GEORGE MICHAEL - CARELESS WHISPER

Publicació: 23 de juliol de 1984

Llistes: EUA: #1 (3 setmanes) Regne Unit: #1 (3 setmanes)

"Careless Whisper" és una cançó escrita pel duo pop anglès Wham!. Llançada com a segon senzill del segon àlbum d'estudi del duo de 1984 "Make it big", va ser escrita George Michael i Andrew Ridgeley, amb Michael produint la cançó. Tot i que la cançó es va publicar com a part de "Make it Big", el llançament del senzill s'acredita a Wham! amb George Michael (a Amèrica del Nord i diversos altres països) o només a George Michael (al Regne Unit i alguns països europeus).

George Michael va començar a escriure "Careless Whisper" abans de Wham! fins i tot tenia el nom. Michael anava en autobús cap a la seva feina quan va pensar en el riff de saxo. Ridgely va escriure la progressió dels acords de la cançó i tots dos van gravar una demo per al senzill a casa dels pares de Ridgely. Juntament amb "Wham Rap!" i "Club Tropicana", "Careless Whisper" va ser una de les cançons de la seva demo original, la que els va fer signar amb Innervision Records.

"No tinc previst anar en solitari". George Michael va cantar aquesta frase a "Wake me up before you Go-Go", la cançó que va fer Wham! estrelles del pop als EUA. I aleshores Michael va anar en solitari immediatament. Michael era el cantant, compositor i productor de Wham! Ell era la cara del grup, el que era el focus clar de tots els vídeos. Andrew Ridgely, l'amic de la infància de Michael i company de Wham!, havia estat fonamental per ajudar a crear la imatge del grup, i havia coescrit els primers èxits del duo al Regne Unit, "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What you do)" i "Club Tropicana". Però en el moment en què Wham! va llançar el seu segon àlbum "Make It Big", Ridgely era bàsicament el noi que ballava darrere de George Michael als vídeos. Michael va decidir que volia ser un cantant de soul. Ja hi havia un munt de R&B al so de Wham!, però Michael volia fer discos de soul suaus i sincers pel seu compte, alhora que mantenia la seva producció pop amb el duo.

Michael va anar a Alabama per gravar "Careless Whisper" al Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, un lloc on s'havien fet tones de discos de soul clàssics als anys 60 i 70. Michael també va contractar un productor del saló de la fama: Jerry Wexler, la llegenda que havia inventat el terme "rhythm and blues" i va ajudar a establir el so Atlantic Records. Amb Jerry Wexler, Michael va gravar una versió de la vella escola de "Careless Whisper". Però a Michael no li va agradar el resultat d’aquesta versió. Michael va acabar produint "Careless Whisper" ell mateix a Londres.

L'arranjament de "Careless Whisper" és bastant senzill, una línia de baix lent, uns quants tons suaus de sintetitzador, alguns riffs de guitarra espanyola, el gran riff de saxo. La part del saxo la va interpretar Steve Gregory, un músic de sessió establert a Londres. Tal com ha verificat Chris Porter, que va ser l'enginyer de la sessió, 10 saxofistes diferents van intentar fer el solo abans que Gregory va donar amb el so que Michael buscava. Un dels reptes era aconseguir varies notes d'una sola respiració. Això es va aconseguir quan Porter va alentir la cinta quan va gravar el solo de Gregory. Quan va reproduir la cinta a velocitat normal, Michael ho va aprovar. El resultat és un dels solos de saxo més famosos de la música popular. Michael fa tot el possible per capturar el so del soul nord-americà, però la seva pròpia producció té una mica de l'ampli ritme del synthpop britànic. Cada element de la pista té espai per respirar i Michael també la canta molt bé. Com a cantant de R&B, és directe i discret.

La cançó tracta d'una persona que reflexiona sobre les dures conseqüències de les seves accions. El cantant parla de quan va ser infidel a la seva parella i va causar dolor al seu bon amic, desitjant haver-s'ho pensat dues vegades abans de trair-los. Resta insegur i entristit, ja que desitjaria haver pogut mantenir la relació unida, però ara es queda sol, preguntant-se què ha fet malament. La lletra també subratlla la importància de responsabilitzar-se de les propies accions, demostrant que alguns errors mai es poden desfer.

