Elton John answered a series of celebrity questions compiled by The Guardian, and Bob Dylan decided to ask about songwriting.
Dylan's question was, "In the song 'Tiny Dancer,' did you work your way up to the cathartic chorus gradually, spontaneously, or did you have it thought out from the start?" Elton responded, "This is a very good question. 'Tiny Dancer' has a really long lyric, a very cinematic, California-in-the-early-'70s lyric, so it had two verses and a middle eight before it even gets to the chorus, and it lent itself to a long buildup. The middle eight sets it up well, then it slows down for a moment -- 'when I say softly, slowly…' That line suggested a big chorus. I don’t remember much about writing it, but I do remember trying to make it sound as Californian as possible."
Elton also responded to questions from Ed Sheeran, Eminem(involving a special sex ring), Billie Jean King, Sam Smith,Lenny Kravitz and more. Read the whole interview at The Guardianwebsite. His memoir,Me, publishes tomorrow.