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It had just started to cool off a bit when I discovered that the blonde girl from Queensway had moved in just around the corner from my school. She had moved in right next to where I used to stand and wait for my next-door neighbour, who used to give me a lift home from school. And one day I saw her walk down the path next to me and I thought – now where did SHE come from? She didn't know it was me. It was a few years later and I looked a lot different. Then we played a school disco with the Executive and she saw me singing and decided she fancied me. By this time she was that much older and a big buxom thing – and eventually I started seeing her. She invited me in one day when I was waiting for my lift and I was... in heaven. [15]
Michael observed that after he stopped wearing glasses, he began getting invited to parties. "And the girl who didn't even see me when I was twelve invited me in," he noted.
So I went out with her for a couple of months but I didn't stop seeing Helen. I thought I was being smart – I had gone from being a total loser to being a two-timer. And I remember my sisters used to give me a hard time because they found out and they really liked the first girl. The whole idea of "Careless Whisper" was the first girl finding out about the second – which she never did. But I started another relationship with a girl called Alexis without finishing the one with Jane. It all got a bit complicated. Jane found out about her and got rid of me... The whole time I thought I was being cool, being this two-timer, but there really wasn't that much emotion involved. I did feel guilty about the first girl – and I have seen her since – and the idea of the song was about her. "Careless Whisper" was us dancing, because we danced a lot, and the idea was – we are dancing... but she knows... and it's finished. [15]
Andrew Ridgeley came up with the chord sequence on his Fender Telecaster he had received for his 18th birthday. [16] They continued to work together on the music and lyrics both at Michael's house in Radlett, and Shirlie Holliman's aunt's basement flat in Peckham, where Ridgeley was living. [16] [17]
The original demo was recorded by local music producer Paul Mex on 18 January 1982 alongside "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)" in the front room of Ridgeley's home (his parents' lounge turned into a makeshift studio) with Mex's TEAC 4-track Portastudio. [18] Because most of the day was spent on "Wham Rap!" and Ridgeley's mother had returned home by that point, "Careless Whisper" had to be recorded in one take very quickly. It featured a Doctor Rhythm drum machine, an acoustic guitar (played by Ridgeley) and a bass guitar (played by Dave West), with Michael's vocal (recorded with a microphone attached to a broom handle). [19] [20] The overall cost of the recording was £20 (largely due to the rental cost of the Portastudio) and the duo landed a deal with Innervision by Mark Dean on the strength of the demos. [21] [22]
A more complete and fully realised second demo was recorded on 24 March 1982 at Halligan Band Centre, Holloway, London with a backing band and a saxophone riff. This second demo also included the songs "Club Tropicana" and "Wham Rap!". [23] However, on the same day, Michael and Ridgeley were called over by Dean to sign a contract in addition to the record deal, which they did at a nearby greasy spoon café. Michael recalls of that day:
"One of the most incredible moments of my life was hearing 'Careless Whisper' demoed properly, with a band, a sax and everything. It was ironic that we signed the contract with Mark [Dean] that day, the day I finally believed we had number-one material. That same day we signed it all away. But you can never really know what you are capable of, you can never really have that foresight." [23]
"Careless Whisper" | ||||
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Single by George Michael | ||||
from the album Make It Big | ||||
Written | 1981 | |||
Released | 20 July 1984 [1] | |||
Studio | Sarm West (London) | |||
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Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
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George Michael singles chronology | ||||
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Wham! singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Careless Whisper" on YouTube |
"Careless Whisper" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter George Michael. Released as the second single from Wham!'s second studio album Make It Big (1984),it was written by Michael and Andrew Ridgeley,with Michael producing the song. Although the song was released as part of Make It Big,the single release is credited to either Wham! featuring George Michael (in North America and several other countries) or solely to George Michael (in the United Kingdom,Ireland,and some nations in Europe).
