"Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" is a song by English drummer

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

, released in April 1990 from his fourth studio album, '' ...But Seriously'' (1989). The song peaked at 4 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

the week of October 6, 1990 and No. 15 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 ...

. A live version also appears on the '' Serious Hits... Live!'' album. The song is often identified by the recurring hook of "How many times can I say 'I'm sorry'?", however, the title of the song is essentially the 2nd line of the 2nd verse. The song was written by Phil Collins and longtime

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

/Collins guitarist

Daryl Stuermer Daryl Mark Stuermer (born November 27, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, and producer best known for playing the guitar and bass for Genesis during live shows, and lead guitar for Phil Collins during most solo tours and albums. He has ...

and was produced by Collins and

Hugh Padgham Hugh Charles Padgham (born 15 February 1955) is an English record producer and audio engineer. He has won four Grammy Awards, for Producer of the Year and Album of the Year for 1985, Record of the Year for 1990, and Engineer of the Year for 1 ...

. It was also included on '' ...Hits''. The song was originally written for the movie ''

The War of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...

''.

Artworks

The single's UK release featured comedian

Tony Hancock Anthony John Hancock (12 May 1924 – 25 June 1968) was an English comedian and actor. High-profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series ''Hancock's Half Hour'', first broadcast on radio from 1954, ...

on its front cover. The different cover art for the international single release is a

still A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been used ...

from the 1946 film '' A Matter of Life and Death'' (also titled in the US ''Stairway to Heaven'' Cat. #7 4-86140.) created by

Powell and Pressburger The British film-making partnership of Michael Powell (1905–1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902–1988)—together often known as The Archers, the name of their production company—made a series of influential films in the 1940s and 1950s. T ...

, permitted for use by Rank Film Distributors.

Music video

Directed by Jim Yukich, produced by Paul Flattery and written by both of them for FYI. A dog is napping in a meadow, dreaming of being in a silent movie in which it saves a woman tied to a set of railroad tracks from being run over by a train. The opening of the song is heard faintly in the distance, coming from the open back door of a concert hall, and the dog wakes up and ventures inside. Here, Collins and his band do a sound check and then perform the song as the dog explores the facility, eating from the band's buffet table, climbing among the catwalks, and sitting briefly at Collins' piano and drum kit. These sequences are intercut with shots from the dog's black-and-white perspective, including a brief dream in which it sits at a formal table loaded with food. At two different times, the dog relieves itself onstage, first by defecating near backing singer

Arnold McCuller Arnold McCuller (born August 26, 1950) is an American vocalist, songwriter, and record producer, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He was active as a solo artist and session musician, but is perhaps best known for his work as a touring back-u ...

— only discovered when he steps in the resulting mess — then later by urinating on bassist

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

's leg. The latter occurs near the end of the song, and the video ends after Collins smiles and wipes Sklar's shoe with a towel (Sklar did not perform on the actual studio recording,

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

is the actual performer).

Formats and track listings

CD maxi # "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" – 4:37 # "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" (One World Remix) – 5:38 # "I Wish It Would Rain Down" (demo) – 5:19 7-inch single # "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" (edit) – 4:37 # "I Wish It Would Rain Down" (demo) – 5:19 12-inch maxi # "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" – 4:37 # "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" (One World Remix) – 5:38 # "I Wish It Would Rain Down" (demo) – 5:19

Credits

* Phil Collins – vocals, keyboards, drums *

– guitars *

Dominic Miller Dominic James Miller (born 21 March 1960) is an Argentine-born guitarist. With much of his career as a sideman and guitarist for singer Sting (musician), Sting, he has also released several solo albums. Career Miller was born in Hurlingham, Bue ...

– guitars *

– bass *

The Phenix Horns , originally known as the EWF Horns, were the main horn section for the band Earth, Wind & Fire. The horn section were composed of Don Myrick on saxophone, Louis "Lui Lui" Satterfield on trombone, Rahmlee Michael Davis on trumpet, and Michael ...

Don Myrick Donald Myrick (April 6, 1940 – July 30, 1993) was an American saxophonist. A member of The Phenix Horns, he is best known for his work with Earth, Wind & Fire and Phil Collins. He played alto, tenor, and soprano sax as a member of Earth, Wind ...

– saxophone **

Louis Satterfield Louis Edward Satterfield (April 3, 1937 – September 27, 2004) was an American bassist and trombonist. Satterfield was a member of both The Pharaohs and the Phenix Horns. He also collaborated with prominent artists such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Mu ...

– trombone ** Harry Kim – trumpet ** Rahmlee Michael Davis – trumpet * Arranged by Tom Tom 84 * Alex Brown – backing vocals * Lynne Fiddmont – backing vocals * Marva King – backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Deborah Cox version

In 2003, Canadian singer

Deborah Cox Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before ...

recorded a R&B cover of the track, which was included on the Phil Collins tribute compilation ''Urban Renewal''. It peaked at No. 95 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. A

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

remix was issued as a single, which reached No. 1 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Hot Dance Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. History The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic d ...

chart in November 2003 and stayed at the top spot until February 2004. The track spent 11 weeks at No. 1—10 of them consecutively—making it the first single on the chart to accomplish this feat, which she would hold until 2009, when

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

broke that record with her single " Poker Face", which spent 15 weeks at the top.

References

{{Authority control 1990 singles 2003 singles Phil Collins songs Deborah Cox songs Dance-pop songs Electronic songs House music songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Hugh Padgham Song recordings produced by Phil Collins 1989 songs Atlantic Records singles Virgin Records singles Warner Music Group singles Songs written by Daryl Stuermer