1997 No. 1, Rewritten For Princess Diana, Hit The Top 29 Years Ago Today

October 17, 1997 was just the beginning of the epic run at No. 1 for Elton John's historic double single "Candle in the Wind 1997" / "Something About the Way You Look Tonight." The release was a global cultural phenomenon, as purchasing and listening to it became an act of mourning. John had reworked "Candle in the Wind," a song from 1973, to honor his friend, Princess Diana, who died at age 36 in a vehicular crash in Paris in August 1997. It's a crucial chapter in the tragic real-life story of Elton John.

The grieving piano ballad originally addressed Marilyn Monroe — referred to by her real first and middle names, Norma Jeane — with John and lyricist Bernie Taupin lamenting how they never met the iconic actor before her untimely death, and they rue how she was exploited by Hollywood and the media. First appearing on John's album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Candle in the Wind" was a No. 11 hit in the U.K., but not issued as a single in the U.S. Then in 1988, John made it to No. 6 in the states with a version taken from "Live In Australia (With the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra)." Both previous recordings were grand and heartfelt, but they'd be eclipsed in popularity, impact, and emotional heft by "Candle in the Wind 1997," which helped the world say "goodbye England's rose" to Princess Diana.

Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997, and her funeral at Westminster Abbey was scheduled to take place on September 6. The royal and Elton John were friends, and so Lady Sarah McCorquodale asked the musician to perform at her sister's globally televised service. Rumored to have selected his 1970 track with a true story, "Your Song," for the occasion, John decided instead to make a new piece. He phoned his longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin to discuss it, but the lyricist got the instructions mixed up because John also noted how U.K. radio stations had taken to airing their "Candle in the Wind" as a tribute to Diana, because, like the original song's topic, Marilyn Monroe, she'd died young after a scrutinized life. That prompted Taupin to write revamped "Candle in the Wind" lyrics, explicitly about Diana, a feat he accomplished in two hours.

Immediately after the funeral, in which John sang and accompanied himself on piano for the debut of the new "Candle in the Wind," he headed into a studio with the Beatles' favored producer, George Martin, to record it in the same sad, slow, and stark fashion that he'd performed it that day.

Elton John already had another project on the production docket — The forthcoming LP "The Big Picture," already set to release in September of 1997. John chose to pair one of his tunes off of the album, "Something About the Way You Look Tonight," with the song that had taken on the title "Candle in the Wind 1997," for a double A-side single.

When it was made available for sale within weeks, the single debuted at No. 1 in the U.S., having sold 3.4 million copies in its first seven days of availability, setting a new weekly benchmark. "Candle in the Wind 1997" and "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" ultimately occupied the No. 1 position for 14 weeks and dethroned "White Christmas" as the best-selling song since the U.K. and U.S. charts began, according to Guinness World Records. The millions of dollars generated by sales of the single didn't enrich John: It all went to charity, specifically the Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Fund.