"Waiting for a Girl Like You" is a 1981

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

by the British-American rock band Foreigner released as the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the album '' 4'' (1981) and was co-written by

Lou Gramm Lou Gramm (born Louis Andrew Grammatico; 2 May 1950) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for being the lead singer of the rock band Foreigner from 1977 to 1990 and 1992 to 2003 during which time the band had numerous successful albu ...

and Mick Jones. The opening motif was written by Ian McDonald and the distinctive

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

theme was performed by the then-little-known

Thomas Dolby Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher. Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...

. It has become one of the band's most successful songs worldwide, peaking at number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 1 on ''

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 ...

s Rock Tracks chart, and number 1 on the ''Radio & Records'' (R&R) Top 40/CHR chart. On both the ''Billboard'' and ''R&R''

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

, the song reached number 5. The song peaked at number 8 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 ...

. "Waiting for a Girl Like You" achieved a chart distinction by spending its record-setting 10 weeks in the number 2 position of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, without ever reaching the top. It debuted on the Hot 100 chart dated October 10, 1981. It reached the number 2 position in the week of November 28, where it was held off the number 1 spot by

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

's single "

Physical Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...

" for nine consecutive weeks, and then by

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

' "

I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" is a song by the American duo Daryl Hall and John Oates. Written by Daryl Hall, John Oates and Sara Allen, the song was released as the second single from their tenth studio album, '' Private Eyes'' (1981). ...

" for a tenth week on January 30, 1982. Because of its chart longevity, it ended up being the number 19 song on the Top 100 singles of 1982. The song was the band's biggest hit until "

I Want to Know What Love Is "I Want to Know What Love Is" is a power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner. It was released in November 1984 as the lead single from their fifth album, ''Agent Provocateur''. The song hit number one in both the United Kingdom ...

" hit number 1 in 1985. The song lists at number 80 on ''Billboards "Greatest Songs of All Time".

History

Jones said of writing the song that:

It just came out. I had no idea what it meant, but it got to the point where I couldn't even be in the studio when we were recording it sometimes. It left such a deep impression on me. It's the kind of song that the pen does the writing, and you don't even know where it came from. But I feel that it's stuff that's floating around at times, and you have to grasp it. It's kind of flying around in the air, and you just have to be open enough to let that flow through you.

In his autobiography, Gramm tells of a beautiful, mysterious woman who appeared in the control room when he was recording his vocal and gave him the inspiration to deliver the stirring take that was better than he has ever sung the song. He writes that this ephemeral beauty vanished, and he has never discerned her identity. The introduction was created by Dolby using a

Minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

synthesizer. Dolby remembers Lange leaving him to his own devices in the studio one night, "like a kid locked in a toy shop" to develop the intro to the song with six tracks of the multitrack available. As a result he made the " Eno-esque" ambient drones. These were sustained single notes in a minor scale, each recorded on a single track of a (separate) 2" multitrack tape; Dolby "played" the faders on the mixing console at

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer by 1970. Hendrix spent only ten ...

(by fading in and out the sustained notes) like a

mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

and bounced down the result onto two tracks. Drummer

Dennis Elliott Dennis Leslie Elliott (born 18 August 1950, in Peckham, London) is a British musician and artist, who was the original drummer for the rock band, Foreigner. He played with the band from 1976 until leaving between 1991 and 1993. He went on to ...

likened the intro to "massage music" but Jones liked it and it stuck.

Personnel

Foreigner *

– lead vocals * Mick Jones – keyboards, backing vocals *

Rick Wills Richard William Wills (born 5 December 1947) is an English bass guitarist. He is best known for his work with the rock band Foreigner and his associations with the Small Faces, Peter Frampton, Spooky Tooth, David Gilmour, Bad Company and The J ...

– bass, backing vocals *

– drums, backing vocals Additional personnel *

– main synthesizers *

Bob Mayo Robert J. Mayo (August 25, 1951 – February 23, 2004) was a session keyboardist and guitarist, perhaps best known for his work with Peter Frampton. Biography Mayo was born in New York City, and grew up in Westchester County. He began studyin ...

– keyboard textures * Ian Lloyd – backing vocals *

Robert John "Mutt" Lange Robert John "Mutt" Lange (born 11 November 1948) is a South African record producer and songwriter, mainly known for his work in rock music as well as his previous marriage to Canadian singer Shania Twain, for whom he wrote and produced several ...

– backing vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1981 singles 1982 singles Foreigner (band) songs Song recordings produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange Songs written by Mick Jones (Foreigner) Songs written by Lou Gramm 1981 songs 1980s ballads Rock ballads Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Mick Jones (Foreigner)