Poc després que "Careless Whisper" arribés al número 1 als EUA, Wham! va fer una magnífica acció publicitària, convertint-se en el primer grup de pop occidental que va fer una gira per la República Popular de la Xina. Les imatges de Michael cantant "Careless Whisper" a la Xina són realment fascinants. La gent de la Xina estimava aquell noi. Però la gent de tot arreu estimava "Careless Whisper". Va ser un autèntic èxit mundial.

GEORGE MICHAEL - CARELESS WHISPER

Released: July 23, 1984

Charted:  US: #1 (3 wks)  UK: #1 ( 3 wks)

“Careless Whisper” is a song written by English pop duo Wham!. Released as the second single from the duo's 1984 second studio album “Make it big”, it was written by Wham! members George 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).

George Michael started writing “Careless Whisper” before Wham! even had a name. Michael riding a bus to his job when he thought up the sax riff. Ridgely wrote the song’s chord progression, and the two of them recorded a demo for the single at Ridgely’s parents’ house. Along with “Wham Rap!” and “Club Tropicana,” “Careless Whisper” was one of the songs on their original demo tape, the one that got them signed to Innervision Records.

“I’m not planning on going solo.” George Michael sang those words on “Wake me up before you Go-Go”, the song that made Wham! pop stars in the US. And then Michael immediately went solo. Michael was Wham!’s lead singer, songwriter, and producer. He was the face of the group, the one who was the clear focus of all the videos. Andrew Ridgely, Michael’s childhood friend and Wham! partner, had been instrumental in helping to come up with the group’s image, and he’d co-written the early UK hits “Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)” and “Club Tropicana.” But by the time Wham! released their second album “Make It Big”, Ridgely was mostly just the guy who danced behind George Michael in the videos. Michael decided that he wanted to be a soul singer. There had already been plenty of R&B in Wham!’s sound, but Michael wanted to make smooth, heartfelt soul records on his own, while keeping his pop output with the duo.

Michael went to Alabama to record “Careless Whisper” at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, a place where tons of classic soul records had been made in the ’60s and ’70s. Michael also enlisted a hall-of-fame producer: Jerry Wexler, the legend who had invented the term “rhythm and blues” and helped establish the Atlantic Records sound. With Jerry Wexler, Michael recorded a rich, buttery old-school version of “Careless Whisper.” But Michael didn’t like the way that version turned out. Michael ended up producing “Careless Whisper” himself in London.

The “Careless Whisper” arrangement is pretty simple, a slow-strut bassline, a few soft synth tones, some quasi-Spanish guitar flutters, that big sax riff. The saxophone part was played by Steve Gregory, a session player based in London. As verified by Chris Porter, who was the engineer on the session, 10 different sax players tried to do the solo before Gregory came up with the sound Michael was looking for. One of the challenges was getting so many notes in one breath. This was accomplished when Porter slowed down the tape when he recorded Gregory's solo. When he played the tape back at normal speed, Michael approved it. The result is one of the most famous sax solos in popular music. But the whole thing hits a pocket. Michael clearly does his best to capture the sound of American quiet-storm soul, but his own stripped-back production has some of the spacious whump of UK synthpop. Every element of the track has room to breathe. Michael sings it beautifully, too. As an R&B singer, he’s direct and unshowy.

The song is about a person reflecting on the harsh consequences of his actions. The singer talks about how he was unfaithful to his partner and caused pain to his good friend, wishing that he had thought twice before betraying them. He is left feeling uncertain and regretful, as he wishes that he could have kept the relationship together, but now he is left alone, asking himself what he did wrong. The lyrics also emphasize the importance of taking accountability for one's actions, showing that some mistakes can never be undone.

Shortly after “Careless Whisper” hit #1 in the US, Wham! pulled off a magnificent publicity stunt, becoming the first Western pop group ever to tour the People’s Republic Of China. The footage of Michael singing “Careless Whisper” in China is truly fascinating. The people of China loved that guy. But people everywhere loved “Careless Whisper.” It was true global smash.