The song has been covered by a number of artists since its release,including Brian McKnight,Seether,Roger Williams,Kenny G and Julio Iglesias,among others. A contemporary pop song with R&B and soul influences,it features a prominent saxophone riff composed by Michael and played by Steve Gregory. It became a commercial success,topping record charts in at least ten countries and selling about 6 million copies worldwide—2 million of them in the United States. [6] The song later achieved popularity on social media,mainly due to the saxophone riff being used in many movies and as a popular internet meme. [7] With sales of over 11 million copies worldwide it is one of the best selling songs of all time.
This section contains too many or overly lengthy quotations .(July 2022) |
The song went through at least two rounds of production. The first was during a trip Michael made to Sheffield, Alabama, where he went to work with producer Jerry Wexler at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in 1983. [24] [25] Michael was unhappy with the original version produced by Wexler, and decided to re-record and produce the song himself; the second version was the one ultimately released as a single.
After the backing track and Michael's vocal had been recorded, Wexler had booked the top saxophone player from Los Angeles to fly in and do the solo. [26] "He arrived at eleven and should have been gone by twelve", recalled Wham! manager Simon Napier-Bell. "Instead, after two hours, he was still there while everyone in the studio shuddered with embarrassment. He just couldn't play the opening riff the way George wanted it, the way it had been on the demo. But that had been made two years earlier by a friend of George's who lived round the corner and played sax for fun in the pub." [26]
While the saxophonist appeared to be playing the part perfectly, Michael told him, "No, it's still not right, you see ..." and he would lower his head to the talkback microphone and patiently hum the part to him yet again. "It has to twitch upwards a little just there! See ...? And not too much." [26]
Napier-Bell consulted with Wexler over Michael's dispute with the sax sound. "Is there really something George wants that's different from what the sax player is playing?" Napier-Bell asked. [26] "Definitely!" replied Wexler.
I've seen things like this before. There's some tiny nuance that the sax player is somehow not getting right. Although you and I can't hear what it is, it may be the very thing that will make the record a hit. The success of pop records is so ephemeral, so unbelievably unpredictable, we just can't take the risk of being impatient. But this sax player's not going to get it, is he! [26]
The version Wexler produced was released later in the year, as a (4:41) B-side "special version" on 12″ in the UK and Japan.
The record label Innervision was going to put out the Wexler version of "Careless Whisper" after the "Club Fantastic Megamix" as early as 1983. Song publisher Dick Leahy said that while he could not stop the release of the "Club Fantastic Megamix", he could stop the release of this single on the basis that as a publisher they "have the right to grant the first license of the recording of a tune of which he controls the copyright". He was unable to do anything about the "Club Fantastic Megamix" because it was already released material. He said: "We knew how big that song could be, so it was necessary to upset a few people to stop it." [27] Towards the end of 1983, Michael was also committed to touring with Wham! to promote Fantastic , so according to him it would not have made sense to release "Careless Whisper" as a solo single in the middle of the tour, despite it being part of the setlist. [28]
Michael later went back to London's Sarm West Studio 2 to re-record the track, the backbone of which was done with a live rhythm section in one take, with "loads of stuff bunged on [overdubbed] later" as Michael added, although the feel of it was basically live. [29] [30]
Michael elaborated on the song's production and how it turned out in the end:
Jerry Wexler did one recording of "Careless Whisper" with me. Then we re-mixed that, which meant re-shooting the video and then we completely re-did the track about four weeks before it was due to be released. When we originally made it I was totally in awe of Jerry Wexler and it was the first time that I had ever felt like that about anybody that I'd worked with. Usually I have trouble convincing myself that people know what they're doing. In this case I had to get drunk in order to sing, I was so nervous. Anyway, my publisher [Dick Leahy] and I had loads of discussions about whether the record was good enough for the song and whether there was enough of me in it because it just did not sound like me. I said 'it's great. Jerry's done a great job on it', and for the first time since we'd started I was blind to what was going on because the song was already two and a half years old and I just did not have a clue about where else I could take it. Eventually I just thought, 'sod this. I'm going to go in and do it as if it had never been done before with the musicians we normally use and see what happens.' The track was much better because I was relaxed and I think that our musicians did a much better job than the Muscle Shoals section. [30]
