Careless Whisper

This article is about the song by George Michael. For the song by the Sugababes, see Never Gonna Dance Again (song).
"Careless Whisper"

Standard artwork
Single by George Michael
from the album Make It Big
Released 24 July 1984 (1984-07-24)
Format 12" maxi, 7" single , CD , Cass single
Recorded 1984
Genre Pop, blue-eyed soul, smooth jazz, soft rock, new wave
Length
  • 6:30 (album version)
  • 5:04 (single version)
Label Columbia
Writer(s) George Michael, Andrew Ridgeley
Producer(s) George Michael
Wham! singles chronology
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
(1984)		 "Careless Whisper"
(1984)		 "Freedom"
(1984)
Audio sample
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"Careless Whisper" is a 1984 single by George Michael (sometimes credited to "Wham! featuring George Michael" in Japan, Canada and the United States), released by Epic Records in the United Kingdom, Japan, and other countries; and by Columbia Records in North America. The song was George Michael's first solo single although he was still performing in Wham! at the time (the song is included on Wham!'s album Make It Big). The song features a prominent saxophone riff, and has been covered by a number of artists since its first release. It was released as a single and became a huge commercial success on both sides of the Atlantic and on both sides of the Pacific. It reached number one in nearly 25 countries, selling about six million copies worldwide.[1]

Background

Unlike most of the other Wham! singles (except "Wham Rap!" and "Club Tropicana"), it was co-written by Andrew Ridgeley, the other member of the duo. The two had written it together as developing artists three years earlier in Watford, England.[2]

The song went through at least two rounds of production. The first was during a trip Michael made to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he went to work with producer Jerry Wexler at Muscle Shoals Studio. Michael was unhappy with the version that was originally produced and decided to re-record and produce the song himself, this time coming up with the version that was finally released. The version Wexler produced did, 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 were going to put out the Jerry Wexler version of Careless Whisper after the Club Fantastic Megamix as far back as 1983. Dick Leahy stated in George Michael's autobiography[3] that while he couldn't 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".[3] He couldn't 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."[3]

The officially released single, a mid-tempo sentimental ballad with a saxophone solo by Steve Gregory, was issued in August 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. It stayed at number one for three weeks, going on to become the fifth best-selling single of 1984 in the United Kingdom; it was 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.

On the subject of his personal opinion of the song, Michael said in 1991 that it "was not an integral part of my emotional development"[4] which he found sad because of the song meaning so much to so many people. He went on to say: "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."[4]

Music video

The music video (which uses the shorter single version) shows the guilt felt by a man (portrayed by Michael) over an affair, and his acknowledgement that his partner was always going to find out. It was filmed on location in Miami during June 1984 and features such locales as Coconut Grove and Watson Island. The final part of the video shows Michael leaning out of a balcony at the last floor of Miami's Grove Towers.[5]

Track listing

All tracks written by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. 

7": Epic / A 4603 (UK)
No. Title Length
1. "Careless Whisper" (Single Edit) 5:04
2. "Careless Whisper" (Instrumental) 5:02
12": Epic / TA4603 (UK)
No. Title Length
1. "Careless Whisper" (Extended Mix) 6:31
2. "Careless Whisper" (Instrumental) 5:02
12": Columbia / 44-05170 (US)
No. Title Length
1. "Careless Whisper" (Extended Mix) 6:20
2. "Careless Whisper" (Instrumental) 4:52
12" Maxi: Epic / QTA 4603 (UK) - Special Edition
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 and personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[6] 1
Austrian Singles Chart[7] 2
Dutch Top 40 Singles Chart[8] 1
French SNEP Singles Chart[9] 3
Germany Singles Chart[10] 3
Irish Singles Chart[11] 1
Italian Singles Chart[12] 1
Japanese Oricon Singles Chart[13] 4
Japanese Oricon International Chart[14] 1
New Zealand Singles Chart[15] 3
Norwegian Singles Chart[16] 2
South African Singles Chart[17] 1
Swedish Singles Chart[18] 2
Swiss Singles Chart[19] 1
UK Singles Chart[20] 1
Chart (1985) Peak
position
Canadian The Record[21] 2
Canadian RPM Top Singles 1
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 1
US Hot Black Singles 8
US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[22] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1985) Position
US Billboard Hot 100 1

