"I Wish You Well" is the first single released from Canadian singer

Tom Cochrane Thomas William Cochrane ( ; born May 14, 1953) is a Canadian musician best known as the frontman for the rock band Red Rider and for his work as a solo singer-songwriter. Cochrane has won eight Juno Awards. He is a member of the Canadian Music ...

's third solo studio album, ''

Ragged Ass Road Ragged Ass Road may refer to: * ''Ragged Ass Road'' (album), a Tom Cochrane album * Ragged Ass Road (Yellowknife), a street in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada {{disambiguation ...

'' (1995). Inspired by Cochrane's experiences during the years following the success of his album ''

Mad Mad World ''Mad Mad World'' is the second studio album by Canadian rock singer Tom Cochrane, originally released in 1991 in Canada and in the United States on February 17, 1992. The first single from the album, "Life Is a Highway", became a hit in late 19 ...

'', the song was released in 1995 as his first single since "Bigger Man" in 1992. It became only the second song—and the first by a Canadian artist—to debut atop the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' 100 Hit Tracks chart, giving Cochrane his second number-one single in his home country, and it also reached number three on the ''RPM'' Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. Outside Canada, "I Wish You Well" experienced brief chart success in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Background

"I Wish You Well" was written by Tom Cochrane, inspired by the turmoil he experienced after the success of ''

'' and the touring to support the album. Described by Cochrane as "a blur", this period left his home life in a state of disorder, including a year in which he separated with his wife, Kathleen. According to Cochrane, "I Wish You Well" and ''

'' addresses these issues and what he learned from the period. Along with the rest of the album, Cochrane recorded the song at Metalworks Studios in

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, and Ragged Ass Road Studio in early 1995.

Release and chart performance

Released as a single in 1995, "I Wish You Well" debuted at number one on the Canadian ''

'' 100 Hit Tracks chart on September 4, 1995, becoming the second song in the chart's history to accomplish this feat (not counting the magazine's first number one), after Band Aid's "

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

" in 1985. It was also the first song by a Canadian artist to debut at number one. The single stayed at the summit for another week, then dropped to number seven on September 18. It stayed in the top 100 for 26 weeks, last appearing at number 98 on February 26, 1996. It was the fourth most successful single of 1995 in Canada, and it also peaked at number three on the ''RPM'' Adult Contemporary Tracks chart on October 9, 1995. The song did not make a substantial commercial impact outside Canada, charting only in the United Kingdom and the United States. In the latter country, it peaked at number one on the ''

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 ...

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart on November 18, 1995. In the United Kingdom, the song was released on October 9, 1995. The track debuted and peaked at number 93 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 ...

on October 15, 1995, then left the top 100 the next week.

Track listings

Canadian promotional CD single # "I Wish You Well" – 4:24 # "

Life Is a Highway "Life Is a Highway" is a song by Canadian musician Tom Cochrane from his second studio album, ''Mad Mad World'' (1991). The song became a number-one hit in Canada in late 1991. "Life Is a Highway" also peaked at number six on the US ''Billboard'' ...

" – 4:24 Dutch CD single # "I Wish You Well" – 4:24 # "White Hot" (live) – 6:22 Dutch CD maxi-single # "I Wish You Well" – 4:24 # "Ragged Ass Road" – 4:45 # "White Hot" (live) – 6:22 # "

Lunatic Fringe Lunatic fringe is a term used to characterize members of a political or social movement as extremists with eccentric or fanatical views. Theodore Roosevelt is widely credited with having popularized the term, which he used with gusto: "There is ap ...

" (live) – 4:28 UK CD1 # "I Wish You Well" # "Ragged Ass Road" # "Life Is a Highway" # "White Hot" (live) UK CD2 # "I Wish You Well" # "Best Waste of Time" # "Sinking Like a Sunset" # "Lunatic Fringe" (live)

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the UK CD1 liner notes and the ''Ragged Ass Road'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded in early 1995 at Metalworks Studios (

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

, Canada) and Ragged Ass Road Studio * Mixed at Encore Studio (

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

, US) Personnel * Tom Cochrane – writing, vocals, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, harmonica, production * Bill Bell – acoustic guitars, electric guitars * Ken "Spider" Sinnaeve – bass * Gregor Beresford – drums, percussion * John Webster – production, engineering * Ed Krautner – secondary engineering, additional recording *

Tom Lord-Alge Tom Lord-Alge (born January 17, 1963) is an American music engineer and mixer. He began his career at The Hit Factory in New York. Subsequently, he was the resident mixer at what used to be known as "South Beach Studios", located on the ground f ...

– mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control Tom Cochrane songs 1995 singles 1995 songs Capitol Records singles EMI Records singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Tom Cochrane