After hiring and firing several other sax players, for which the BBC characterized as struggling to play all the notes with "the right amount of fluidity and still breathe," [31] Michael eventually heard what he was looking for from Steve Gregory. [32]
During an interview with DJ Danny Sun, Gregory said he was the 9th sax player to attempt the riff. Gregory said Michael's secretary had phoned him up midday and asked him to give the solo a try. [33] [ better source needed ]
"When I got there, it was about getting on to midnight, and there was another saxophone player in the studio, Ray Warleigh, who I knew quite well, and he said 'what are you doing here?' And George hadn't showed up. So Ray was a bit fed up. He said 'Well I'm going, you can do it. I've had enough of waiting.' So he left and it was just myself, and (record producer) Chris Porter. So I said I've had quite a long day, I'm going to do a better job now than I will at 3 o'clock in the morning, so can we try and do something? So we went into the control room and George had already recorded it in LA with Jerry Wexler producing it and Tom Scott playing the saxophone line...he said this is what you got to do and he played this and I thought 'That is fantastic, why on Earth does he want to do it again? I can't play it as well as that!' And (Porter) said 'Oh, it's a new version, he's done his own production, it's a new track, it's got to be re-done, he just needs that on the new track,' so I went in the studio I tried to do it and my saxophone is an old Selmer (tenor sax) from about 1954 or something and I didn't have that top note. I didn't have a proper note on my saxophone, I had what we call a fake fingering I had to do to play it. So it didn't really sound that smooth. It didn't sound that great. And so having been around for a while, having had a bit of experience, I suggested to him, I said, 'look, if you took it down by a semitone, a very small amount, I'd have all the proper notes on my horn and we could see how it sounds. So that's what he did, he sort of did his calculations and took it down a semitone, so I went out again and I played it in a lower key and when after I finished it I went back into the control room and he played it back and he put it back up to the proper speed, and as he was playing it back, George walked into the studio, and he said 'Oh, I think we got it!' Then he pointed at me and said, 'You are number 9!'"
The officially released single was issued in July 1984, entering the UK Singles Chart at number 12. Within two weeks it was at number one, ending a nine-week run at the top for "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. [34] It stayed at number one for three weeks, going on to become the fifth best-selling single of 1984 in the United Kingdom; outsold only by the two Frankie Goes to Hollywood tracks, "Two Tribes" and "Relax", Stevie Wonder with "I Just Called to Say I Love You", and Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?". The song also topped the charts in 25 other countries, including the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in February 1985 under the credit "Wham! featuring George Michael". Spending three weeks at the top in America, the song was later named Billboard's number-one song of 1985. [35]
Despite its success, Michael stated repeatedly in interviews that he was not fond of the song. He said in 1991 that it "was not an integral part of my emotional development [...] it disappoints me that you can write a lyric very flippantly—and not a particularly good lyric—and it can mean so much to so many people. That's disillusioning for a writer." [27]
"Careless Whisper" received mainly positive reception upon its release. Music critic Alexis Petridis of The Guardian ranked the song number five of George Michael's 30 greatest songs, stating, "it's a brilliant pop song regardless, and, in 'guilty feet have got no rhythm', it boasts one of the great once-heard-never-forgotten lyrics". [36] Billboard referred to the track as a "polished-pop approach", stating, "[the] saxy ballad will tug at many a heartstring". [37] Rolling Stone placed the song as George Michael's 2nd best song, describing it as "a soulful, saxophone-laden ballad" with "infidelity-themed lyrics". [38]
Cash Box said the song illustrates Wham!'s "versatility and range" when compared to the previous single "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", calling this song "soft, beguiling and memorable" and saying that it features "a highly romantic instrumental arrangement as well as an extremely well-written melody and lyric". [39] Amy Hanson of AllMusic described the song as "perfect for dance floor canoodling", stating, "built around a simmering Latin-lite tempo, sultry sax and Michael's own impassioned delivery, 'Careless Whisper' touched fans and passive listeners alike to become one of, if not the only, love songs of 1985". [40]
