Song Of 1997 [repack]: Number One

Here’s a write-up about the number one song of 1997, depending on which chart you’re referencing—since Billboard (US) and the UK Singles Chart had different top songs that year. By virtually any measure, the defining #1 song of 1997 in the United States was Elton John’s double A-side single, released as a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash on August 31, 1997. The song was a reworked version of John’s 1973 classic “Candle in the Wind,” originally written about Marilyn Monroe. Bernie Taupin revised the lyrics to honor Diana, creating one of the most emotionally charged releases in pop history.

The single debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on October 11, 1997, and stayed there for 14 weeks. It became the best-selling single of all time in both the US and the UK (over 33 million copies worldwide). It also topped year-end charts for 1997, making it unequivocally the biggest song of the year in America—both commercially and culturally. While “Candle in the Wind 1997” dominated sales, the most ubiquitous song on radio that year was Puff Daddy’s tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. (who was murdered in March 1997). Sampling The Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” the song spent 11 weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 (right before Elton John’s takeover) and was inescapable throughout summer 1997. On Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 chart for 1997, it ranked #1 based on its combined chart run earlier in the year. number one song of 1997