Wham!/George Michael - Careless Whisper - OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

Wham!/George Michael - Careless Whisper

"Careless Whisper" was a worldwide number-one hit song for George Michael in 1984. It was released by Epic Records in the UK, Japan and other countries, and Columbia Records in North America. It features a very distinctive saxophone riff, and has been recorded by a number of artists since its first release.

"Careless Whisper" reached number one in nearly twenty five countries, selling about six million copies worldwide. Although the song became Michael's first number one single as solo artist, "Careless Whisper" ranked as one of the most successful songs of the 1980s. According to the United World Chart, The song is 31st highest selling singles of all time.


History
The song was first released as a solo George Michael single, while he was part of the pop group Wham!. Unlike all the Wham! singles (except Wham Rap!), it was co-written by Andrew Ridgeley, the other member of the duo. The two had written it together as unknowns three years earlier, when Michael was working as a cinema usher in Watford, England. In a June 2006 interview on London radio station Magic 105.4, Michael said that he wrote it "in his head" during work and that he recalls coming up with the saxophone riff whilst boarding a number 32 bus on the way home. Originally the riff had words, but Michael declined to state them, saying that they were very poor lyrics.

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 the legendary producer Jerry Wexler at the venerable 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, however, see the light of day, but only later on, as a (4:41) B-side "Special Version" on 12", released in England. A mid-tempo ballad with a soulful production standard and a remarkable saxophone solo (played by Steve Gregory), the single was issued in August 1984, entering the UK singles chart at number twelve. 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, later going to the top of the charts in seventeen other countries, including the USA's Billboard Hot 100 in February 1985, although in the United States, it was credited as "Wham! featuring George Michael".

George Michael was still very much committed to Wham! and was quickly back at number one with the duo with the song "Freedom", before ending the year at the top as part of Band Aid, meaning that he had number one hits in 1984 as part of three different entities - part of a duo, a solo artist and part of a charity ensemble.

Wham! split in 1986, two months after Michael released his second solo single, entitled "A Different Corner", which had again gone to number one in the UK. He went on to have a highly successful, controversial and multi award-winning solo career.

In a 2006 poll for a programme Britain's Favourite Break-up Songs, "Careless Whisper" was voted sixth.

Music video
The Music video shows the guilt felt by a man over an affair, and his acknowledgement that his partner was always going to find out. The title is actually from a line in the second verse - "Time can never mend the careless whispers of a good friend."


Live performances
"Careless Whisper" was generally the closing act for concerts on the 25 Live tour, and less often in The Faith Tour concerts, usually performed live in many concerts tours like Cover To Cover Tour and Rock In Rio. George Michael would often perform "Careless Whisper" with an extended version of the ending which is apparently his preferred version.