"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Elton John | ||||
from the album The Big Picture | ||||
B-side |
| |||
Released | 8 September 1997 | |||
Recorded | 13 January 1997 [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
| |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | Chris Thomas | |||
Elton John singles chronology | ||||
|
"Something About the Way You Look Tonight"/"Candle in the Wind 1997" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Elton John | ||||
from the album The Big Picture | ||||
A-side | "Candle in the Wind 1997" | |||
B-side | "You Can Make History (Young Again)" | |||
Released | 13 September 1997 | |||
Length |
| |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | Chris Thomas | |||
Elton John singles chronology | ||||
|
"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" is a song by English musician Elton John, taken from his 25th studio album, The Big Picture . It was written by John and Bernie Taupin, and produced by Chris Thomas. It was released as the album's first single on 8 September 1997 by Mercury Records and the Rocket Record Company.
Five days after the song's solo release, it was issued as a double A-side single with "Candle in the Wind 1997". That single and its video were dedicated to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, who died that year, with proceeds from the sale of the single going towards Diana's charities. [2] According to the Recording Industry Association of America, with certified sales, this double A-side is "the best-selling single of all time". [3] [4] The Guinness World Records 2009 states that the song is "the biggest-selling single since UK and US singles charts began in the 1950s, having accumulated worldwide sales of 33 million copies". [5]
The video for the song was directed by Tim Royes and features Elton singing and playing piano to an empty theatre, as well as actors and actresses from the UK television programme This Life , as well as supermodels Kate Moss and Sophie Dahl appearing in a fashion show. Many consider it as one of Elton John's best videos. John has publicly revealed (through his "warts and all" documentary Tantrums and Tiaras ) that he finds videos "fucking loathsome" and after the videos from his album The Big Picture refrained from appearing in his own videos unless they were cameo appearances.
In the UK alone, the double A-side single with "Candle in the Wind 1997" sold over 4,930,000 copies (8× platinum), making the song the best-selling single ever in UK history. [6] It remained for five weeks at the number-one position. In the US, the double A-side single spent 14 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The best-selling single in Billboard history and the only single ever certified diamond in the US, the single sold over 11 million copies in the US. [7] [8]
On the US Adult Contemporary chart however, "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" and "Candle in the Wind 1997" charted separately; while the tribute to Princess Diana peaked at number 2 on this chart, [9] "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" spent 10 weeks at number one in late 1997 into early 1998. This double-sided single holds the record for the fewest weeks in a chart year from a year-end number-one single, with as few as eight. (In 1998, it had 34 more total weeks, however it was number 8 in the year-end list of 1998.)
After this song, John was unable to reach the top spot of the US Adult Contemporary chart for 24 years until his collaboration with Ed Sheeran, titled "Merry Christmas" reached number one for five weeks. [10]
Billboard magazine said the song is a "grandly executed ballad that washes John's larger-than-life performance in cinematic strings and whooping, choir-styled backing vocals. An instant fave for die-hards, this single will bring kids at top 40 to the table after a few spins." [11] Music & Media wrote that "this single proves that Elton John's composing and performing skills are as good as ever. A ballad, boasting a classy string arrangement by Anne Dudley of Art of Noise fame, it's vaguely reminiscent of another John/Taupin composition, 1973's Candle in the Wind, but it's too original to be called a ripoff." [12]
The following chart entries are for "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" as a solo single.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Version | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | Solo release | 26 August 1997 | Contemporary hit radio | Rocket | [31] |
United Kingdom | 8 September 1997 |
|
| [32] | |
Japan | 10 September 1997 | CD | [33] | ||
United Kingdom | Double A-side | 13 September 1997 |
| [34] | |
United States | 23 September 1997 |
| Rocket | [35] |
Greatest Hits is the eleventh official album release for English musician Elton John, and the first compilation. Released on 8 November 1974, it spans the years 1970 to 1974, compiling ten of John's singles, with one track variation for releases in North America and for Europe and Australia. It topped the album chart in both the United States and the United Kingdom, staying at number one for ten consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 and eleven weeks on the UK Albums Chart. In Canada, it was number one for 13 weeks between 14 December 1974, and 22 March 1975, missing only 28 December 1974, at number two to Jim Croce's Photographs & Memories.
"Candle in the Wind 1997", also known as "Goodbye England's Rose" and "Candle in the Wind '97", is a threnody by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, a re-written and re-recorded version of their 1973 song "Candle in the Wind". It was released on 13 September 1997 as a tribute single to Diana, Princess of Wales, with the global proceeds from the song going towards Diana's charities. In many countries, it was pressed as a double A-side with "Something About the Way You Look Tonight". It was produced by Sir George Martin.
