I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)
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"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.
The song was a one-off project which helped Michael achieve an ambition by singing with one of his favourite artistes, and it reached number one in both the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 upon its release. It was, remarkably, Franklin's first and only UK number-one hit and only her fourth top ten achievement in the country since "Respect" two decades earlier. This would also be the last, out of eighteen Top 10 hits, for Franklin in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
For Michael, it became his third consecutive solo number-one in the UK from three releases, following 1984's "Careless Whisper" 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 the likes of Gerry and the Pacemakers or Frankie Goes To Hollywood, the only two artistes 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 the watering down of his achievement.
The single was also the first Michael had recorded as a lead artist which he had not written himself, with the exception of his turn in the Band Aid charity project of 1984. The writer, Simon Climie, was an unknown at the time, although he would go on to have success as a performer with Climie Fisher in 1988.
The 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 wouldn't appear until 1996.
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