The Story Behind The Song
There are two classic saxophone intros in pop music: one is Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street and the other is George Michael's Careless Whisper. Both are instantly recognisable. Both define the song. Without it, each would be significantly diminished.
Infamously, the Careless Whisper sax solo required a dozen saxophonists to attempt it before George Michael was satisfied. He insisted that it sound like the demo made two years earlier when the part was played by an amateur saxophonist (why he wasn't hired has never been explained). The one professional who nailed it was Steve Gregory but his tenor sax was unable to reach the highest note so the sound engineer slowed down the recording while Gregory played a semitone lower. When played back at normal speed, increasing the pitch, it sounded just right. The result was not only history, as the platitude goes, but also made it impossible for a saxophonist playing live to exactly mimic the recording.
The sax intro has now become a meme which, according to Pop Culture Dictionary, denotes "cheesy sexiness". We suspect that the connotation is largely due to a retrospective view of the 1980s in general and the promotional video in particular. Shot in Miami, showing Michael and a girlfriend enjoying the champagne lifestyle of yachts, seaplanes and sports cars until she discovers his affair with another woman, it is full of 1980s cliches and hair-dos. In fact, George flew his sister to Florida to restyle his hair, resulting in more scenes having to be filmed.
The Miami footage was such a mess that it had to be intercut with further shots of George singing among dangling chains and ropes at the Lyceum Theatre in London. Twenty five years after the promotional video was released, it was uploaded to YouTube, where it has been viewed over a billion times. Clearly, cheesy sexiness is in demand.
Of course, people are also viewing the video to hear the song, which came to the superstar when he was an unknown teenager boarding a bus. He was handing over the money to the conductor (we had such things in 1980) when the sax solo popped into his mind. Over the next three months, he continued to mentally compose the song.
The lyrics were inspired by real-life events. The year before he wrote the song, George was seeing two girls at the same time, thinking it was cool, but getting an earful from his disapproving sisters. Although neither girl discovered his two-timing, the idea of one finding out about the other formed the basis of the song. The lines are evocative; most people can relate in some way to the lines "I feel so unsure As I take your hand And lead you to the dance floor" and "Maybe it's better this way We'd hurt each other with the things we want to say".
According to 1000 UK No. 1 Hits, Michael believed the lyrics were stereotypical and superficial and complained, "It disappoints me that you can write a lyric very flippantly and it can mean so much to so many people." A few years later, in The Big Issue, he explained further: "It's ironic that this song, which has come to define me in some way, should have been written right at the beginning of my career when I was only 17 and didn't really know much about anything, and certainly nothing much about relationships."
Despite his own dismissal of his lyrics, the story of a cheat receiving his comeuppance is a universally satisfying theme (the other side of this coin would be someone atoning for past mistakes). And the fact he wrote the words quickly is not a criticism; many great songs have been written instinctively by young songwriters (see Down At The Tube Station At Midnight).
When George Michael tragically died on Christmas Day 2016, the media played his music in tribute but also unearthed stories of his generosity, even to strangers. Many of these acts of caring and kindness came to light only after his death because he did not want them publicised at the time. Two years before his death, he told Mojo Magazine how he would like to remembered: "I always write my songs to touch people or strike a chord, and I guess people really get that, so all in all, I'd say for my music, and hopefully being a really good friend and a caring, good and reliable person."
Mission accomplished, George.
We hereby instate Careless Whisper by George Michael on The Wall as No.16 Best Single of 1984
A beguiling, saxophone intro and emotional lyrics served as the bedrock for one of George Michael’s most loved and enduring songs.Dave B
