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Careless Whisper

"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 and some European countries).

"Never Gonna Dance Again (song)" redirects here. For the song by the Sugababes, see Change (Sugababes album).

"Careless Whisper"

23 July 1984[1]

Sarm West (London)

  • 6:30 (album version)
  • 5:04 (7” version)

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 as a popular internet meme.[7]

Background[edit]

Composition and writing[edit]

In 1981, Michael was working as a DJ at the Bel Air Restaurant[8][9][10] in Northwood, London[11] near Bushey, Hertfordshire.[12] Michael explained in his autobiography, Bare, that he conceptualised "Careless Whisper" based on events from his childhood. Michael wrote, "I was on my way to DJ at the Bel Air when I wrote 'Careless Whisper'. I have always written on buses, trains and in cars. It always happens on journeys... With 'Careless Whisper' I remember exactly where it first came to me, where I came up with the sax line... I remember I was handing the money over to the guy on the bus and I got this line, the sax line... I wrote it totally in my head. I worked on it for about three months in my head."[13] Sheet music for "Careless Whisper" sets the key of D minor.[14]


"When I was twelve, thirteen, I used to have to chaperone my sister, who was two years older, to an ice rink at Queensway in London," he explained. "There was a girl there with long blonde hair whose name was Jane. I was a fat boy in glasses and I had a big crush on her—though I didn't stand a chance. My sister used to go and do what she wanted when we got to the skating rink and I would spend the afternoon swooning over this girl Jane."[15]


"A few years later, when I was sixteen, I had my first relationship with a girl called Helen," Michael continued.

Critical reception[edit]

"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".[35] Billboard referred to the track as a "polished-pop approach", stating, "[the] saxy ballad will tug at many a heartstring".[36] Rolling Stone placed the song as George Michael's 2nd best song, describing it as "a soulful, saxophone-laden ballad" with "infidelity-themed lyrics".[37]


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".[38] 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".[39]

Music video[edit]

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[40] and features such locales as Coconut Grove and Watson Island. The final part of the video shows Michael leaning out of a top floor balcony of Miami's Grove Towers.[41]


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.[42]


According to producer Jon Roseman, production of the video was "a fucking disaster".[43] 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."[44]


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.[45] The video performance (1984 version) was officially uploaded to the George Michael YouTube channel on 24 October 2009. On March 25, 2023, it surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube.[46]

Note: the "extended mix" is identical to the album version from .

Make It Big

– lead and backing vocals

George Michael

– acoustic guitar (uncredited)

Andrew Ridgeley

– saxophone

Steve Gregory

– bass

Deon Estus

Trevor Murrell – drums

[nb 1]

Chris Parren – keyboards

– keyboards

Andy Richards

– keyboards [49]

Anne Dudley

– electric guitar

Hugh Burns

Danny Cummings – percussion

Credits adapted from the Extended Mix's liner notes.[47]

A dance version by that peaked at number 45 on the UK Singles Chart in 1993.[110]

Sarah Washington

Saxophonist recorded a version for his 1999 album The Dance, featuring Montell Jordan on lead vocals. It was released in 2000 as the second single from the album and peaked at number 30 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.[111]

Dave Koz

produced a dancehall version in 2004 featuring Thomas Jules and Jucxi D. It charted at number 29 in the UK.[112]

2Play

South African band Seether covered the song on their 2007 album Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces. It was released in March 2009 as the fourth single from the album and charted at number 63 in the US. It was certified gold by the RIAA.[113][114]

rock

Singer covered the song live as a tribute to George Michael following the induction of Michael into the 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[115]

Miguel

"Careless Whisper" has been covered by many other artists. Among the most notable versions are:

List of best-selling singles in the United Kingdom

List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1980s

List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 1984

List of number-one singles of 1984 (Ireland)

List of number-one hits of 1984 (Switzerland)

List of number-one singles from the 1980s (UK)

List of RPM number-one singles of 1985

List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1985 (U.S.)

List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1985 (U.S.)