The official music video (which uses the shorter single version instead of the full album version) was directed by Duncan Gibbins (who previously directed "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go") shows the guilt felt by a man (portrayed by Michael) over an affair, and his acknowledgement that his partner (Lisa Stahl) is going to find out. Madeline Andrews-Hodge plays the woman who lures George away. It was filmed on location in Miami, Florida, in February 1984 [41] and features such locales as Coconut Grove and Watson Island. [42] The final part of the video shows Michael leaning out of a top floor balcony of Miami's Grove Towers. [43]
A first original version of the video was edited with the Jerry Wexler 1983 version, and featured Ridgeley as a cameo, handing over a letter to a dark-haired Michael. This version had a more detailed storyline, but was then re-edited later. [44]
According to producer Jon Roseman, production of the video was "a fucking disaster". [45] According to Michael's co-star Lisa Stahl, "They lost footage of our kissing scene so we had to reshoot it, which I didn't complain about ... Then George decided he didn't like his hair so he flew his sister over from England to cut it and we had to reshoot more scenes." [46]
As the band felt they had "screwed up" the video, further footage of Michael singing the song onstage was later shot at the Lyceum Theatre, London. [47] [ citation needed ]
The video performance (1984 version) was officially uploaded to the George Michael YouTube channel on 24 October 2009. As of October 2024, the video had surpassed 1.3 billion views. [48] [49]
All tracks are written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Careless Whisper" (7″ version) | 5:04 |
2. | "Careless Whisper" (instrumental) | 5:02 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Careless Whisper" (extended mix) | 6:31 |
2. | "Careless Whisper" (instrumental) | 5:02 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Careless Whisper" (extended mix) | 6:20 |
2. | "Careless Whisper" (instrumental) | 4:52 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Careless Whisper" | 4:50 |
2. | "Careless Whisper" | 4:50 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Careless Whisper" (extended mix) | 6:31 |
2. | "Careless Whisper" (Jerry Wexler special version) | 5:34 |
3. | "Careless Whisper" (condensed instrumental Version) | 4:52 |
Credits adapted from the Extended Mix's liner notes. [50]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
All-time charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [103] | 2× Platinum | 140,000‡ |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [104] | 3× Platinum | 180,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada) [105] | 5× Platinum | 400,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [106] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
France (SNEP) [107] | Silver | 500,000 [108] |
Germany (BVMI) [109] | Gold | 300,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI) [110] | Platinum | 50,000‡ |
Japan | — | 204,000 [111] |
Netherlands (NVPI) [112] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Portugal (AFP) [113] | Platinum | 40,000^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [114] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [115] Physical | Platinum | 1,200,000 [116] |
United Kingdom (BPI) [117] Digital | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [118] | 7× Platinum | 7,000,000‡ |
Streaming | ||
Greece (IFPI Greece) [119] | Platinum | 2,000,000† |
Summaries | ||
Worldwide | — | 6,000,000 [6] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
"Careless Whisper" has been covered by many other artists. Among the most notable versions are:
George Michael was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time and was named one of the greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone. Michael was known as a creative force in songwriting, vocal performance, and visual presentation.
"Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!. Written and produced by George Michael, it was released on 3 December 1984 via CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side via Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in several European countries. The song has been covered by many artists including Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Whigfield, Crazy Frog and Billie Piper.
Andrew John Ridgeley is an English musician, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham! consisting of Ridgeley and George Michael. Associated with the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US, they were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to 1986. Their singles "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Everything She Wants", and "Careless Whisper" all topped the US Billboard Hot 100. In 2019, Penguin Random House published Ridgeley's memoir Wham! George & Me.
Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to 1986. Associated with the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US, the singles "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Careless Whisper", and "Everything She Wants" all topped the US Billboard Hot 100. Their 1984 Christmas hit "Last Christmas" has become a staple of the holiday season since its release, with all proceeds from the single going to charity.
