FIfty-two years ago today—Feb. 22, 1974— Sir Elton John released “Candle in the Wind” as a single. It was a song that would grow from a tribute to Marilyn Monroe into one of the most culturally significant recordings of the modern era.
Written by John and his frequent collaborator lyricist Bernie Taupin, the original version appeared on John’s landmark 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. The lyrics were inspired by Monroe, who had died 11 years earlier. The opening line, “Goodbye, Norma Jean,” references the actress’ birth name, Norma Jeane Mortenson.
Taupin later explained in an interview with the BBC that the phrase “candle in the wind” stuck with him after hearing Clive Davis use it while speaking about Janis Joplin. “I just kept hearing this term [and] I thought, what a great way of describing someone’s life,” Taupin said.
Though the 1974 single peaked at No. 11 in the U.K. and reached the Top 10 in several other countries, its legacy extended far beyond its original chart run.
In 1997, following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, Elton performed a rewritten version titled “Candle in the Wind 1997,” also known as “Goodbye England’s Rose.” That recording became a global phenomenon. According to Guinness World Records, the 1997 version is the second-highest-selling physical single of all time, behind Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas," and the highest-selling single released since charts began in the 1950s.
Taupin has said the song was never meant to be solely about Monroe, but about “the idea of fame or youth or somebody being cut short in the prime of their life.” He later clarified, “She was just a metaphor for fame and dying young.”
Over five decades later, “Candle in the Wind” remains one of the most enduring examples of the songwriting partnership between John and Taupin—a heartbreaking song about fame, fragility and the way the world immortalizes those lost too soon.
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