I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)
| "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Aretha Franklin and George Michael | ||||||||||
| from the album Aretha | ||||||||||
| Released | January, 1987 | |||||||||
| Format | 7" single, CD single | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1986 | |||||||||
| Genre | Pop, pop rock, adult contemporary | |||||||||
| Length | 4:00 | |||||||||
| Label | Arista | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Simon Climie, Dennis Morgan | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | Narada Michael Walden | |||||||||
| Aretha Franklin singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" is a Grammy Award-winning #1 song performed by Aretha Franklin and George Michael as a duet in 1987. It was written by Simon Climie and Dennis Morgan. It also stands as Franklin's biggest hit at Adult Contemporary radio, spending several weeks at #2.
Music video
The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan.[1] It begins with George Michael and two bodyguards entering a dark room. There is a large screen on the wall showing Aretha Franklin preparing for George Michael. In the course of the video the two are shown performing the song both are shown in front of a screen and on it. At the end of the clip Aretha winks at the camera.[2]
Chart performance
The song was a one-off project that helped Michael achieve his ambition to sing with one of his favorite artists, and it reached number one in both the UK Singles Chart and Billboard Hot 100. The song was Franklin's first and only UK number-one hit, and only her fourth top ten achievement in the country since "I Say a Little Prayer", nearly two decades earlier. This was also the last of Franklin's seventeen Top 10 hits in the Billboard Hot 100.
For Michael, it became his third consecutive number-one in the UK since going solo, following 1984's "Careless Whisper" (though the single was actually from the Wham! album Make It Big) and 1986's "A Different Corner". In the U.S., it was Michael's fourth #1 hit, counting his Wham! days.
The single was the first Michael had recorded (as a lead artist) that he had not written himself. The co-writer, Simon Climie, was unknown at the time, although he later had success as a performer with Climie Fisher in 1988. On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" debuted at #59, the week of February 21, 1987, reaching #1 in its ninth week, April 18, 1987, and remaining there for two consecutive weeks.
Personnel
- Aretha Franklin - vocals
- George Michael - vocals
- Corrado Rustici - guitar synthesizer
- Randy Jackson - bass guitar
- Walter Afanasieff - synthesizer
- Narada Michael Walden - drums
- Gigi Gonaway - tambourine, percussion
- Claytoven Richardson, Jeanie Tracy, Jennifer Hall, Jim Gilstrap, Kevin Dorsey, Kitty Beethoven, Myrna Matthews - backing vocals
Charts and certifications
Charts |
Certifications
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| Preceded by "Jack Your Body" by Steve 'Silk' Hurley |
Irish Singles Chart number-one single 7 February 1987 – 21 February 1987 (3 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King |
| UK number-one single 15 February 1987 – 22 February 1987 (2 weeks) | ||
| Preceded by "I Want to Wake Up with You" by Boris Gardiner |
Australian Kent Music Report number-one single 16 March 1987 – 6 April 1987 (4 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Boom Boom (Let's Go Back to My Room)" by Paul Lekakis |
| Preceded by "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single April 18, 1987 – April 25, 1987 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" by Cutting Crew |
Track listing
- 7"
- "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" – 3:52
- "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (Instrumental) – 4:00
- US 12" maxi-single
- "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (Edited remix) – 5:29
- "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (Percappela) – 5:14
- "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (Album version) – 4:01
- "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (Extended remix) – 7:30
- Remixed by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero
Cover versions
- The Shadows did an instrumental version in 1987 on the album Simply Shadows.
- A live version of the song was featured on the Bucks Fizz album Live at Fairfield Halls in 1991.
- A cover of "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" was recorded in 2001 by Hear'Say as the B-side to their single "Everybody".
- Michael McDonald covered it in 2008 on his album Soul Speak.
- A cover version of the chorus of "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" featured in "Welcome Back", a 3-minute-long British TV commercial for telecommunications company T-Mobile which first aired on 29 October 2010.[13]
- The song was performed as a duet by Joshua Ledet and Jessica Sanchez on the eleventh season of American Idol during top 8 week and the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2012 during Ledet's set.
- The song was also performed as a duet by CJ Harris and Malaya Watson on the thirteenth season of American Idol during top 8 redux week.
- Crystal Lewis and Michael English covered the song for English's 2012 project, Some People Change.
References
- ↑ Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com - George Michael - "I knew you were waiting (for me)"". Music Video DataBase. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
- ↑ music video in MyVideo.de
- ↑ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970 - 1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- 1 2 3 4 5 I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me). Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ↑ Top Singles - Volume 46, No. 3, April 25 1987. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ↑ Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ↑ Single-Chartverfolgung. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ↑ The Irish Charts. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ↑ Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ↑ Top 75 Releases. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- 1 2 3 I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) - Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ↑ Goud/Platina Muziek. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ↑ Video on YouTube
External links
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