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[23] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[24] Silver 585,000[25]
Italy (FIMI)[26] Gold 25,000*
Japan (RIAJ) 204,000[27]
Netherlands (NVPI)[28] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Platinum 1,450,000[30]
United States (RIAA)[31] Platinum 1,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Cover versions

The song "Careless Whisper" has been covered by many other artists. A selection of those are presented here in chronological order:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "George Michael: 50 years in numbers". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  2. ↑ The Complete Guide to the Music of George Michael & Wham! L Ellis… - 1998 - Music Sales Group
  3. 1 2 3 Bare by George Michael and Tony Parsons, Penguin Books, 1991. Page 112 ISBN 0-14-013235-X
  4. 1 2 Bare by George Michael and Tony Parsons, Penguin Books, 1991. Page 166 ISBN 0-14-013235-X
  5. ↑ Grove Towers from Google's streetview
  6. ↑ "Australian Top 50 Chart Week Ending 23rd September, 1984". ARIA. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "Careless Whisper", Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at Archived 4 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 11 December 2007)
  8. ↑ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 36, 1984". Retrieved 27 February 2008.
  9. ↑ "Careless Whisper", French SNEP Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved 11 December 2007)
  10. ↑ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de Archived 17 June 2009 at WebCite (Retrieved 30 July 2008)
  11. ↑ Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie Archived 3 June 2009 at WebCite (Retrieved 17 April 2008)
  12. ↑ Hit parade Italia (Retrieved 31 May 2008)
  13. ↑ Japanese Oricon Year-end Singles Chart of 1985 Archived 22 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 1 August 2008)
  14. ↑ List of number-one singles on the Japanese Oricon International Chart (1968-2000) Archived 21 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  16. ↑ "Careless Whisper", Norwegian Singles Chart Norwegiancharts.com Archived 13 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 11 December 2007)
  17. ↑ "Careless Whisper", South African Chart (Retrieved 11 December 2007)
  18. ↑ "Careless Whisper", Swedish Singles Chart Swedishcharts.com (Retrieved 11 December 2007)
  19. ↑ "Careless Whisper", Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch Archived 22 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 11 December 2007)
  20. ↑ "Careless Whisper", UK Singles Chart BBC.co.uk (Retrieved 11 December 2007)
  21. ↑ Lwin, Nanda. Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide (2000). Mississauga, Ont.: Music Data Canada
  22. 1 2 Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved 11 December 2007)
  23. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Wham – Careless Whisper". Music Canada. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  24. ↑ "French single certifications – George Michael – Careless Whisper" (in French). InfoDisc. Select GEORGE MICHAEL and click OK
  25. ↑ "Les Singles en Argent :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  26. ↑ "Italian single certifications – George Michael – Careless Whisper" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 12 January 2015. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter George Michael in the field Filtra. Select 1984 in the field Anno. The certification will load automatically
  27. ↑ "List of best-selling international singles in Japan". JP&KIYO. 2002.
  28. ↑ "Dutch single certifications – George Michael – Careless Whisper" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  29. ↑ "British single certifications – George Michael – Careless Whisper". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Careless Whisper in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  30. ↑ Ami Sedghi (4 November 2012). "UK's million-selling singles: the full list". Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  31. ↑ "American single certifications – Wham – Careless Whisper". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 27 June 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  32. ↑ "Joyride overview". Allmusic.com.
  33. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/29159/sarah-washington/
  34. ↑ "Pan Pipes - Careless Whisper". allmusic.com. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  35. ↑ "Del - Go All Night". allmusic.com. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  36. ↑ "Edward Valentine - Careless Whisper - Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
Preceded by
"Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood		 UK number one single
18 August 1984
(for three weeks) 		Succeeded by
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder
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