Candle in the Wind


"Candle in the Wind" is a threnody with music and lyrics by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It was originally written in 1973, in honor 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.

Original version

The original version in the key of E major appeared on John's 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and was released as a single in 1974. The lyrics of the song are a sympathetic portrayal of the life of Marilyn Monroe. In the Eagle Vision documentary on the making of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Taupin said the song is about "the idea of fame or youth or somebody being cut short in the prime of their life. The song could have been about James Dean, it could have been about Montgomery Clift, it could have been about Jim Morrison... how we glamorise death, how we immortalise people." The single release of the original song reached No. 11 in the UK charts in 1974. At the time, it was not released as a single in the United States. Taupin was inspired to write the song's lyrics after hearing the phrase "candle in the wind" used in tribute to Janis Joplin.
This version is ranked #347 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
During a concert on 7 April 1990 at Farm Aid IV, John dedicated the song to Ryan White, who had been suffering from HIV/AIDS. White died from AIDS complications the next day. However, after Ryan White's death, John instead performed the song "Skyline Pigeon" at White's funeral.

Personnel

1986 live version

On 14 December 1986, a live version of the song was recorded in Sydney, Australia. This version features only Elton backing himself on the piano, other than atmospheric keyboard textures throughout the song, which were likely provided by his touring 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.

Personnel

Grammy Awards

Year-end charts

1997 version

"Candle in the Wind 1997" or "Goodbye England's Rose" is a re-recording of "Candle in the Wind" as a tribute to Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales. Released in 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. The Guinness Book of Records in 2007 stated that "Candle in the Wind 1997" is the biggest-selling single "since records began", but that Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" has sold the most copies. This version was produced by George Martin.

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.

Cover versions