Faith (George Michael song)

"Faith"
Single by George Michael
from the album Faith
Released	12 October 1987
Format	CD single, 7" single
Recorded	1987
Genre	Folk-pop[1]
Length	3:16
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	George Michael
Producer(s)	George Michael
Certification	Gold
George Michael singles chronology
"Hard Day" (1987) "Faith" (1987) "Father Figure" (1987)

"Faith" is a song written and performed by George Michael, from his 1987 Faith album. It reached number one in the United States and, according to Billboard magazine, was the top-selling single of the year in the United States in 1988.

History

Having disbanded Wham! the previous year, there was a keen expectation for Michael's solo career and "Faith" would go on to become one of his most popular and enduring songs, as well as being the most simplistic in its production. It was the second of six singles released from the well-received album.

As with the rest of the album, the track was written, arranged, and produced by Michael.^[2] It is claimed that the idea came from producer Dick Leahy's suggestion that Michael write a rock and roll pastiche.^[3] The song incorporates the famous Bo Diddley beat, a classic rock and roll rhythm.^[4] It begins with organ played by Chris Cameron, referencing Wham's song Freedom, followed by guitar strumming, finger clicking, hand-claps, tambourine and hi-hat.^[3]

The song was featured in the film Bitter Moon, directed by Roman Polanski.^[5]

Music video

The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan.^[6] It features Michael in shades, stubble, and a pair of Levi's blue jeans with cowboy boots, playing a guitar near a classic-design Wurlitzer jukebox. Writers Bob Batchelor and Scott Stoddart say the music video positions him as a "masculine sex object", breaking him up into individual body parts such as "stubbled" [sic] chin and butt.^[7]

The music video also features parts of two other songs by George Michael. The jukebox starts by playing "I Want Your Sex", and then is interrupted by a pipe organ version of Wham!'s "Freedom" before starting into the song.

Chart performance

The song reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number two on the UK Singles Chart.

On the Hot 100 chart, "Faith" rocketed from number 54 to number 37, the week of 31 October 1987, reaching number 1 on 12 December 1987 and remaining there for 4 consecutive weeks, easily becoming the longest running chart topper of 1987. Altogether, "Faith" lingered in the Top 10 for 9 weeks, the Top 20 for 11 weeks & the Top 40 for 15 weeks.

Track listing

7": UK / Epic EMU 2

1. "Faith" – 3:14
2. "Hand To Mouth" – 4:36

12": UK / Epic EMU T2

1. "Faith" – 3:14
2. "Faith" (Instrumental) – 3:07
3. "Hand to Mouth" – 4:36

Mixes

1. Album version – 3:16
2. Instrumental – 3:07

Personnel

• Vocals: George Michael
• Bass: Deon Estus
• Guitars: Hugh Burns
• Cathedral Organ: Chris Cameron

Charts and certifications

Charts Chart (1987-1988) Peak position Austrian Singles Chart[8] 4 Canadian The Record Singles Chart[9] 1 Canadian RPM Top Singles[10] 1 Dutch Singles Chart[11] 1 French Singles Chart[8] 22 German Singles Chart[12] 5 Irish Singles Chart[13] 2 Italian Singles Chart[14] 1 Japanese Oricon Singles Chart[15] 86 New Zealand Singles Chart[8] 1 Norwegian Singles Chart[8] 3 Spanish Singles Chart[16] 3 Swedish Singles Chart[8] 9 Swiss Singles Chart[8] 4 UK Singles Chart[17] 2 US Billboard Hot 100[18] 1 US Billboard Adult Contemporary[18] 5 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs[18] 17

Year-End charts Chart (1988) Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1 Certifications Country Certification Canada Gold[19] Netherlands Gold[20] United States Gold[21]

Limp Bizkit cover

"Faith"
Single by Limp Bizkit
from the album Three Dollar Bill, Yall$
Released	October 31, 1998
Format	CD single
Recorded	May 1997 at Indigo Ranch Studio in Malibu, California
Genre	Nu metal
Length	2:26
Label	Flip/Interscope/MCA
Producer(s)	Fred Durst Ross Robinson DJ Lethal
Limp Bizkit singles chronology
"Counterfeit" (1997) "Faith" (1998) "Nookie" (1999)

