Fact #192314
When:
Short story:
Aretha Franklin and George Michael release the duet single, I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) on Arista Records. It will peak at No1 in both the USA and UK.
Full article:
Aretha Franklin : The first time I heard George was with Wham! and I liked it then. He had a very unique sound, very different from anything that was out there. When Clive (Davis, Franklin's producer and label boss) suggested we get together for "I Knew You Were Waiting," I was all ready. It reminded me of (working with producer]) Jerry Wexler. We'd go in the studio and cut songs. If we were happy with what we recorded, Jerry would say "Let's wait until tomorrow. If we feel the same way (then) that we do now, maybe we have a hit." I Knew You Were Waiting had that. Musically, it does not grow old.
(Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Knew_You_Were_Waiting_(For_Me))
Dennis Morgan (co-songwriter) : My whole approach was to come over to England trying to find people to collaborate with, much like I was doing in the USA with Steve Davis and Kye Fleming.
At the time, I was into the soul period as much as country music. There was this wonderful circle, and I knew that if I could find the right partners we'd snap right into place and have a huge hit, bigger than anything.
In September 1984, after several trips over here, I met Simon Climie after an Everly Brothers concert at the Royal Albert Hall. We didn't write at that time but later, in January 1985, when I was on my way to MIDEM in Cannes, we wrote three songs in London. They were titled Pray For Peace, An Angel Cries and a song called I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me).
The day before I Knew You Were Waiting happened, we were at Salisbury Cathedral and I remember sending up a prayer, like you do. I knew that would seriously have to connect with something to make this journey down to Cannes even work, because I reckoned the people there just weren't going to be interested in my past, even though it was very interesting.
So, the next day, this title was just hanging in front of me when Simon and I sat down. He's a great songwriter, I really like working with him; he's very fast, he sings great, he's really talented, and we wrote this thing in about an hour, with probably two hours of tweaks and little minor re-writes.
However, I remember about three-quarters of the way through the song, I felt so strongly about it, I just really knew it was something special. When the flow is happening, it's very wrong to stop and question it. You should just go ahead and let it run its course. In other words, this is what is called inspiration.
I remember at one point we stopped for about thirty seconds to say, 'Is this title right? Is this right, is that middle eight right?' I remember getting a bit forceful, saying, 'It's right. Let's just finish it, then we have a song.'
So we worked on the demo a bit before I went down to Cannes, and then Simon finished it while I was away. By the time I got back to America, kit was on hold for Aretha and George. Literally, it was that fast.
Tom Sturges, who was Simon's publisher at the time, had pitched it to Clive Davis at Arista, who had the idea of putting Aretha and George together. We didn't write it as a duet but it lent itself and, once we heard they were interested, we said, 'Of course we knew it would work that way'.
When it came out, I saw the video for the first time and I got that old feeling back, that buzz, that tingle, that chill, and that enthusiasm, almost equal to that first time I saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. My contribution to it was mainly the lyrics, and Simon and others may interpret differently, but to me what it was always about was about overcoming the forces of adversity, like a warrior that fights and wins the battle.
Also, because I have the Christian faith in my life, I look for things that are spiritually tuned in. I don't know if that makes sense but the song is very uplifting. It's much more than a positive thinking song. I hate that term. It's a real 'got down into the spirit, come to grips with whatever's holding you back and standing up and fighting against it' song. And it's a love song too.
As a result, I started my publishing company, Little Shop Of Morgan Songs, with a share in a number one hit all round the world. The song also won an Ivor Novello award that years, which was great thrill for me as an American, especially as Paul McCartney happened to be present at the ceremony. I can tell you that little bronze statuette has pride of place in my office in Nashville. Thank you very much, Salisbury Cathedral.
(Source : Inspirations by Michael Randolfi, Mike Read and David Stark, Sanctuary 2002)
George Michael : Nobody can emulate Aretha Franklin. It's stupid to try. I just tried to stay in character, keep it simple - it was very understated in comparison to what she did.
