Very surprisingly, it went no higher, kept out of the Top 10 by the likes of David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” and Paul McCartney And Wings’ “Jet.” But in the UK and elsewhere, “Candle In The Wind” was released by DJM on February 4, 1974, opening at No.28 and racing to No.11. It was supplanted by “Bennie And The Jets,” which went on to have a rich life of its own as the third single from the album. Such was the strength of the 17-song album that “Candle In The Wind” wasn’t released as a single in America. set up in the breakfast room at the Château and I’d be in the far corner at the electric piano, and that’s how that album took shape.” “I’m very private about the way I write and most times I won’t do it when there’s anyone around,” Elton told Mojo in 1997, “but for this I did it in front of the band. The track was recorded in the spring of 1973 at Château D’Hérouville in France, during sessions for what became the epic double-album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, released that October. “I’d sooner play on a tune like ‘Candle In The Wind’,” Olsson said in Melody Maker in 1975, “because rock’n’roll is just the same beat all the time and on a ballad there is greater scope.” As so often, they teamed with bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson for the sweeping harmonies that added another dimension. I thought, What a great way of describing someone’s life.”Įlton’s voice and piano jointly led his reflective treatment, with Davey Johnstone’s plangent guitar adding the unforgettable riff. Continued Bernie: “Clive Davis had used it to describe Janis Joplin and, for some reason, I just kept hearing this term. “Solzhenitsyn had written a book called Candle In The Wind.” That volume, described as “a semi-autobiographical drama of ideas,” was published in 1973. “I had always loved the phrase,” Taupin said of the title.
‘What a great way of describing someone’s life’