The song, written by Irwin Levine and Toni Wine, was produced by Dave Appell and Hank Medress for Bell Records.

[5] By different accounts, additional background singers may have included Ellie Greenwich,[5] Robin Grean,[5] Leslie Miller,[4] and Linda November.

[9] "Candida" was released as a single in July 1970 under the moniker Dawn, named after the daughter of either Jay Siegel[8] or Bell Records executive Steve Wax.

[6][5] The single reached number one in Brazil,[13] Malaysia,[14] Singapore,[15] Spain,[16] and Sweden,[17] and the top ten in Austria,[18] Canada,[19] Denmark,[17] Mexico,[16] New Zealand,[15] Norway,[6] South Africa,[15] the UK,[20] and the USA.

[5] A July 1970 capsule review in Billboard magazine of both Dawn's and the Corporation's versions categorized the latter's recording as possessing "a strong blues and Tex-Mex flavor", and stated that both singles had "equal sales and chart potential".

[27] Numerous musicians have covered "Candida", among them Andy Williams,[28] Jesse Winchester,[29] Jimmy Velvet,[30] Ray Conniff,[31] and reggae artists Owen Gray[32] and the Pioneers.

[33] Foreign-language versions have included recordings in Portuguese by the Fevers,[34] in Spanish by La Tropa Loca,[35] and in German by Bata Illic[36] and Bernd Spier.