At the height of America’s manned missions to the moon in 1971, Bernie Taupin and EltonJohn wrote a song about the imagined drudgery and loneliness of space travel.

After “Rocket Man” was released in April 1972, the single reached No. 6 on Billboard’s pop chart. Recently, Mr. Taupin sat down in Los Angeles to talk about the song’s evolution—and President Donald Trump’s use of his song title to deride North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

Two new albums of songs by Messrs. Taupin and John interpreted by country and pop artists will be released Friday: “Restoration” (UMe/Nashville), executive-produced by Mr. Taupin, and “Revamp” (Island). Edited from an interview.

Bernie Taupin: In mid-1971, I was in England driving north to visit my parents in Lincolnshire. I had moved to the States a year earlier and hadn’t been home in a while.

After exiting the M-1 motorway, I had to take back roads to my parents’ village. By then, the sun had set and it was pitch black. I remember the stars were out.