"Candle in the Wind" is a threnody style ballad 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.
"Auf Wiedersehen", or "Auf Wiederseh'n, Sweetheart", is a song written by German composer Eberhard Storch around 1950. Storch wrote the song in the hospital for his wife Maria as he was ill for a long time. It was originally sung in German by Rudi Schuricke and released on the 78 rpm record Polydor 48 374 H in 1950.
"Your Song" is a song written by musician Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single.
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King composed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. Released as a single in May 1994, the song was a hit in the UK, peaking at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, and achieved success in the United States, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was a number-one hit in Canada and France. At the 67th Academy Awards in March 1995, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The same year, the song also won John the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Completing a trifecta, the song also won a Golden Globe at the 52nd Golden Globe Awards held in 1995 for Best Song - Motion Picture.
The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by Jam!/Canoe. The chart also appeared in Billboard until March 2006, when Billboard stopped publishing the Canadian Singles Chart in favor of the Canadian Digital Songs Sales Chart. Billboard later introduced their own singles chart for Canada, the Canadian Hot 100, on June 7, 2007.
The singles discography of British singer, songwriter and pianist Elton John consists of 140 official singles as main artist, 22 as a featured artist, as well as 56 other non-single guest appearances, 2 charity singles, and 3 other charted songs.
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" is a duet by English musician Elton John and English singer Kiki Dee, released by The Rocket Record Company on 25 June 1976. It was written by John with Bernie Taupin under the pseudonyms "Ann Orson" and "Carte Blanche", respectively, and intended as an affectionate pastiche of the Motown style, notably the various duets recorded by Marvin Gaye and singers such as Tammi Terrell and Kim Weston. John and Taupin originally intended to record the song with Dusty Springfield, but ultimately withdrew the offer; Springfield's partner Sue Cameron later said this was because she was too ill at the time.
"The Last Song" is a song by English musician Elton John, released as the third single from his 23rd studio album, The One (1992). It was composed by John, with lyrics provided by Bernie Taupin. The song marked the first of John's American singles to benefit his AIDS foundation. It reached No. 7 in Canada and No. 21 in the United Kingdom while peaking within the top 40 in several countries worldwide, including Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States.
"Believe" is a song by English musician Elton John. It was the first single from his twenty-fourth studio album, Made in England (1995), and was released on 20 February 1995 by Rocket. Several versions of the single were released, featuring B-sides such as "Circle of Life" from The Lion King and live versions of tracks including "The One," "The Last Song," "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word," and "Believe," which were recorded at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
"You Gotta Love Someone" is a song by English musician Elton John, written by John along with Bernie Taupin and released as a single from the Days of Thunder soundtrack in October 1990. The single was also used to promote the Rocket Records 2-CD retrospective The Very Best of Elton John, issued largely in overseas markets excluding the United States, where the more expansive box set To Be Continued... was issued.
"Simple Life" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, released in 1993 by Rocket and MCA as the final single from John's twenty-third studio album, The One (1992). The song was John's thirteenth number one on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, spending three weeks at the number-one spot, and reached number thirty on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at number three on Canada's RPM Top Singles chart and topped the RPM Adult Contemporary chart for three weeks. This song's appearance in the US top 40 set a record, as John had achieved a top-forty hit for 24 consecutive years, breaking the old record of 23 years set by Elvis Presley in 1977.
"Recover Your Soul" is a song by English musician Elton John, written by John and Bernie Taupin. It was released in April 1998 by Mercury and Rocket as the second single from John's twenty-fifth studio album, The Big Picture (1997). The song passed a little bit in the shadow of a huge-success single "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" / "Candle in the Wind 1997". John played this song a couple of times in between 1998 and 1999.
"You Can Make History (Young Again)" is a song by English musician Elton John, initially recorded in 1996 and released on the American version of the compilation Love Songs. As the song was recorded after the release of the original European version of the compilation (released in late 1995), it was not included on that version.
"Rocket Man(I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin and performed by John. It was originally released on 17 April 1972 in the US, as the lead single to John's album Honky Château. The song first charted in the UK on 22 April, rising to No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 6 in the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming a major hit single for John.
'Candle In The Wind 1997' soon surpassed Bing Crosby's 'White Christmas' to become the best-selling single of all time.(certified sales)
...topping the chart [...] a day after the single was released.
On Sept. 23, 'Candle In The Wind 1997' will be made available to retail as the B-side to 'Something About The Way You Look Tonight.'