George Michael and Aretha Franklin – I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)

“I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” – Single by Aretha Franklin and George Michael
from the album Aretha
Released 23 January 1987
Songwriters Simon Climie and Dennis Morgan
Producer Narada Michael Walden
Charted No.1 in US, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Australia.

This was was written by Simon Climie and Dennis Morgan; the pair met in 1983 after Morgan attended an Everly Brothers concert. It was the third song they wrote together. Morgan explained in The Billboard Book of Number One Hits: “That was one of those songs that came out of mid air – a gift from above, if you will.”

The song was not originally written as a duet. Climie and Morgan pitched the song to Tina Turner as well to Aretha Franklin and Arista Records head Clive Davis. It was Davis’ idea to get Franklin and George Michael to record the song as a duet. It appeared on Franklin’s 1986 album Aretha.

The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan] and was filmed in Detroit. It begins with George Michael and two bodyguards entering a dark room. There is a large viewing screen on the wall showing Aretha Franklin preparing for George Michael. Over the course of the video, each of the singers is shown performing the song both in front of the screen and on it. During the second verse, footage from both Franklin’s and Michael’s earlier careers is shown on the screen. As the second chorus ends, Michael joins Franklin on the stage, and footage of earlier famous duet pairs—Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Sonny and Cher, Ike and Tina Turner, and others—are shown on the viewing screen while Michael and Franklin sing the song’s bridge. At the end of the video, Franklin winks at the camera.

In 1987, Franklin and Michael won the Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal Grammy for this song.