I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)

"I Knew You Were Waiting"
Song

"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" was a song performed by Aretha Franklin and George Michael in a duet in 1987. It was written by Simon Climie and Dennis Morgan.

Chart performance

The song was a one-off project that helped Michael achieve his ambition to sing with one of his favourite artists, and it reached number one in both the UK Singles Chart and Billboard's Hot 100. The song was, remarkably, 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 eighteen 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". However, as the song was a duet, he was not afforded the same status or level of congratulation as Gerry & The Pacemakers or Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the only two artists to have previously achieved number one with their first three releases. Michael's previous success (with Wham!, which included four number-ones) was also a factor in watering down the achievement.

The single was the first Michael had recorded (as a lead artist) which 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.

The continuous run of UK chart-toppers ended for Michael thereafter, with his next number-one coming in 1991 - again as part of a duet (this time with Elton John) - while his next entirely solo number-one in the UK didn't appear until 1996.

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.

Charts

Country	Peak position
Australia	1
Canada	4
The Netherlands	1
United Kingdom	1
United States	1

Cover versions

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". Also Michael McDonald covered it in 2008 on his album Soul Speak. Simon Climie had co-written the song and also produced it.