The album was released on 5 October 1973 as a double LP, with cover art by illustrator Ian Beck depicting John stepping into a poster. It debuted at no. 17 on the Billboard 200 and quickly rose to no. 1 on its fourth week on the chart, where it stayed for eight consecutive weeks. It was the best selling album in the U.S. in 1974. The album was preceded by its lead single, "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", which reached no. 7 in the U.K. and no. 12 in the U.S. Its next single, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" reached no. 6 in the U.K. and no. 2 in the U.S. "Bennie and the Jets" was released as a single in the U.S., and it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in 1974. And its final single, "Candle in the Wind", released in the U.K., reached no. 11.