Candle in the Wind

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"Candle in the Wind"
Single by Elton John
from the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
B-side "Bennie and the Jets"
Released22 February 1974 (1974-02-22)
RecordedMay 1973
Genre Pop rock · soft rock
Length3:50
Label MCA, DJM
Songwriter(s)
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)
Audio
"Candle in the Wind" (1973) by Elton John on YouTube
YearNominee / workAwardResult
1988"Candle in the Wind (live 1986)" Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male [12] Nominated

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1987–1988)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [14] 92
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [15] 5
Germany (GfK) [16] 55
Ireland (IRMA) [8] 4
UK Singles (OCC) [17] 5
US Billboard Hot 100 [18] 6
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [19] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1988)Position
US Billboard Hot 100 [20] [21] 71

1997 version

"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 on 31 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 [22] 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. [23] 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. [23]

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References

  1. ↑ Ben Brantley (11 October 2004). "Some Like It Hot, Some Like It Painted in Words". The New York Times . Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  2. ↑ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone . 9 December 2004. Archived from the original on 22 June 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Behind the Song: Elton John, "Candle in the Wind"". September 2020.
  4. ↑ "Elton John- the Making of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Part 4". YouTube . 15 November 2011.
  5. ↑ "Elton John & Bernie Taupin on 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'". Rolling Stone . 14 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Candle in the Wind ranked 356th greatest song". Rolling Stone . 11 December 2003. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  7. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. pp. 158–159. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  8. 1 2 "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Candle in the Wind". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  9. ↑ "flavour of new zealand – search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  11. ↑ "British single certifications – Elton John – Candle in the Wind". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  12. ↑ "Grammy Awards: Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male". rockonthenet.com. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  13. ↑ "About". Fred Mandel Music. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  14. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. pp. 158–159. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  15. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0932." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "Elton John – Candle in the Wind" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  17. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  18. ↑ "Elton John Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  19. ↑ "Elton John Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  20. ↑ "1988 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 52. 24 December 1988. p. Y-20.
  21. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 1988" . Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  22. ↑ "Best-selling single". Guinness World Records . Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  23. 1 2 "Candle in the Wind by Elton John Song Statistics | setlist.fm". www.setlist.fm. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
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