American nu metal group Limp Bizkit covered the song "Faith" in their live performances, using the cover to attract attention to the band. Word of mouth attendance and energetic live performances in which guitarist Wes Borland appeared in bizarre costumes increased the band's cult following. Audiences, in particular, were attracted to Borland's guitar playing and appearance.^[22]

Despite the success of the song in Limp Bizkit's live performances, producer Ross Robinson was opposed to recording the cover for their debut album, Three Dollar Bill, Yall$, and tried to persuade the band not to play it on the album. However, the final recording, which incorporated heavier guitar playing and drumming, as well as DJ scratching, impressed Robinson.^[22] "I love George Michael. and decided to cover Faith for fun. We like to do really aggressive versions of cheesy pop hits," lead singer Fred Durst told Billboard. "I didn't expect him to get busted in that bathroom but his misfortune actually helped us. We couldn't ask for more of a buzz."^[23]

Peter Berg directed a music video featuring a bizarre wedding monologue for the song in promotion for its appearance in his film Very Bad Things,^[24] but Fred Durst was unsatisfied with it and directed a second video which paid tribute to tourmates like Primus, Deftones and Mötley Crüe, who appeared in the video.^[25] Borland stated in an interview that George Michael, the writer of the song, hated the cover and "hates us for doing it".^[25]

Other covers

• Alvin and the Chipmunks covered this song as the opening track to their 1988 album The Chipmunks and The Chipettes: Born to Rock. In this version, they changed the lyric "If I could touch your body" to "If you could be my baby."
• The Russian pop duo Smash!! produced a cover of this song on its 2004 album 2Nite and was later released as a single.
• Joel McHale's character Jeff Winger sang a different version of this song on the episode "Intro to Political Science" on the NBC sitcom Community.
• John Mayer and Keith Urban sang this song on CMT Crossroads
• The Tamil language song "Mundhinam Paarthene" from the Indian film Vaaranam Aayiram (2008) uses the same background music as "Faith".^[26]
• The British musical comedy film Walking on Sunshine covered the song.

References

1. Greene, Jayson (17 July 2007). "George Michael – Faith – Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 September 2007. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
2. Simpson, Paul (2003). The Rough Guide to Cult Pop. Rough Guides. p. 144.
3. Lucy Ellis, Bryony Sutherland (1998). The Complete Guide to the Music of George Michael & Wham!. Music Sales Group. pp. 38–39. ISBN 9780711968226.
4. Huey, Steve. "Faith (album review)". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
5. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104779/soundtrack
6. Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com - George Michael - "Faith"". Music Video DataBase. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
7. Bob Batchelor, Scott Stoddart (2007). The 1980s. Greenwood. p. 125.
8. George Michael - Faith (song). Retrieved 6 May 2011.
9. "Canadian Singles Chart from Nanda Lwin; Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide (2000)"
10. Top Singles - Volume 47, No. 11, 19 December 1987. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
11. Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
12. Single-Chartverfolgung. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
13. The Irish Charts. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
14. Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
15. George Michael singles sales ranking. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
16. Listas de Afyve. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
17. Top 75 Releases. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
18. Faith - George Michael. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
19. Canadian Certifications. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
20. Goud/Platina Muziek. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
21. Gold & Platinum: Searchable Database. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
22. Devenish, Colin (2000). Limp Bizkit. St. Martin's. pp. 21–49. ISBN 0-312-26349-X.
23. Bell, Carrie (1999-02-13). "The Modern Age". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
24. DeSalvo, Kathy (25 September 1998). "Tool of North America signs Peter Berg". Shoot 39 (39). ISSN 1074-5297.
25. Devenish, Colin (2000). Limp Bizkit. St. Martin's. pp. 51–78. ISBN 0-312-26349-X.
26. "Harris Jayaraj - A Kollywood Copycat?". SS Music. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2014.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics