"Waiting for That Day" is a song performed and largely written by British singer-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 ...

which was released on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in 1990 in the UK and on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in 1991 in the US. The song was the second single from Michael's second studio album, '' Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1'' (1990), in the UK, and released as the third single from the album in the US and Australia. "Waiting for That Day" peaked at number 23 in the UK in October 1990 and was followed in the UK by three more singles from the album, all of which peaked slightly lower than that of its predecessor. In the US, the song entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 9 February 1991 and peaked at number 27 on 2 March 1991.

Background

Although Michael wrote the song alone, the chords and rhythm are very similar to The Rolling Stones' " You Can't Always Get What You Want". This title is included at the very end of Michael's song, and a co-writer credit was given to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The song also contains samples from the song " Funky Drummer" by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

. The song did not enjoy great chart success in the United States, becoming Michael's first single to miss the top 10. The single's B-side, "

Mother's Pride Mother's Pride is a brand name for a variety of breads produced by British Bakeries, a division of Premier Foods. The company also bakes Nimble (reduced calorie) and Hovis branded loaves as well as supermarket 'own brand' ranges. British Bake ...

" achieved some airplay success during the Gulf War. As of October 2017, the single sold 61,000 copies in UK.

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

from AllMusic named the song a "highlight" from '' Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1''. Andrew Mueller from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' felt it finds "the great chap in devastatingly ineffectual form." Nick Robinson from '' Music Week'' wrote, "Possibly one of the singles of the year, this sad plea to a lost love coasts along on a " Funky Drummer" beat and mellow organ backing and ends perfectly with a " You Can't Always Get What You Want" chant. Not only is it a beautiful pop song but it also sees the talented song-writer adding a touch of creativity to a standard

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

beat."

Track listing

* 7", Epic / GEO 2 (UK) # "Waiting for That Day" – 4:49 # " Fantasy" – 5:00 Note: also available on MC (Epic / GEO M2) and 12" (Epic / GEO T2) * CD, Epic / CD GEO 2 (UK) # "Waiting for That Day" – 4:49 # "Fantasy" – 5:00 # "Father Figure" – 5:36 # "Kissing a Fool" – 4:34 * Cassette and 7", Columbia 73663 (US) #"Waiting for That Day" – 4:49 #"Mother's Pride" – 3:59

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waiting For That Day George Michael songs 1990 singles Songs written by George Michael Songs written by Jagger–Richards Song recordings produced by George Michael Columbia Records singles Epic Records singles 1990 songs Pop ballads