Candle in the Wind

This article is about the original tribute to Marilyn Monroe. For the later tribute to Princess Diana, see Candle in the Wind 1997. For other uses, see Candle in the Wind (disambiguation).

1974 single by Elton John

\"Candle in the Wind\"

Cover of the 1986 live version

Single by Elton John from the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road B-side

\"Bennie and the Jets\"

Released

22 February 1974 (1974-02-22)

Recorded

May 1973
Château d\'Hérouville (Hérouville, France)
mixed at Trident Studios (London, UK)

Genre

Pop rock · soft rock

Length

3:50

Label

MCA, DJM

Songwriter(s)

Elton John
Bernie Taupin

Producer(s)

Gus Dudgeon

Elton John singles chronology

\"Bennie and the Jets\"
(1974)

\"Candle in the Wind\"
(1974)

\"Don\'t Let the Sun Go Down on Me\"
(1974)

\"Candle in the Wind\" is a threnody written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally written in 1973, in honour of Marilyn Monroe, who had died 11 years earlier.

In 1997, John performed a rewritten version of the song, \"Candle in the Wind 1997\", as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine listed the original version of the song at No. 347 of its 500 greatest songs of all time.

Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI)

Gold

400,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

1986 live version

On 14 December 1986, a live version of the song was recorded in Sydney, Australia. This version features only Elton John backing himself on the piano, and atmospheric keyboard textures and bass pedals, which were played by John via MIDI and keyboardist Fred Mandel. It was released in 1987 on the album Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and as a single.

In 1988, it reached number five on the UK Singles Chart and number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 making a return for John to chart inside the Top 40 in both countries after \"Heartache All Over the World\" and \"Slow Rivers\", two of his singles from his 20th album in 1986, Leather Jackets failed to reach the top 40 in either country.

Despite problems with his vocal cords at the time, the performance also earned John a Grammy nomination in 1988 for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result

1988
\"Candle in the Wind (live 1986)\"
Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male
Nominated

Personnel

Elton John: Lead vocals, Piano
Fred Mandel: Keyboards

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1987–1988) Peak
position Australia (Kent Music Report)

92

Canada Top Singles (RPM)

5

Germany (Official German Charts)

55

Ireland (IRMA)

4

UK Singles (OCC)

5

US Billboard Hot 100

6

US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)

2

Year-end charts

Chart (1988) Position US Billboard Hot 100

71

1997 version

Main article: Candle in the Wind 1997

\"Candle in the Wind 1997\" or \"Goodbye England\'s Rose\" was a new recording of \"Candle in the Wind\", with new lyrics, written and recorded as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales who had died in an auto crash in August, 1997. Released in September 1997, the song peaked at No. 1 in the United Kingdom, becoming John\'s fourth No. 1 single. It also peaked at No. 1 in several other countries. This version was produced by George Martin. Guinness World Records lists this version as the second-best selling single in the world, with 33 million copies sold and as the highest-selling single since charts began in the 1950s.

2003 acoustic remix

Using the same vocal take as the original 1973 recording, engineer Greg Penny stripped away all instrumentation except Davey Johnstone\'s acoustic guitar. Even the double-tracking of the lead vocal was removed, leaving Elton and the original backing vocal arrangement of Dee Murray, Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone. The remix first appeared as a bonus track on the 30th Anniversary edition of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and subsequently on the 2003 EP Remixed.

Live performances

From its release until in 1984, John heavily performed this song with his band. From 1985 onwards, John played it solo mostly at the encore of his concerts and he rarely played this song with the band since then.

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