"Monkey" is a US number-one hit song by English singer and songwriter

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...

. It was released as a single in 1988 and reached number-one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 13 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. "Monkey" debuted at number 42 on 9 July 1988, reaching number-one for two weeks, beginning on 27 August 1988. "Monkey" became George Michael's sixth solo single reaching number-one in the US, and the fourth single to do so from the ''

Faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

'' album. George Michael joined

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

as three artists who all had four or more consecutive number one singles during the 1987–88 era, from one album (

scored five number-one hits from a single album (''

Bad Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being * Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored troll ...

'') while

scored seven consecutive number-one hits from two albums). "Monkey" also reached number-one in the US

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart for two weeks and became his first dance number-one. When the song was released as a single, the single version was remixed by

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

Background

In an introspective interview about the album in 2010, George told to the song was inspired by a friend of his dealing with drug and alcohol addiction but didn't know how to help her. He used the term ''Monkey'' to refer to the drug and alcohol addiction. He asked her friend: ''Do you like the Monkey or do you Love Me?''.

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' wrote, "One of the most overtly funky,

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

-oriented tracks on the LP ''

''. A hard hitting dance number."

Music video

The official

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was directed by

Andy Morahan Andrew Douglas Morahan (born 11 August 1958) is a British commercial, film and music video director. He is the son of director Christopher Morahan and the half-brother of actress Hattie Morahan. Married to Joanna Lewis, he has two children. Vi ...

and choreographed by

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...

. It comprises footage of George's 1988 tour (including scenes of him performing intense choreography with a female dancer) and him performing the song in a simple white t-shirt and black hat against a white background. Some of the scenes are shown in grey scale, with the tour footage being shown with tinted blue lights all over.

Track listing

* 7" # "Monkey (7-Inch Edit)" – 4:47 # "Monkey (A'Cappella)" – 3:40 * US 12" – Columbia Records 44 07849 # "Monkey (Extended Version)" – 8:06 # "Monkey (A'Cappella)" – 3:40 # "Monkey (Extra Beats)" – 3:30 * CD # "Monkey (Extended Version)" – 8:06 # "Monkey (A'Cappella)" – 3:40 # "Monkey (Extra Beats)" – 3:30 # "Monkey (7-Inch Edit)" – 4:47

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1987 songs 1988 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Epic Records singles George Michael songs Music videos directed by Andy Morahan RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Song recordings produced by George Michael Songs written by George Michael Songs about drugs