(Source : https://www.songfacts.com/facts/aretha-franklin/i-knew-you-were-waiting-for-me)
Aretha Franklin : We had a super time (making the video). He was calling most of the shots: how he wanted this, how he wanted that. My older sister, Erma, just fell for him right away. He was very friendly and personable, easy to talk to.
(Source : https://www.songfacts.com/facts/aretha-franklin/i-knew-you-were-waiting-for-me)
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(Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Knew_You_Were_Waiting_(For_Me))
Dennis Morgan (co-songwriter) : My whole approach was to come over to England trying to find people to collaborate with, much like I was doing in the USA with Steve Davis and Kye Fleming.
At the time, I was into the soul period as much as country music. There was this wonderful circle, and I knew that if I could find the right partners we'd snap right into place and have a huge hit, bigger than anything.
In September 1984, after several trips over here, I met Simon Climie after an Everly Brothers concert at the Royal Albert Hall. We didn't write at that time but later, in January 1985, when I was on my way to MIDEM in Cannes, we wrote three songs in London. They were titled Pray For Peace, An Angel Cries and a song called I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me).
The day before I Knew You Were Waiting happened, we were at Salisbury Cathedral and I remember sending up a prayer, like you do. I knew that would seriously have to connect with something to make this journey down to Cannes even work, because I reckoned the people there just weren't going to be interested in my past, even though it was very interesting.
So, the next day, this title was just hanging in front of me when Simon and I sat down. He's a great songwriter, I really like working with him; he's very fast, he sings great, he's really talented, and we wrote this thing in about an hour, with probably two hours of tweaks and little minor re-writes.
However, I remember about three-quarters of the way through the song, I felt so strongly about it, I just really knew it was something special. When the flow is happening, it's very wrong to stop and question it. You should just go ahead and let it run its course. In other words, this is what is called inspiration.
I remember at one point we stopped for about thirty seconds to say, 'Is this title right? Is this right, is that middle eight right?' I remember getting a bit forceful, saying, 'It's right. Let's just finish it, then we have a song.'
So we worked on the demo a bit before I went down to Cannes, and then Simon finished it while I was away. By the time I got back to America, kit was on hold for Aretha and George. Literally, it was that fast.
Tom Sturges, who was Simon's publisher at the time, had pitched it to Clive Davis at Arista, who had the idea of putting Aretha and George together. We didn't write it as a duet but it lent itself and, once we heard they were interested, we said, 'Of course we knew it would work that way'.
When it came out, I saw the video for the first time and I got that old feeling back, that buzz, that tingle, that chill, and that enthusiasm, almost equal to that first time I saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. My contribution to it was mainly the lyrics, and Simon and others may interpret differently, but to me what it was always about was about overcoming the forces of adversity, like a warrior that fights and wins the battle.
Also, because I have the Christian faith in my life, I look for things that are spiritually tuned in. I don't know if that makes sense but the song is very uplifting. It's much more than a positive thinking song. I hate that term. It's a real 'got down into the spirit, come to grips with whatever's holding you back and standing up and fighting against it' song. And it's a love song too.
As a result, I started my publishing company, Little Shop Of Morgan Songs, with a share in a number one hit all round the world. The song also won an Ivor Novello award that years, which was great thrill for me as an American, especially as Paul McCartney happened to be present at the ceremony. I can tell you that little bronze statuette has pride of place in my office in Nashville. Thank you very much, Salisbury Cathedral.
(Source : Inspirations by Michael Randolfi, Mike Read and David Stark, Sanctuary 2002)
George Michael : Nobody can emulate Aretha Franklin. It's stupid to try. I just tried to stay in character, keep it simple - it was very understated in comparison to what she did.
(Source : https://www.songfacts.com/facts/aretha-franklin/i-knew-you-were-waiting-for-me)
Aretha Franklin : We had a super time (making the video). He was calling most of the shots: how he wanted this, how he wanted that. My older sister, Erma, just fell for him right away. He was very friendly and personable, easy to talk to.
(Source : https://www.songfacts.com/facts/aretha-franklin/i-knew-you-were-waiting-for-me)