I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)

"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)"
Single by Aretha Franklin and George Michael
from the album Aretha
Released23 January 1987 (1987-01-23)[1]
Recorded1986
Genre
Length4:01
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Narada Michael Walden
Aretha Franklin singles chronology
"Jimmy Lee"
(1987) 		"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)"
(1987) 		"Rock-A-Lott"
(1987)
George Michael singles chronology
"A Different Corner"
(1986) 		"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)"
(1987) 		"I Want Your Sex"
(1987)
Music video
"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" on YouTube

"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" is a song released by American singer Aretha Franklin and English singer George Michael as a duet in 1987.[4] The song was a number one hit in the United States and the United Kingdom.[5] Billboard listed "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" as Franklin's all-time biggest Hot 100 single.[6] The song was Franklin's biggest hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, reaching number two.[7][8] The song was written by Simon Climie and Dennis Morgan and produced by Narada Michael Walden.[9] Franklin and Michael won a 1987 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)".[10][11]

  1. ^ "New Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 17 January 1987. p. 23. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b Breihan, Tom (12 February 2021). "The Number Ones: Aretha Franklin & George Michael's "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)". Stereogum. Retrieved 5 October 2023. ...if you're going to record a gospel song that's also a pop song, you really can't do any better than Aretha Franklin...Walden's backing track is pure big-'80s dance-pop...
  3. ^ Stanley, Bob (13 September 2013). "Chicago and Detroit: House and Techno". Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop. Faber & Faber. p. 614. ISBN 978-0-571-28198-5.
  4. ^ "George Michael & Aretha Franklin: I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)". IMDb.
  5. ^ Billboard (25 December 2016). "George Michael Dead: His Biggest Hits". Billboard. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Aretha's biggest Hot 100 hits". Billboard. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Aretha Franklin I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me) Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Aretha Franklin Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  9. ^ ""I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" — George Michael and Aretha Franklin". Medium.com. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  10. ^ "A look back at Aretha Franklin's Grammy wins". www.cnn.com. 16 August 2018.
  11. ^ "George Michael". GRAMMY.com. 4 June 2019.