Make It Big is the second studio album by English pop duo Wham!, released in 1984. In comparison to their earlier work, Wham! had more control over the album's production and Michael would also be credited as a producer. The album was a commercial success, hitting number one in both the US and the UK and spawning four singles, all reaching the top three in the US and the UK. Make It Big was certified 4× platinum in the US during the time of its release, and has since been certified 6× platinum in the US. In March 2024, Make It Big was reissued on vinyl for the first time in 30 years.
"Club Tropicana" is a single by English pop duo Wham!, released on 22 July 1983 on Innervision Records. It was written by members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.
"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" is a song released by American singer Aretha Franklin and English singer George Michael as a duet in 1987. The song was a number one hit in the United States and the United Kingdom. Billboard listed "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" as Franklin's all-time biggest Hot 100 single. The song was Franklin's biggest hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, reaching number two. The song was written by Simon Climie and Dennis Morgan and produced by Narada Michael Walden. Franklin and Michael won a 1987 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)".
Fantastic is the debut studio album by English pop duo Wham!, released on 1 July 1983. It reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. It included the previously released singles "Young Guns", "Wham Rap!" and "Bad Boys". "Club Tropicana" was released as a single to coincide with the album's release. Although not on the album, "Club Fantastic Megamix" was released against the band's wishes by Innervision soon after Fantastic, and whilst they were in proceedings to leave the label.
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" is a song by English pop duo Wham!, first released as a single in the UK on 14 May 1984. It became their first UK and US number one hit. It was written and produced by George Michael. The single was certified platinum in the US, which at the time commemorated sales of over two million copies. The music video features Michael and bandmate Andrew Ridgeley wearing oversized message T-shirts created by Katharine Hamnett, starting a craze covered in the 2002 VH1 series I Love the 80s. The song was ranked number 28 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s.
"Everything She Wants" is a single by the British pop duo Wham!, released in 1984 under Epic Records. The song was part of a double A-side release with "Last Christmas". Written and produced by George Michael, a member of the duo, "Everything She Wants" garnered significant acclaim, marking Wham!'s third consecutive million-selling number-one hit in the United States.
"Freedom" is a 1984 song by English pop duo Wham! from their album Make It Big, released on 1 October 1984. It became the group's second number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and reached number three in America. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo.
"I'm Your Man" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, released in 1985 on Epic Records in the UK and most of the world, and Columbia Records in the US. It was written and produced by George Michael.
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"Wham Rap! " is the debut single by English pop duo Wham! on Innervision Records, released on 11 June 1982. It was written by Wham! members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.
"A Different Corner" is a song written and performed by English singer and songwriter George Michael that was released on Epic Records in 1986.
"Kissing a Fool" is a song written and performed by English singer and songwriter George Michael, released by Columbia Records in 1988.
The Final is a greatest hits album released in 1986 to summarise the career of English pop duo Wham!. The album was not initially released in North America, where the album Music from the Edge of Heaven was released instead. Six songs from that album appear on this compilation. The compilation album coincided with the farewell concert of the same name on 28 June 1986, at Wembley Stadium.
Alone at Prom is the sixth studio album by Canadian rapper and singer Tory Lanez. It was released on December 10, 2021, through his independent label One Umbrella. The album's concept is built around '80s music, being inspired to that era of music and aesthetics.
Wham! is a 2023 documentary film about the English pop duo Wham! consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. The film marks the 40th anniversary of their 1983 debut album Fantastic. Directed by Chris Smith it relies primarily on rare archive footage and audio interviews by the duo, including television appearances, concert footage, private home video, behind-the-scenes outtakes, and family comments all linked together using scrapbooks created by Ridgeley's mother. The film was co-produced by Ventureland / Passion Pictures, Nemperor Production, and Library Films with Altitude Film and Netflix serving as distributors.
Michael clearly does his best to capture the sound of American quiet-storm soul...
ケアレス・ウィスパー – 発売日 – 1984年08月25日 – 最高順位 – 12位