Waiting for a Girl Like You

"Waiting for a Girl Like You"

Single cover
Single by Foreigner
from the album 4
B-side "I'm Gonna Win"
Released October 1981
Format 7-inch
Recorded 1981
Genre Soft rock
Length 4:35 (single)
4:49 (album)
5:56 (extended version)[1]
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) Mick Jones, Lou Gramm
Producer(s) Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Mick Jones
Certification Gold (U.S.)
Foreigner singles chronology
"Urgent"
(1981)
"Waiting for a Girl like You"
(1981)
"Juke Box Hero"
(1982)

"Waiting for a Girl like You" is a 1981 power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner. The distinctive synthesizer theme was performed by the then-little-known Thomas Dolby.

It was the second single released from the album 4 (1981) and was co-written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. It has become one of the band's most famous songs worldwide, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on Billboard's Rock Tracks chart.[2] On the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, the song reached the top five.[3] The song peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Waiting for a Girl Like You" achieved a chart distinction by spending its record-setting 10 weeks in the number 2 position of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, without ever reaching the top. It debuted on the Hot 100 chart dated October 10, 1981. It reached the number 2 position in the week of November 28, where it was held off the number 1 spot by Olivia Newton-John's single "Physical" for nine consecutive weeks, and then by Hall & Oates' "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" for a tenth week on January 30, 1982.[4] Because of its chart longevity, it ended up being the number 19 song on the Top 100 singles of 1982.

Prior to the release of the song as a single, Foreigner was considered a hard rock band getting airplay mostly on rock stations and some top 40 ones. This song gave the group more exposure on top 40 radio stations. Also because the song was soft, most adult contemporary radio stations played it as well, giving the group exposure to an audience they were not really aiming at in general. This song was pivotal in exposing harder rock acts to a broader audience.

The song lists at number 80 on "Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time".[5]

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1981–82) Peak
position
Australia[6] 3
Canada 2
Germany 29
New Zealand 16
UK 8
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 2
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 5
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock 1
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1981) Position
Canada 34
Chart (1982) Position
Australia [7] 21
UK [8] 87
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [9] 19

In other media

References

  1. 12" Extended Version on YouTube
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 234.
  3. Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 333.
  4. Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Hits, 5th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 601.
  5. Billboard Greatest Songs of the Hot 100
  6. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-50-singles-1988.htm
  7. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-50-singles-1988.htm
  8. http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1982.shtml
  9. http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1982.htm

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 27, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.