#1 Alert!
Gold Record Alert!
Song#: 3488
Date: 04/16/1988
Debut: 40
Peak: 1 (3 weeks)
Weeks: 18
Genre: Pop, Blue-Eyed Soul
Pop Bits: By this point in time, Michael's solo debut album, Faith, had spent six non-consecutive weeks at #1 and had spawned two #1s along with the #2 platinum hit "I Want Your Sex." Of course a fourth single had to be released due to the momentum both Michael and the album had and so his label took a chance on this nearly six-minute bluesy ballad. It surprisingly worked out very well. The tune made a splashy debut in the Top 40 and then made a quick ascent to the #1 spot where it stayed for three weeks. It would also hit #1 at R&B and AC. The single would sell well and go gold. It also made the album as popular as ever and by the beginning of May it would return to the #1 spot and stay there for six weeks. The first week it made that return to #1, the album was certified for sales of over 4 million. By the fall of '88 that number would increase to 6 million.
ReduxReview: This shouldn't have worked. A painfully slow song with somewhat depressing lyrics that slogged along for six minutes and didn't necessarily have a hooky chorus was definitely not a dream single for a radio programmer. Yet with George Michael arguably at his hottest point and with AC and R&B jumping on board, the tune was nearly an instant hit out of the gate. For me, the best part of the song was Michael's performance. He really delivered on the tune and expressed the feelings of not wanting to start a new relationship following a painful breakup. When he finally relents at the end and sings the song's title, you can practically feel him getting over his apprehension, but with a bit of vulnerability and caution still lingering. However, I do have to say that I got tired of this song real quick back in the day. It just bored me. It turned into a pop funeral dirge. Even today when I listen to the Faith album, I have a tendency to skip this song. It really is a very good track, but one that I listen to sparingly.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Double Shot! 1) George Michael became one of the few white male artists to have a #1 single on the R&B chart and he did it with this song. After that accomplishment, it would be nearly twenty years before another white male artist would reach the summit. Robin Thicke would hit #1 in 2007 with "Lost Without U." It was the second single from his album The Evolution of Robin Thicke. That album and Michael's Faith would both reach #1 at R&B as well. 2) This song was remade by the assembled female vocal trio Divine. It appeared on their 1999 debut album Fairy Tales. The LP's first single, "Lately," was a platinum selling #1 Pop/#2 R&B hit. "One More Try" was then issued out as the follow-up. It didn't do as well only getting to #29 Pop/#13 R&B. The LP itself did just okay getting to #40 R&B/#126 Pop. Still, with a huge #1 under their belt it would seem that they would have recorded a follow-up album, but they ended up splitting in 2000. A quick split after a sudden burst of fame usually indicates that conflicts arose, but that may not have been the case. It seems their record label suddenly went out of business and it left the trio high and dry. With the bubble burst, the three women went their own ways. One of them, Kia Thornton, tried out for American Idol in its sixth season. She made it to Hollywood, but was eliminated during those rounds.
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