Ray Williams, a 20-year-old executive at Liberty Records, introduced Elton John to Bernie Taupin. On June 17, 1967, he placed an ad in the New Musical Express seeking artists, composers, singers, and musicians to form a new group. He encouraged John to record a demo, but his record label was not interested in signing him. Ray then provided Elton with some lyrics written by Bernie Taupin and arranged a meeting between them, resulting in a lifelong career partnership. Williams managed Elton John for five albums before being replaced by John Reid. After the 1990s, they hardly saw each other for years. In 2011, Elton told Rolling Stone that he was…