"Candle in the Wind 1997" is a remake of his own 1973 hit "Candle in the Wind" by Sir Elton John that was released as a tribute single to Diana, Princess of Wales. With over 37 million copies sold, it is the best-selling single of all time since records began. On release in September 1997, "Candle in the Wind 1997" peaked at number one in the UK, becoming John's fourth number one single, and in most other countries worldwide, also becoming the first song in history to reach the top in each of the four major countries in the music industry: United States, Japan, United Kingdom, and Germany.

The lyrics of the earlier version of "Candle in the Wind," written by Bernie Taupin, were a tribute to Marilyn Monroe. The opening lines of the 1973 version, "Goodbye Norma Jean, though I never knew you at all," were adapted to "Goodbye England's rose, may you ever grow in our hearts." In fact, most of the lyrics were adapted to suit the circumstances of Diana's life and death, but a notable and poignantly ironic omission was the line, "Even when you died, the press still hounded you..."

On 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a car crash in Paris, France. The news immediately shocked Elton John, as he and the Princess had been very good friends: he had also lost another good friend, the fashion designer Gianni Versace, earlier in the summer, and had attended his funeral with Diana.

As a result of these deaths, John sank into a deep depression, and considered not going to the funeral due to the emotional trauma. In the end, he decided to attend after receiving support from other friends. Following the recovery, John decided he wanted to pay a tribute to Diana: with that in mind, he contacted his veteran writing partner, Bernie Taupin. Due to the confusion created by a message John left on Taupin's answering machine in which he asked Taupin to write a lyric similar to "Candle in the Wind", Taupin rewrote that song. George Martin was contacted to help produce the song, and added a string quartet, (Peter Manning, Keith Pascoe, Levine Andrade and Andrew Shulman), and woodwind (Pippa Davies, flute) to help balance the recording.

John publicly performed "Candle in the Wind 1997" only once, at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in Westminster Abbey on 6 September 1997. Though he continues to sing the original 1973 version of the song at his concerts, John has repeatedly turned down requests to perform the 1997 version. He refused even when asked to do so for the memorial Concert for Diana in July 2007, having vowed never to perform it again unless asked by Diana's sons. The song has never been released (or re-released) on any of his other albums or compilations, not even on the 1997 Diana Princess of Wales: Tributealbum (an official 2-CD release sanctioned by Diana's family that included other artists such as Celine Dion and Rod Stewart).

"Candle in the Wind" was expected to debut high on the charts, partly due to its tribute to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales; but its actual results were record breaking. Released on 13 September 1997, it became the fastest-selling single in the UK, selling 658,000 copies in its first day of release, and over 1.5 million copies in its first week. The single would remain at number one for 5 weeks, and it eventually sold 4.86 million copies in the UK, overtaking the 13-year-old record held by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?". It has been certified as the best-selling single of all time in the UK.

The chart success in the United States was similar. Release on 22 September 1997, "Candle in the Wind" debuted at number one, with first week sales at a staggering 3.5 million copies. As a result, the album/single stayed at the top of the charts for 14 consecutive weeks, a record for a male solo artist. The single sold over 11 million copies in the United States and became the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated worldwide sales totaling over 35 million copies.

The single's success was also seen in most countries around the world. In Canada, the single spent three years in the top 20, with 45 non-consecutive weeks at the top spot. However, the song's unusual chart performance in Canada has also been explained as a structural factor; due to the relative lack of CD singles available for sale in Canadian stores, in some weeks the song was able to chart on sales of less than 100 copies across the entire country.

As a testament to the single's success, it is estimated that at the peak of sales, almost six copies of the single were sold across the world per second. All artist and composer royalties and record company profits were donated to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.

Discography