Songoftheday 4/25/15 - Like a warrior that fights and wins the battle I know the taste of victory...

"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" - Aretha Franklin & George Michael
from the album Aretha (1986)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 12

Today's Song of the Day comes from the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, whose second album of the 80's titled Aretha had churned out two moderate but not particularly lasting top-40 pop hits with "Jimmy Lee" and a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Jumping Jack Flash". The third time truly was the charm, though, with the release of a duet with then-major-major-hot British singer George Michael, who had just ended his tenure with Wham! the year before. "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)", written by Simon Climie (who had this own hit later in the decade with "Love Changes Everything"), was an immediate anthem at first listen, with both artists given enough lead space to shine without oversinging on each other, and the love song between the 45-year-old Aretha and the 24-year-old George didn't seem out of place at all...

"I Knew You Were Waiting" went all the way to #1 on the American pop chart in April of 1987, her second after 1967's "Respect". Michael also claimed his fourth chart-topper with this single. The record also climbed to #2 on the Adult Contemporary radio chart, #5 on the R&B list, and #12 on Billboard's Dance Club Play chart. Internationally, the song went to #1 in George's native Britain (Aretha's sole #1 there), and doing the same in Australia, the Netherlands, and Ireland. It would be her last time in the pop top-10 (so far) in the States.

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Here's George singing the classic solo in 1991...

...and for a twist, take a listen to Michael McDonald going all bluesy with his take on the song...

Up tomorrow: The lady with the gams and fright wig sells it "as is"....