This week (September 6th) marked the 25th anniversary of the funeral of Princess Diana, after her death in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997.
An uplifting moment during the sorrow of that day came from Elton John when he performed a Bernie Taupin rewrite of the classic, "Candle in the Wind" -- known as "Candle in the Wind 1997" or "Goodbye England's Rose" -- at her funeral at London's Westminster Abbey.
The song, which Elton performed only that one time, was recorded and mixed by producer George Martin's son, Giles Martin.
The song was released as a single on September 13th, 1997. It has since sold over 33-million copies worldwide to become the second best-selling single of all-time behind Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" with sales of over 50-million.
Proceeds from the song benefitted Princess Diana's numerous charities. It also won Elton a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 1998.
Elton John once talked about the unusual life of “Candle In The Wind”: [AUDIO]
“I’ve had three different hits with ‘Candle in the Wind.’ I’ve had the original recording, which was never released as a single in America, but was a huge hit everywhere else in the world. Then I had a live version from the Australian album with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, which was a hit in America and then, of course, the tragic death of Princess Diana, which was, y’know, number one throughout the world. So that song’s had a kind of amazing life. It’s been a hit in three different forms.”
Get more on Elton John on iHeartRadio, keyword Elton John.
[Source: Classic Hits Today]