elton John collector who just must have everything with the man’s name on it. Then ok, sure. “Rocket Man The Life of Elton John” would look good on your shelf amongst your other books and collectibles.
Just go out and find a copy of “ME!” by Sir Elton and you’ll be happier. Otherwise, this is just a perfectly passable passel of papers.
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